Hanalei Surf School
Hanalei Surf School
4.5
Surfing & Windsurfing • Stand Up Paddleboarding
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8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 8:00 PM
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Hanalei Surf School
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
52 reviews
Excellent
45
Very good
2
Average
3
Poor
0
Terrible
2
JoeKupe
Victor, NY646 contributions
Jul 2021
Lance, or as one of our guys knew him, Lant, was a fantastic instructor for our three surfers, two who had never surfed before. Originally from San Diego and living in Hawaii since he was 16 Lance has been at HSS for two years. Lance is very personable and attentive. The surf lesson was in the calmer waters of Hanalei Bay and we followed Lance there from HSS as we had the first lessons of the day. It is always better to schedule them earlier is what we heard and recommend. Lance stayed with our group the entire time, never leaving his post. The three surfers felt they had an excellent lesson and were comfortable enough to go out on their own two days later on the rougher waters of Poipu Beach. From listening to Lance we know all the instructors from the different schools are friendly with each and my guess is each does a good job as they are well aware of their ratings on the various review sites!
Written August 16, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ian
3 contributions
Oct 2022 • Couples
My fiance and I booked a lesson with Evan for my birthday, we both had some surfing experience but fairly rusty and never got beyond being beginners. Our goal was to make the most of the one day we were here with good surf, and ride a few waves in Kauai.
Hanalei is probably one of the best beaches on the planet to learn surfing at for folks who feel comfortable in the water. The temperature is lovely, the beach is gorgeous. There's a lot of wave diversity from the inside to the outside of the reef, the paddle to the outside is long but protected, and the waves when we were there were fun but forgiving at ~4ft, tons of visual cues to use for lining up the board and riding waves.
Evan was great, he let us push ourselves while offering useful, individual feedback to both of us and was super encouraging. Teaching two people different things at once, keeping an eye on every incoming wave and what the other person was doing on the wave, and being respectful to the surfers around us all at once, we both felt like we were the center of the lesson. His outlook was super positive and we felt really welcomed and encouraged, feeling inspired to get back into the sport even if it means braving Washington coast temps.
Hanalei is probably one of the best beaches on the planet to learn surfing at for folks who feel comfortable in the water. The temperature is lovely, the beach is gorgeous. There's a lot of wave diversity from the inside to the outside of the reef, the paddle to the outside is long but protected, and the waves when we were there were fun but forgiving at ~4ft, tons of visual cues to use for lining up the board and riding waves.
Evan was great, he let us push ourselves while offering useful, individual feedback to both of us and was super encouraging. Teaching two people different things at once, keeping an eye on every incoming wave and what the other person was doing on the wave, and being respectful to the surfers around us all at once, we both felt like we were the center of the lesson. His outlook was super positive and we felt really welcomed and encouraged, feeling inspired to get back into the sport even if it means braving Washington coast temps.
Written October 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A Lew
Golden, CO20 contributions
Jun 2023
Everyone can learn to surf! I had no idea how much fun surfing could be, and now, I get it! As 50 year olds, my husband and I had a blast getting a few rides on the waves, and even our teenager nieces and nephews were caught smiling! We had great experience with Sean and Nate. Surfing was just one of our amazing Kauai experiences, and we are glad we got to learn on Hanalei Bay. It didn’t seem as crowded as some of the sections we observed in Poipu later in the week.
Written June 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wendy W
1 contribution
Apr 2022 • Family
Upon mistakenly booking the wrong date I immediately called, left a vm, emailed, sent a text and went online to change or reverse my error and had no luck reaching a live person. Five hours later Hanalei Surf School sent a text saying "You'll have to eat the full cost - I'm going to bed." Crass and distressing customer service to say the least. There are very friendly and accommodating surf schools On North Shore Kauai. This is not one of them.
Written April 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hippocampus_man
Davis24 contributions
Mar 2022
summary: so-so lesson, unprofessional office/rental experience
full review:
During our visit to Kauai, I convinced my wife to do a surf lesson with me. I had surfed about 5 times before but needed a lot of work, and my wife had never done it before. I was choosing b/w HSS and Hawaiian Surfing Adventures, and went with HSS because it was run by a professional surfer and they only do private lessons, so it seemed like it would be a great experience.
