1) Supertubes, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa

Home to the perfect wave! Supertubes is proclaimed by anyone who ever waxed a board (and most world champions) as the most perfect and predictable wave in the world, with great swell, tubes and the most consistent wave formations in South Africa. Waves can get big, sometimes as high as 3m. Surfers go here to pay homage to the legend, as part of a pilgrimage and to ride swells that last up to three minutes long if you catch them when the swell's right. Just watch out for the sharks – there's more here than just about anywhere in the world, due to the warmth of the Indian Ocean waters. But, for purists, there is no better place to be. Jeffreys Bay is located on the Eastern Cape, 65km south-west of Port Elizabeth. Read more....

2. Pipeline, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii, USA

Probably the best-known surf spot in the world, Pipeline attracts surfers from all over the world; some people make their entire careers out of surfing the Pipe. Pipeline is capable of pulling the most incredible disappearing acts: one moment a .5m closeout, the next, a 3m wave roaring along with all the power that’s drawn surfers here for generations. Read more....

3. Snapper Rocks, Coolangatta, Queensland, Australia

Expect a certain electricity around ‘Cooly’ come Quiksilver Pro contest time, when the best surfers in the world descend on one of the best surf beaches in Australia. Situated on the southern-most tip of the Gold Coast, Snapper Rocks is a gnarly outcrop of old lava rock set sideways to the line of coast, and the start of almost 1.6km of right sandbar point break on probably the single most crowded surfing area in the world. On a good day it's possible to count more than 1000 surfers in the water, yet somehow the crowd usually takes care of itself. The wave is located 24km south of Surfers Paradise and 76km south of Brisbane. Read more....

4. Teahupo’o, Taiarapu, Tahiti

Known as the ‘world's heaviest wave,’ the waves at Teahupo'o (pronounced Cho-poo) have produced a well-trodden path to a destination still hidden from mainstream surfers. Teahupo'o is often bigger than anywhere else as a result of facing directly into the prevailing south-west groundswell. Breaking 700m out to sea, ‘Chopes,’ as the break is affectionately known, sits off a 100m drop-off just 50m away from a half-moon-shaped reef. The wave is located an hour’s drive from Papeete. Read more....

5. Cloudbreak, Tavarua Island, Fiji

Sitting a mile south of Tavarua Island, Cloudbreak is regarded as one of the planet’s best left-hand reef breaks. Situated in shallow water, the fast outer-reef wave produces majestic walls and barrels. Traditional custom is an advantage to surfing in Fiji, which decrees that local tribes with rights to their island home also have rights to the reefs around it. That means the only people who are surfing the break with you are the people staying on the island. Tavarua Island is a 30-minute boat ride from the main Fijian island of Viti Levu. Read more....