Salvacion
Direction: Right.
Level: Intermediate
Best wind: South
Best swell size: 3 - 8ft
Best swell direction: East - North East
Best tide: Mid tide.
Best for: Intermediate surfers looking for decent sized waves without big crowds.
Crowd factor: Medium. Salvacion is a bit further away than other spots so usually it’s less crowded though it can get busy when the conditions are good and other spots aren't working.
Kind of wave: Typical Salvacion is a shoulder to head high, clean wave with long right-handed rides. Because it is protected from the wind, Salvacion is a favorite in the winter whereas other waves will be messy or just too blown-out to surf. For this reason, Salvacion is actually busiest during the winter months. Salvacion does need a bigger swell to produce decent-sized waves. You can go to Cloud 9 to check and Salvacion will be about half the size of Cloud 9. So during a typical swell Salvacion will be shoulder high and good, clean fun. During smaller swells Salvacion can be knee - waist high and best left for beginners. During big swells, where Cloud 9 and other spots here are too big you can go to Salvacion and find overhead waves. And during monster swells where Cloud 9 is almost triple overhead you can drive to Salvacion and find big, scary, 1 1/2 - 2x overhead waves. At these times it's best to leave Salvacion to advanced surfers. But all in all, the typical Salvacion is about shoulder high, glassy, a little fast on the take-off but quite manageable. The only time Salvacion will not be working well is if the wind is coming straight down from the North because Salvacion faces South.
Surf season: All-year except summer months.
Salvacion can be surfed year-round because it's protected from the winds by an island directly East of the break.. For this reason, Salvacion is one of the few spots working during the winter months and is also most crowded during the winter. During the Spring and Fall Salvacion works fine (as does everywhere else) but in the summer months of June, July, August Salvacion is usally flat. So except for summer Salvacion can be surfed 90% of the time.
How to get there: Salvacion is about 25 minutes drive from General Luna. There are 2 ways to get there now but they’ll both take about the same time. If you’re closer to General Luna you can go along the main Hiway towards Dapa and turn right at the village of Conseulo. If you’re closer to Catagnan / Cloud 9, you can take the new Catagnan bridge (Sunset bridge) and pass through Santa Fe on your way to Salvacion. The easiest way is just to put Salvacion Elementary School into Google Maps and follow the directions. However, Google maps only shows the route along the highway, for some reason the new route across Catagnan bridge doesn’t come up. Going over the Catagnan bridge and through Sante Fe is definitely the more scenic route and may be a few minutes faster depending where you’re leaving from. So ask around and people will be able to tell you the directions.
Route 1: Take the national highway out of General Luna on the way to Dapa. Turn right at the town of Conseulo where you see signs for the Wakepark. Pass the Wakepark and the town of Corazon and you’ll see a major paved road going down and to the left. Take that left turn and follow it all the way to the end, that’s Salvacion.
Routte 2: Cross Catagnan bridge and pass the towns of Cabitoonan and Libertad and through Sante Fe where the road make a 90 degree left turn. Keep going till you exit Santa Fe and then you’ll pass through another village, Santa Cruz. After that start looking for a paved road that goes down and to the right. Make that right turn and follow the road all the way to the end, that’s Salvacion.
Once you reach Salvacion, take a left into the village and find your way to the pier, there’s really only one main road through town so it’s easy. Once you reach the pier you will need to take a short 5 minute boat ride. It costs 200php per person for a return trip (I’ve heard it’s now 250p but haven’t confirmed this myself). They run the boats a little strangely in Salvacion now to be honest. They’re small boats with a minimum of 3 people AND a maximum 3 people. So if you’re group is smaller than 3 you’ll have to wait for someone to join or pay for 3pax. If you’re group is larger than 3 then you’ll split into two boats.. and again if the 2nd boat isn’t full then you’ll again have to either wait for joiners or pay for 3pax. So I’m not a big fan of this system but I put up with it cause I love surfing Salvacion. Best if you go with exactly 3 people haha.
