Mahalo Surf Experience is Defining the Zenith of Surf Travel

Sometimes you get lucky enough to connect with someone who gets it, and who gets you. The type who has a special touch that even talking with them feels refreshing, a genuine human-to-human experience. This is how I felt after connecting with Felippe Dal Piero, a fellow surfer and explorer with a innate ability to understand and connect people.

Felippe is the founder of Mahalo Surf Experience, a bespoke travel outfit specializing in extraordinary expeditions that are intentionally limited in size and frequency. The goal is not to scale into a massive operation that serves hundreds of people annually, rather one that goes the distance in providing the best experience possible to one group at a time and only a few times each year.

By design, it is exclusive. By nature, it is human. The emphasis is rooted in a meticulous two-way focus: on the travelers and the providers. It’s not a snobby ‘white glove’ affair, it’s based on respect and making the most out of everyone's most precious asset: time.

When he's not traveling, he's based in Portugal but is consistently keeping up with his unique network of clients and partners from Switzerland to Brazil and Japan to Dubai, with a rolodex that could very well include the Prince of Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo. Nothing would surprise me.

Save for a few exceptions, Felippe being one, I’ve probably spent more time thinking about surf travel than most people. I’ve worked in the industry. I’ve traveled all around. I’ve helped people on their way. Not saying I am an ‘expert’ but I certainly have a pretty well-formulated opinion that, in essence, truly comes down to the intention of the traveler and the reality of the place.

When it comes to very wealthy travelers, there’s the good and the bad. But that goes across the spectrum—it doesn’t matter how much you have, where you are from, or how good you surf—what matters is how you treat those you meet and how you show respect as a visitor. I’d rather surf with people who have good vibes regardless of how much money they have.

As for the place, some places are undergoing such seismic shifts and pressure from over tourism that they’re best left alone, especially during peak season. Now if you can truly offer to get someone away from the crowds, well, that is the golden ticket. If you can do so without going to the Arctic, even better.

At the end of the day, the best things in life aren’t things at all—it’s what you feel inside. To be able to travel anywhere for waves is already a privilege, whether you do it by hitchhiking or by taking a yacht, the vessel itself is a detail in the larger pursuit of happiness. We can’t take anything with us when life is done—not surfboards, not yachts, not whatever is in our bank account—but no one can take our memories from us.

Although once confined to young rebels, outcasts, and misfits, the surfing spectrum is now vast. When you've shared the lineup with all sorts, you realize one thing is the same, we are all chasing that feeling of transcendental freedom. In other words, bliss.

How we go about it is a reflection of how we see ourselves. It’s easy to judge someone for the way they do something, it takes more effort to try and understand why they do it that way.

Put it this way, if you’re the captain of a vessel like the Kudanil Explorer, you want to the opportunity to work with elite clients because you yourself are an elite operator. Vice versa, if you’ve worked your way to the top of the system, you don’t want to put yourself at the mercy of a novice captain and questionable vessel—you want to feel like you’re being met where you are. 

All of this is to say that you’d be mistaken to write off the Mahalo trips as just another luxury surf travel operation. Luxury has become a catch all word to try upsell things that are actually quite common. Think of luxury goods like designer handbags or apparel—is there any real difference in a Gucci backpack versus one from Target? Aesthetically, yes. Functionally, no. 

Now, think of a bag made by an elder artisan, someone with decades of experience and passion, who sources and finishes each creation themselves. In this regard, we may as well talk about surfboards: On one hand, you have a Gerry Lopez foamy from Costco. On the other, you have a hand-shaped Gerry Lopez Pipeline gun. That’s where Mahalo Surf Experience falls on the spectrum, beyond luxury and solidly in the realm of one-of-a-kind. 

To be clear, I’ve never been on surf charter boat trip but, if I had my way, I would skip the Ments and the Maldives, and truly go explore to locations not often mentioned. I’ve heard too many stories of crowds and sketchy boats. If given the opportunity, the Kudanil Explorer would be at the top of my list. 

More expedition steamship than simple yacht, the boat may very well be the most spacious and sturdy in all of Indonesia. Not that all Mahalo offerings are boat trips, they work with a vetted network of unique resorts and private villas too. Essentially, each trip is customized exactly to what the customer needs. If Indo is too far, Costa Rica could be the call. If it’s a short, last-minute situation, a special strike mission can be assembled. 

Behind it all is Felippe, who channels his passion for surf exploration and human connection into every detail of the experience.

Related: In Search of Empty Waves: John Seaton Callahan and the Lost Art of Surf Discovery