There is no surf at San Marcos — the bay is sheltered, which is exactly why it is good for swimming. The waves are twenty-five minutes east, at two beaches our hosts name.
The two spots
Playa Martiánez, in Puerto de la Cruz, is the main one and the easiest to reach. It is also the one with the caveat: the seabed and the shore are rocky. That is worth knowing before your first wipeout, and it is why you will see people wearing booties.
Playa del Socorro, near Los Realejos, is the better wave and the more serious beach. It has a local crowd and a reputation to match.
Lessons
Our hosts recommend Surf School La Marea at Playa Martiánez, and for anyone who is not already competent that is the sensible route. This is Atlantic water with rocks in it, not a Mediterranean beach break, and local knowledge about where and when to paddle out is the thing you are actually paying for.
Season and conditions
The north coast catches Atlantic swell most consistently through the winter, which happens to be when the island is quietest and cheapest. Summer is smaller and more forgiving for learning.
Whatever the season, the flag system and the lifeguards apply here as much as they do to swimming, and the conditions on this coast change through the day.
Making a day of it
Puerto de la Cruz is a proper town, so a surf morning turns easily into an afternoon: the murals in the old quarter, lunch somewhere that is not Canarian, and the drive back along the coast.
What to bring
A wetsuit for most of the year. The Atlantic here is noticeably colder than the Mediterranean and than the south of the island — this is open ocean water, and even in summer a shorty is usually welcome. Hire shops and schools carry them.
Booties are worth considering at Playa Martiánez specifically, given the rocky bottom.
If the surf is flat
The same stretch of coast has plenty else. Rambla del Castro is a two-hour coastal walk starting a few minutes from Playa del Socorro, and Puerto de la Cruz has the Lago Martiánez seawater pools if you want to be in the water regardless of conditions.
And the sheltered bay at San Marcos is always swimmable when the open coast is not — that is the advantage of being tucked between two cliffs.