Private Surfing Lesson: Two Hours of Beginner Instruction

Lots of fun for my fist try at surfing. Turner, my instructor, was excellent at explaining and demonstrating techniques. The location seems ideal to this non-expert. Enough swells to learn and have fun and yet not too intense. If you get a private lesson, be prepared for plenty of sleep at night!

My daughter had a great time her first time surfing! Noah was a great instructor, super helpful and effective, now she wants her own surfboard! Definitely recommend for anyone interested in surfing

What a fun and awesome staff! After a busy week of snorkeling, body boarding and such, we were feeling our 50s by the time we made our way to the Kaimana for surf lessons with Kai Sallas' Pro Surf School. We met Turner when renting a paddleboard, and immediately warmed up to him as he described the water and waves around the Kaimana. We were still a bit nervous about our ability to surf, but turned up for our lessons and couldn't help but be buoyed by Turner's enthusiasm and encouragement. He's a treasure to the school and hotel, and I just wish we had been there a few more days to take another lesson!

My 5.5 year old daughter and I took a private surf lessons with Kai and Lowen today and had an amazing time. She stood up and caught on immediately. It took momma a little longer but they were super patient and I finally got the hang of it. The beach was very private and the waves were perfect. The kiddo now wants to be a professional surfer!

My husband and I wanted to try surfing while visiting Oahu and we were so glad we did. It was so much fun, our instructor Jake was fantastic, and we haven't stopped talking about it since. The location was great, as you can stand in the water if you are tired from paddling and take a break before catching the next wave. We would book again with the school in a heartbeat when we go back to Oahu.

We were too late for a group lesson, so we ended up doing a private lesson for our family of four. Lucky for us, it was with Kai Sallas himself! He was so down to earth that we didn't realize we were with the longboard world champion. And thankfully, he was very patient! You hear so many horror stories about people (who don't know what they're doing) getting hurt or hurting others when trying to surf (actually happened to a friend of our's). And if you're lucky enough not to injure others or get injured yourself, not many people actually are able to catch a wave. That's the hardest part - way more than standing up on the board. Because Kai pushes you with the wave as it comes, all you have to do is stand (the way he tells you to), and you're surfing! Then, you get to come home with brag photos!

My 9 year old wanted to learn how to surf. With a quick in office orientation as to how to surf, we drove out to the beach and within 15 minutes, my son was surfing. Low waves in shallow water, but he was up and doing it. The clincher was that they provided Go Pro pictures right from the edge of the surf board (for an extra charge)! The only thing that would have made it better was if Kai had shown up himself. My son was so happy! They provide the water shoes and rash guard too. The water is shallow which would be good for a nervous person, but it there are also reef rocks making it a potentially dangerours location to surf. For a young person it might be hard to navigate the reef rocks and think about surfing.

Enjoyed the lessons. The instructors were great. The location was very poor as we learned to surf in shallow water with a reef floor. The concern over injury impacted the lesson. On the last run of the lesson my daughter hit the reef and got a very nasty cut which impacted the next couple of days of our vacation.

Two children and one adult used the facilities. $109 per person for three two-hour semi-private lessons. Marriott guests later noticed there was a 10% discount. I spent the first 30 minutes in the shop with other customers explaining how to stand, but I have no idea because it's in English! It's a semi-private lesson, so I wish the three of you had taken me straight to the beach. After the explanation, we moved to the beach and started the lesson. The instructor spoke broken Japanese hard. Lessons on the beach last about an hour. The children were able to stand up immediately. I'm a little bit unhappy with the time allocation system, but the instructors were good, so I'm good.

My daughter and husband have never surfed. I used to because I grew up on the PCH and well, it's just what you do! This surf lesson was recommended via our concierge at The Waikiki Marriott Resort & Spa. My husband booked a private lesson for he and my daughter. We met down in the surf shop later in the afternoon. The lesson took place right there in the shop with Lowen; basic 'how to's' on getting up ; paddling out; leg placement and balance. The boards are blue foam. We were by a kind of rundown van shuttled out to a less busy beach away from Waikiki. Shoes were lended to both and we assumed rash guards would be too. My husband swore that he asked and that was confirmed upon booking. No rash guards were supplied; trust me.. You need these. The instructor was cool and nice enough. Both my daughter and my husband were able to surf within minutes of being out in the ocean. My daughter ended up loving surfing so much, she wants to go do more over the summer. That was a plus! NOT having rash guards was not , as both her and my husband were pretty rashed after an hour of surfing and hitting course sand and reef. The boards could have been a little better in quality, as well, as the lessons aren't cheap! The other issue we had, was being told that having a 'go pro' to video or film the session would render 100% loss of the device. That may be or not be true. We didn't chance it. After the session the instructor offered to air drop us the video and pix of both for $75 a piece if we gave him cash on the spot. I didn't have that much cash on me. He said he would upload them and we could get them from the shop the next morning via credit card. We wanted them! The next day we called and the girl that checked us in for the prior days lesson said we could have called the day before and she wished she had known. There were no uploaded pix. She said she would call us with the pix which we could them get via Dropbox later that day. She never called. It was 4 days after we returned back to the Mainland and several calls before we got these pix. Island time? I don't know. Improvements could be made.. the lesson itself was great .. maybe a better place and the lesson not in the shop. Rash guards are huge and updated equipment to match cost is key too. They could also have some sort of package so the customer knows the photos will be pricey and optional. It seemed tacky to do that after and then take so many calls to get photos that cost NOTHING to video;not that I am saying they should be free, but $150 for two is a lot. We were also entitled to a small discount by booking this surf school via our concierge and we never got it. 3 stars and on the fence whether to return or recommend.