Learn to surf in Hawaii: Hawaiian Surfing Adventures

If you want to learn to surf in Hawaii, you need to learn from the locals. The minute we checked in at Hawaiian Surfing Adventures in Hanalei Bay, Kauai, we knew we were with o’hana, or family. We met many members of the Alapa family, who have owned this business for years. We were met by an uncle, driven to the beach by the father, and taught by a son and cousin.

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Everyone took pride in the business, and best of all, seemed to have fun doing what they do. Their motto at Hawaiian Surfing Adventures is that surfing (and anything you do on Hawaii, actually) should be ‘easy’. They made that happen as we successfully surfed and had a blast doing it.

What to expect:

We found the business location easily enough along the main road of Hanalei, just last the liquor store if coming in from Princeville. We were asked to be there 30 minutes before our lesson time, and we filled out the usual waivers and got fitted for our rash guards. We then locked any valuables in our car and left the keys with the office crew, and hopped on board a surf jeep that took us on the short drive to Hanalei Bay Beach.

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You’ll want sunglasses, sunscreen, and perhaps a camera with you at this point; we were advised we could bring towels too, but we actually never needed them. At the beach, we placed our belongings in a plastic bin (everything valuable should be at your car) and spend about 20 minutes learning how to paddle, stand up, and get back down on our boards while on land. We got useful tips on balance and stance—plus practical tips on getting out into the surf—from our teachers, Evan and Mitchell, before being let loose on the waves.

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We entered the water, and here’s the good news: it was easier than I’d anticipated to paddle the board through the surf to the area where we’d be catching waves. Mitchell and Evan helped us know which waves to try for, and when to start paddling to catch them. The bad news: the hardest part for most of us was timing the waves to actually catch them. Luckily for us, the Alapa family motto of ‘make it easy’ ensured a nice push from the team to get us in front of good waves. Once we’d caught them, we were all successful in standing up and riding them. And yes, it was as fun as it seems.

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Everyone in our group, from age 10 to 40, had a blast. Evan and Mitchell took care to ensure the kids were always helped and accounted for (which isn’t easy with our adventurous kids) and made them all feel great about their attempts. We enjoyed our hour on the water so much, we decided to return to Hawaiian Surfing Adventures later in the week to rent surf boards to keep practicing on our own. Rentals are only $15 for half a day, and they’ll deliver them to the beach for you. Again…they make it easy!

Pricing:

You can opt for private or semi-private lessons, but we found the ratio in group lessons to be excellent. Group lessons are $65 per person. Plan to tip your instructors!

Directions:

Find Hawaiian Surfing Adventures at 5-5134 Kuhio Highway 96714. Look for the yellow surfboard outside!

As we disclose whenever applicable, we experienced our surfing lesson at a media rate, for the purpose of review. We wanted to be able to tell readers what surfing in Hanalei is really like!

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