Guide to Midway Islands surfing holidays

Midway Atoll is genuinely bizarre place. It lies, more or less, slap bang in the middle of the Pacific Ocean between California and Japan – which is more or less on the polar opposite side of the world from the UK. It’s essentially very, very far away from anything.

Surfing the Midway Islands is something that few people have managed to do, though on paper it would be almost perfect. It’s 360° exposure to the full brunt of the Pacific would make the Hawaiians feel a little hard done by – this along with it’s stereotypical paradisiacal attributes would make it an obvious little surfing haven for wave-chasers worldwide.

Unfortunately there are one or two problems standing in the way of Midway becoming the next Tahiti or Fiji. Essentially all that it is today is a lonely ex American military outpost that is covered, to a staggering degree, with birds. Today the entire population of the island numbers 60, and most of this lofty figure is comprised of contracted Thai workers.

“Well”, you say to yourself, “that sounds like an adventure to me – birds, Thais, abandoned buildings – I reckon I can handle that”. Last year you could have been one of the 332 adventures who said just that and paid a visit to the islands, but as of 2013 all tours and volunteer programmes have been discontinued. It might, in this case, require you to charter your own vessel to get there.

Though if one were to surmount these obstacles a surfer would most definitely be rewarded. Virgin waves rising out of turquoise waters, the occasional giant turtle bobbing up to say hello, the purple pacific sunsets – It could be the next big adventure. Maybe it’s time to get on to the nearest yacht charterers, throw a few grand at them and demand immediate passage to Midway – you could be visitor number one this year.