First up - your board. If you can, take more than one - unless you are happy to hire equipment wherever you are going. Be aware that even well organised surf trips can start going wrong when you realise that local hire prices (you did come here to surf, after all) are the equivalent of surf shack owners shooting fish in a barrel.
You're the fish; all those sunny looking surf huts scattered alongside the beach at your destination are the barrel. Tip number one, then, when preparing for surf vacations, is this: take your own board and if you can take more than one.
You're not particularly likely to do anything serious to your board when you are surfing (unless you decide to take on some pro style barrels): you are, though, likely to find that it sustains some irritating damage in transit. Taking more than one board spreads the risk and means you are likely to have something to ride while your other one is being fixed.
Which leads us to point number two. Take a decent ding repair kit with you. When preparing for surf vacations, the second thing that should be going in your bag, after your boards, is a bunch of resin and filler, and some squares of 4oz cloth. Don't get to those perfect waves and find that your quiver is full of holes,and you with nothing to fix it.
Clothes: you won't need any. Take a couple of pairs of board shorts, a couple of UV resistant rashies and as much sun lotion as you can get your hands on. Trust this: if you run out of sun block, you will pay fifteen pounds a go for tiny bottles of the stuff in the local store. Preparing for surf vacations is all about second guessing the things that you can't do without and sun cream is definitely top of the list.
As is wax. No wax means no waves: and you will find the stuff is like gold dust when you get to where you are going. Buy a bulk lot of wax cheap and stash as much as you can in the bottom of that board bag. If you don't run out you will have something to barter with!
You can buy clothes appropriate to the weather when you get where you are going. Trust this too: nothing you own will do you the slightest bit of good at 1pm in the tropics. Stick to boardies and rashies and get the rest when you get where you are going. Oh - and use plumber's lagging to encase the rails, nose and tail of your board. Preparing for surf vacations is also about improvising: and lagging is the best stuff on earth to keep your quiver safe in the hold of a plane.