Prior to the lesson, I had great communication with Tara, and she was efficient in setting us up for the lesson. Our actual lesson was not very good. On the beach, the instructor (I don't want to single him out here) hardly went over the pop up and spent most of the time talking about how to control the board after you get up, which is the last thing a novice is concerned about. In the water, he was very quiet, and didn't have a lot of feedback, though he was great about setting us up for waves. At one point, my wife was struggling on her own and for a while he didn't do anything to get her back, but eventually he got her on some waves and she got up and had a good experience. I managed to catch some waves on my own too, thanks to his helping with timing, so that was a success overall.
All in all, I wouldn't have written a review, if it weren't for my next encounter.
I came back to the shop two days later at 9:30am to rent a board. Another couple was waiting for their 9:30 lesson, but the shop was closed and there was no one there. An instructor showed up at about 9:40 to meet the other couple, but he needed the office manager (not Tara, someone else) to come in to rent a board. The instructor gave me her number, so I called and explained that I did a lesson and wanted to rent another board. I said I'd been told that, as someone who did a lesson, that I'd get a rental discount. Her blunt response: "that's interesting...we don't do discounts". No apology for not being in the office, and minimal attempts to help. She said the instructor there could rent me a board, or that if he wasn't around she could come by in about 15-20 minutes. By this time the instructor was leaving, and I decided that rather than waiting, I'd try my luck at Hawaiian Surf Adventures. I had a great experience with Hawaiian Surf Adventures, saved a lot of money on rental fees (they do half day rentals which saves a lot of $ if you are only doing one session a day), and they were consistently cool to deal with.
Now, I wasn't irritated about the discount thing. It's possible I was mixed up with Hawaiian Surfing Adventures (they definitely give a discount if you take a lesson from them). And our lesson was good enough that I was willing to come back for a rental. I even would have been ok about them running late, because that's not unusual in Hanalei. I was mainly irritated by the person I spoke with, definitely not typical of the aloha spirit exhibited throughout Kauai.
full review:
During our visit to Kauai, I convinced my wife to do a surf lesson with me. I had surfed about 5 times before but needed a lot of work, and my wife had never done it before. I was choosing b/w HSS and Hawaiian Surfing Adventures, and went with HSS because it was run by a professional surfer and they only do private lessons, so it seemed like it would be a great experience.
Prior to the lesson, I had great communication with Tara, and she was efficient in setting us up for the lesson. Our actual lesson was not very good. On the beach, the instructor (I don't want to single him out here) hardly went over the pop up and spent most of the time talking about how to control the board after you get up, which is the last thing a novice is concerned about. In the water, he was very quiet, and didn't have a lot of feedback, though he was great about setting us up for waves. At one point, my wife was struggling on her own and for a while he didn't do anything to get her back, but eventually he got her on some waves and she got up and had a good experience. I managed to catch some waves on my own too, thanks to his helping with timing, so that was a success overall.
All in all, I wouldn't have written a review, if it weren't for my next encounter.
I came back to the shop two days later at 9:30am to rent a board. Another couple was waiting for their 9:30 lesson, but the shop was closed and there was no one there. An instructor showed up at about 9:40 to meet the other couple, but he needed the office manager (not Tara, someone else) to come in to rent a board. The instructor gave me her number, so I called and explained that I did a lesson and wanted to rent another board. I said I'd been told that, as someone who did a lesson, that I'd get a rental discount. Her blunt response: "that's interesting...we don't do discounts". No apology for not being in the office, and minimal attempts to help. She said the instructor there could rent me a board, or that if he wasn't around she could come by in about 15-20 minutes. By this time the instructor was leaving, and I decided that rather than waiting, I'd try my luck at Hawaiian Surf Adventures. I had a great experience with Hawaiian Surf Adventures, saved a lot of money on rental fees (they do half day rentals which saves a lot of $ if you are only doing one session a day), and they were consistently cool to deal with.
