Parlour
Barbados Surf Spots
Surf Guide
Parlour is a wave with many looks. On smaller days, it offers gentle, soft shoulders for beginners and intermediate surfers. It's almost like a tropical San Onofre. On bigger days, only a few are willing to tackle it and it gets heavy. Really heavy. And it can easily hold up to triple overhead. Parlour is also the most consistent spot in the area, picking up any wind swell scraps as well as any ground swell that hits that side of the island. Where there may not be enough swell to make Soup Bowl work, Parlour will still have fun, clean lines running across the inside reef sections.Parlour easily handles big winter northeast swells. Big winter north swells can produce a rip, but also some solid left-hand walls. Parlour prefers a straight-on east wind swell or south swell in the summer produced by passing tropical waves. It will offer up clean, sloping A-frames that are softer on the takeoff, but then zip along on the inside. Check out Parlour if you want to take a break from the Soup Bowl crowd or just want a fun change of pace.
Ability Level
All Abilities
Beginner to Advanced--depends on the swell, but everyone can surf it some time during the year.
Local Vibe
Welcoming
Not much.
Crowd Factor
Mellow
Not usually.
Spot Rating
Fun
Just down from Soup Bowl but doesn't offer as good of a wave.
Shoulder Burn
Medium
Depends on the size of the surf.
Water Quality
Clean
Pretty good.
Ideal Surf Conditions
Swell Direction
NE, E
Wind
South, Southwest
Surf Height
Well overhead-3x overhead
Tide
Low, incoming