Surfing at Torquay Back Beach
Torquay’s surf beach is at the south of the town and has relatively small and gentle waves regularly rolling in. The soft waves, easy entry to ocean and surf board rental options with-in walking distance make the Torquay Surf Beach ideal for beginners.
Torquay is at the start of the Great Ocean Road and Surf Coast that attracts millions of tourists each year, then with multiple surf schools running lessons at the Surf Beach, it’s pretty much always busy here. Although it’s popular, there always seems to be some space as a lot of families with young kids will head over to the calmer waters of the Torquay Front Beach and Fishermans Beach, where-as a lot of the more experiences surfers will walk west to Jan Juc Beach or drive a few minutes further to the world-famous Bells Beach and Southside Beach.
Getting to the Surf Beach in Torquay
The Torquay Surf Beach is right at the south of town, this is why it also gets referred to as the ‘Torquay Back Beach’.
As you’re driving into Torquay on the Surf Coast Highway from Geelong or Melbourne, once you go past Surf City where all of the surf factory outlets are, turn left at the round about and follow the signs to the beach. It doesn’t really matter where you park, as long as you’re on the southern end of Torquay, it’ll only be a short walk to the Surf Beach.
Where to rent a surf board & wetsuit
Torquay Surf Academy rent wetsuits and surf boards, then you can walk directly south through the caravan and camping park to get to the Torquay Surf Beach. This makes it super easy as then you only need to get yourself to Torquay and don’t need to worry about carting the surfboards to a beach that’s suitable for surfing.
For more experienced surfers looking for bigger waves, walk to the west of the Torquay Surf Beach over Spring Creek and past Rocky Point to Jan Juc Beach.
Other surf beaches near Torquay
For 20 kilometres to east and hundreds of kilometres west, the coastline is packed with beaches perfect for surfing.
This particular area has the offical name as the ‘Surf Coast‘ and if you have the time to travel any part of it, you’ll see why. There are surf beaches ideal for beginners and others for more advanced surfers right along the coast.
For big waves and serious surfing, you have a lot of options close by. Separating the Torquay Surf Beach by a creek and Rocky Point is Jan Juc Beach. Here, things really step up a notch with much steeper waves that tend to dump, although beginners can try paddling around here, it’s best to expect to have fun here if you actually know how to surf.
A few kilometres to the west of Jan Juc is Bells Beach and Southside Beach. No matter the weather, if decent waves are rolling in here, you’re bound to see some pro surfers as Bells is known as one of the best surf beaches in the world and it’s where the Rip Curl World Championships is held each year.
If you’re a bit more than a beginner but not ready to enter the green room just yet, keep heading west to Urquhart Bluff, Sandymead Beach or Fairhaven Beach.
In the opposite direction heading back to Melbourne is 13th Beach at Barwon Heads. Some beginners head to the west of the beach where waves can be around 1 metre, then more experienced surfers go to the far east where huge waves regularly barrel in. The eastern end of 13th Beach near the Barwon Heads Bluff is super popular for serious surfers.
For beginners, Ocean Grove (just to the east of Barwon Heads) is perfect. You can rent a board in town and the beach goes for miles with gentle waves.