Now, I wasn't irritated about the discount thing. It's possible I was mixed up with Hawaiian Surfing Adventures (they definitely give a discount if you take a lesson from them). And our lesson was good enough that I was willing to come back for a rental. I even would have been ok about them running late, because that's not unusual in Hanalei. I was mainly irritated by the person I spoke with, definitely not typical of the aloha spirit exhibited throughout Kauai.
Written March 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AK
4 contributions
Jul 2023 • Solo
Cancelled my wife’s SUP lesson reservation the previous evening because they double booked the instructor . Apart from giving us a couple of numbers to call ( and it was too late in the evening to try anyway ) for alternatives , they didn’t offer to do anything to help other than a refund. It felt like they didn’t care or they mess up their reservations frequently and this was nothing unusual for them
Written July 7, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dan V
3 contributions
Aug 2023
Great intro to surfing! Our instructor was Ryder, and he was great. Very patient, positive, and he made our first surfing experience ever a lot of fun. I have a 9 year old and 16 year old, and he got all of us up on the boards riding some waves!
Written August 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
G L
Phx15 contributions
Jul 2022
Our experience with Hanalei Surf School all positive from beginning to end! Booking easy, communication clear, staff friendly & knowledgable! Lance, the instructor for our 2 teen girls, was very pleasant, knowledgable, and patient. Both girls HAD A BLAST & were successful in their 1st surfing lesson. As parents, we really appreciated Lance's attention to safety! I would highly recommend Hanalei Surf School and instructor Lance. Lance wanted the girls to be successful and truly cared about the them having a good time!
Written July 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1doerrfam
Philadelphia, PA17 contributions
Jul 2019 • Family
My 16, 13 and 10 year olds all loved learning to surf with Hanalei Surf School. They all had a blast and quick success learning to ride the waves of beautiful Hanalei with their awesome instructor, Clay! What a fun experience - a must do in Hawaii!
Written July 29, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
amberkoren
Beaverton, Oregon8 contributions
Jul 2017
Don't look for a building because the "surf school" is literally at a white van in the parking lot that backs to Wishing Well Shave Ice (which is worth getting too, specifically the organic ones with fresh fruit).
Dane met us at the van and was really personable, got our boards loaded, and offered to take our family pictures (for a very reasonable price and totally worth it).
We followed Dane in the car to the beach where we met Clay, our surf instructor.
Clay and Dane were both super nice! Clay was especially encouraging and patient. He did quick instructions on the sand and got us in the water quickly. He made us so comfortable. He has a very relaxed demeanor that makes him easy to be around. He felt more like a friend than a teacher, in a very good way. Our kids, age 9 and 11 were successful on their first waves! Mom and dad caught most of our waves too.
This was an experience will never forget and will fondly look back upon. We are so glad we did this!!
Note: Long sleeved swim shirts were great to wear and all of the backs of our legs were burned after 2 hours on the board (even well lotioned). Maybe pause and reapply SPF if you are from somewhere like we are (Oregon) that doesn't get much sun.
Dane met us at the van and was really personable, got our boards loaded, and offered to take our family pictures (for a very reasonable price and totally worth it).
We followed Dane in the car to the beach where we met Clay, our surf instructor.
Clay and Dane were both super nice! Clay was especially encouraging and patient. He did quick instructions on the sand and got us in the water quickly. He made us so comfortable. He has a very relaxed demeanor that makes him easy to be around. He felt more like a friend than a teacher, in a very good way. Our kids, age 9 and 11 were successful on their first waves! Mom and dad caught most of our waves too.
This was an experience will never forget and will fondly look back upon. We are so glad we did this!!
Note: Long sleeved swim shirts were great to wear and all of the backs of our legs were burned after 2 hours on the board (even well lotioned). Maybe pause and reapply SPF if you are from somewhere like we are (Oregon) that doesn't get much sun.
Written July 26, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hanalei Surf School - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Hanalei Surf School Information
Excellent Reviews | 45 |
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Very Good Reviews | 2 |
Hanalei Surf School Photos | 17 |