20 Sep 2025 31 Days All Levels Split Payment Options Trips from £11995

Overview

A global surf adventure like no other - 7 months of surf, travel, training and personal transformation, through Sri Lanka, South Africa and Mozambique, whilst gaining qualifications and getting a job interview at the end!

If you're dreaming of a gap year packed with sun, surf, travel and personal growth — this is it. The Epic Gap Year is your passport to adventure across two continents, three countries, and the kind of life experience that shapes your future, combined with a qualification and access to job opportunities globally.

Over 7 months, you’ll go from surf student to surf instructor, from curious traveller to confident global citizen, supported every step of the way by professional coaches and like-minded people who'll become lifelong friends.

What to Expect

Part 1: Sri Lanka Surf Academy

Highlights:

  • Train at our world-class Surf Academy
  • Expert surf coaching and video analysis
  • Ocean theory, fitness, and water safety
  • Explore local temples, tea plantations, and wildlife
  • Stay with a vibrant surf community at the Ticket to Ride Surf House in Ahangama
  • Earn your ISA Level 1 Instructor Certificate and ILS Water Safety Award

Part 2: Apprenticeship in Sri Lanka

What You’ll Gain:

  • On-the-ground surf coaching experience
  • Leadership & teamwork development
  • Immersive community living and cultural exchange
  • Time to travel around Sri Lanka on off days
  • Friends for life!

Part 3: Ultimate Surf Road Trip

Highlights:

  • 3,000km overland surf safari
  • Surf iconic African breaks like Jeffreys Bay & Tofo
  • Safari, diving, and cultural excursions
  • Epic campfire nights and beachside sunsets
  • Work experience and access to jobs globally

Why Choose the Epic Gap Year?

  • All-in-One Adventure – Combine travel, surf coaching, qualifications, and work experience
  • Hassle-Free Experience – Immerse yourself completely into the cultures of three amazing countries with experienced professionals
  • International Connections – Join a community of surfers and surf camp operators from around the world 
  • Career-Boosting – Gain real-life experience, qualifications, stories that make you stand out and we’ll set you up with job interviews at the end

Who’s It For?

Whether you’re fresh out of school, taking a career break, or just craving something meaningful and adventurous — the Epic Gap Year is for you. You don’t need prior surf experience — just a sense of adventure and a willingness to say yes.

Trip Timeline

Here you'll find a day by day breakdown of your course.

  • Arugam Bay to Ahangama, Sri Lanka

    Kick start your journey learning the fundamentals of surfing, traveling from the East to West Coast of Sri Lanka, through the beautiful Hill Country, whilst honing your new-found surfing skills and getting you ready for your ISA Level 1 Surf Instructor Award and Surf Lifeguard Qualification.

  • Apprenticeship in Sri Lanka

    Apply your new skills and qualification with a two-month surf coaching apprenticeship. You'll live with and shadow our top team of instructors, assist with lessons, and gain practical experience working in an unparalleled surf environment at the Ticket to Ride Surf House in Ahangama.

  • Ultimate African Surf Road Trip

    Your adventure levels up with a legendary overland surf road trip across southern Africa. Starting in Cape Town and ending in tropical Mozambique, you’ll live the life, chase world-class waves, whilst gaining the experience of a lifetime.

Qualifications

International Surfing Association (ISA) Level 1 Surf Instructor / Coaching qualification

This will be run out of the Ticket to Ride Surf House in Ahangama and is a two day course run by Surfing Sri Lanka. It has several different components, including beach safety, teaching methods, health and safety, teaching surf lessons and of course, the practical surfing test.

The Lifesaving Course

Designed specifically for surf coaches and run at the Ticket to Ride Surf House, it covers everything from first aid, spinal board rescue and board rescue. There is also a timed swim where you're required to swim 400m in a pool in under 9 minutes. The whole Ticket to Ride Surf Academy prepares and trains you for surf instructor success, so don't stress! There will also be opportunities to re-take any elements you didn't pass for whatever reason.

What past riders say


FAQs

Got a question about this course? Here's the best place to start. If you don't find your answer here, you can request a callback or get in touch using our contact page.

You will need a flight into Colombo Bandaranayake International Airport (CMB) on or before the trip start date of 20th September 2025. You will need a flight from CMB to Cape Town International (CPT) to arrive on or before 24th January 2026 and you will need a flight out of Durban International Airport on 25th April 2026.

For Sri Lanka you must have Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) you can get this here: www.eta.gov.lk. You will want to get a 30 day tourist visa, this can be extended when in the country.

For most countries South African immigration will issue you with a holiday visa on arrival. This visa is free of charge and valid for 90 days. If you will be staying longer than 90 days you will need to apply for your visa extension early on in your trip. The 90 day holiday visas are only issued on the grounds that you have proof of return/onward travel out of South Africa. Please do double check with your embassy before departing for South Africa and check out the latest Foreign Travel Advice by going to www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

For Mozambique most foreign citizens require a 30 day visa for entry to Mozambique. These are now purchased at the border crossing and your Trip Leader will be there to guide you through the process.

When leaving Mozambique to re-enter South Africa, to fly home, you will get a short 1 - 7 day visa until your flight leaves.

If you fly into Colombo Bandaranayake International Airport in Sri Lanka on the arrival day and out of Durban International Airport on the departure day we will pick you up and drop you off with a smile :)

In Sri Lanka you’re on a half board basis, and in South Africa and Mozambique breakfast is included. Meals in all of these countries can be extremely cheap if you eat locally, but a budget of £100 per week in Sri Lanka and £150 per week in South Africa and Mozambique will suffice.

This varies as we will have a few late teens on their gap years, as well as people in their twenties, thirties, forties and fifties! The one thing that everyone has in common is they want to improve their surfing, travel, meet like-minded people and gain their surf instructor qualifications. Rebekah was 54 when she did her course and smashed it, she also made a new bestie, Carina who was 19. Read more here.

You can have absolutely no experience at all and we will teach you the skills required to become a full qualified surf instructor throughout the course. 

Generally speaking, people tend to struggle with the timed swim in the lifeguard course and the practical surfing element of the surf coaching course. The lifeguard course requires a timed 5 minute swim in a 200m pool and this is more than achievable, as your coaches are there to guide you throughout the trip to ensure you pass.

Similarly, we believe that everyone has the ability to pass the practical surfing element of the instructor course as long as they keep focused and practice throughout the trip. Our current pass rate is approximately 90 per cent and if you don't pass first time around, you can always retake it in South Africa, or retake elements that you may not have passed and provide video evidence to the course presenter.

Your first year's ISA (International Surfing Association) Membership is included in the course fee. You must ensure you pay your membership annually (directly to ISA via their website) in order to hold a valid qualification and membership with ISA. If you miss this deadline, you may be required to take the course again.

The ILS lifesaving course is valid for 2 years. After this time you will need to take a 'refresher' course. This is shorter and cheaper than the full course and is designed to refresh your skills and update you on new methods and techniques. After this, you're required to take a Refresher course every 2-years. Should you miss any of these deadlines then you will be required to take the full course again.

We will set you up an interview at our partner surf schools; WaveHunters or Harlyn Surf School in Cornwall, UK, Latas Surf Camp in Spain, or Surf Camp Australia. We currently have a 100% success rate in secure course graduates a job at the above locations.

Straight from the surf