Our Story

We are three surfers with a common passion – the love of the sea, surfing and travelling. After countless surf trips all over the world we founded the Surf&Skate Guesthouse “Element Called Water” in Hossegor, France in 2005 and the shop “backoorsurf.ch” in 2001. Always in search of the best waves we continued to travel a lot. Our surf trips took us all over Europe, Morocco, North, Central and South America, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and the South Pacific. After our first surfboat trip in 2010 we realized that there is no better way to travel if you want to surf as much as possible in the shortest possible travel time. Since then we have organized surf trips on boats at least once a year. The perfect waves, the freedom on the boat and the warm, tropical climate and water of the Maldives and Indonesia are unbeatable for us, so we would like to share our knowledge and passion with you and look forward to welcoming you soon on board one of our boats.

​SURF-TREASURES is a loose collective in which everyone can participate. For our individual surf trips we offer you the possibility to charter boats or island surf resorts. We only work with boats, resorts and crews with whom we have personally been on a trip. Our crews understand the needs of surfers and offer you the best possible service. These waters still hide so many secrets for surfers. The countless islands are home to many world-class waves, as well as some hidden spots that only work under certain conditions. Here the knowledge of our guides is the key to find the best possible spot, always with the aim to spend as much time as possible surfing, preferably alone. Come with us on a journey of discovery. Let us plan a surf trip for you that fits your budget and needs.

Our surf guides in the Maldives are locals – their knowledge and understanding of the atolls and conditions of the Maldives is the key to an unforgettable surf trip. Local expertise, experience and an insider knowledge of all breaks, whether known or not, and much more. Our boat crews focus on the needs of surfers, they understand what surfers are looking for and give their best for your epic surf trip.

​We have a local focus and work with the local people, in friendship and mutual interest, to guarantee the best possible trips for us and for them.

We are aware that this type of surf travel is not sustainable. Especially as a Swiss, for example, it is impossible to travel Co2 free to the sea for surfing, and distant, tropical destinations are even more difficult. It is very important to us to do everything possible to minimize our negative impact on the planet and nature while following our passion. We recommend all our guests compensate the CO2 of their flights in order to travel climate neutral to the destinations. On site we also calculate the output of the boats, so that you can also compensate your boat trip if you wish as well.

To reduce the waste problem on the islands, we actively avoid bottled water during our trips and offer water dispensers instead of water in plastic bottles. This alone saves us up to 350 plastic bottles per boat trip compared to other charter boats! In the future, we will also donate to organizations such as Sea Shepperd and Surfrider Foundation.