Poipu Beach Surf School
Poipu Beach Surf School
4.5
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Full view
About
Poipu Beach Surf School Kauai is owned and operated by professional waterman and former pro bodyboarder Doug Muraoka. Poipu Beach Surf School is committed to providing each of its guests with a safe, fun, friendly surfing experience. Experience and Credentials Doug and his expert staff are all lifeguard trained, CPR certified, local watermen who have been surfing and teaching for years. For your added ocean safety, an official county of Kauai lifeguard station is located right at Poipu Beach in Kauai. Connected to the Ocean Douglas Muraoka was born and raised on the island of Kauai. Doug was raised by his grandparents got introduced to the ocean at an early age because his grandparents were avid fisherman who went fishing five days a week Monday through Friday Doug having no other choice than to go fishing every day at 6 AM spent half of the day at the ocean five days a week. Doug Muraoka Professional Bodyboarder Doug seeing surfers and bodyboarders at the beach he started bodyboarding at 10 years old. Doug picked up on body boarding quick and got his first sponsor which was Poipu Surf and Sport. Doug did local bodyboard contests for years and always made the final's. Doug also qualified for the Hawaii state surfing tournament every year. In 1989 when Doug graduated high school he became a pro bodyboarder and travel mostly to California and Hawaii doing the PSAA bud professional surfing tour. In 1998 Doug won his first pro contest in the drop knee division. As years went on Doug decided to start surfing. Doug loves surfing so much that he surfs 99% of the time now. With his passion for surfing he decided he wants to teach the world to surf so everyone can see how fun the ancient Hawaiian sport of surfing really is. Doug founded Poipu Beach surf school in 2005!
Similar Experiences
Poipu Beach Surf School
Booking unavailable on Tripadvisor
Want other options you can book now?
Show optionsTravelers talk about
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
749 reviews
Excellent
630
Very good
56
Average
27
Poor
21
Terrible
15
TheWedels
4 contributions
Aug 2021 • Family
Ok - First timers here. We booked a 3 person to 1 instructor surf lesson with Poipu Beach Surf School. Communication was good and we'd watched our videos and signed our waivers before we even arrived early AM for our lesson. Our instructor was knowledgable, patient, on time, and we had a blast! My wife and I are in our early 50s with a 16 year old daughter. We all were able to "catch a wave" and my daughter actually looked like she was a surfer! Not as much for her dad but hey, not the instructors issue at all. It was a total hoot and well worth the $ (and don't forget to tip your instructor if they rock!). You don't come to Kauai to watch TV right? Get out and have some fun! I'd highly recommend Poipu Beach Surf School for anyone staying on the south side of the island!
Written August 18, 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.
Eddie D
Turlock7 contributions
Jan 2020
Had a great day, our instructor was pretty much spot on, there were 4 in our group and he had us all surfing within minutes. He believed the beach were their shop was not very good waves that day so he had us drive just down the road to another beach and was a good call. in an hour on the water i was able to catch at least 8-10 waves to surf. Perfect!! Thank You
Written January 22, 2020
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.
mtnladysav
Denver, CO1 contribution
Mar 2022
We did surf school on Tuesday & had such a quick learning experience that we booked an additional lesson Friday. Chris was incredibly easy to work with and helped us build our skills in such a short time span. Spending the morning out on the water to start the day immediately became the best part of our honeymoon in Kauai. Worth every penny for the semi-private & we can’t wait to use poipu beach surf school for our return visits as well.
Written March 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.
Anisha Tandon
1 contribution
May 2021 • Friends
I had a really awful time surfing here. We were told to show up 10 minutes prior to our scheduled time, which we did. The instructor was a bit late. After watching the instructional video and going through the sparse safety instructions, we waited for upwards of 30 minutes for the co-instructor to show up.
The co-instructor had to be called as a replacement for someone else who did not show up at all. He was a young boy but definitely a better teacher than Kamu.
These events were somewhat inconvenient for us but whatever, things like this happen sometimes.
I am a beginner surfer and this was my first time surfing. I learnt that i am an awful surfer, it is true! But the reaction to this was entirely unacceptable to me and is the main reason for my low review. The first 10 minutes of the experience was quite hard for me as I was not able to maintain balance on the board. The instructor, Kamu, said that I was taking too long for him and I should hurry it up otherwise he would simply ask me to go back on shore. He then said he wasn't a lifeguard and couldn't keep helping me around the water. He proceeded to question if this was my first time in the ocean at all (it is not, I am a proficient sailor). There was absolutely no helpful instruction, and if anything, he was being very discouraging.
My friends who DID stay for longer than 10 minutes reported back that Kamu gave them incorrect instruction and at times even accidentally pushed their boards into each other. It created some chaos.
When I started to get a feel for the water, my board caught a wave and I went crashing into some rocks off to the side. The instructor either did not notice or did not care. I managed to lug the board through a tiny trail back to the beach, but my feet were burnt and cut up. Not only were instructors late and underprepared, one was entirely unhelpful if not actively rude. I had a truly negative experience and would not recommend in the slightest if you are at all apprehensive about your skills.
The co-instructor had to be called as a replacement for someone else who did not show up at all. He was a young boy but definitely a better teacher than Kamu.
These events were somewhat inconvenient for us but whatever, things like this happen sometimes.
I am a beginner surfer and this was my first time surfing. I learnt that i am an awful surfer, it is true! But the reaction to this was entirely unacceptable to me and is the main reason for my low review. The first 10 minutes of the experience was quite hard for me as I was not able to maintain balance on the board. The instructor, Kamu, said that I was taking too long for him and I should hurry it up otherwise he would simply ask me to go back on shore. He then said he wasn't a lifeguard and couldn't keep helping me around the water. He proceeded to question if this was my first time in the ocean at all (it is not, I am a proficient sailor). There was absolutely no helpful instruction, and if anything, he was being very discouraging.
My friends who DID stay for longer than 10 minutes reported back that Kamu gave them incorrect instruction and at times even accidentally pushed their boards into each other. It created some chaos.
When I started to get a feel for the water, my board caught a wave and I went crashing into some rocks off to the side. The instructor either did not notice or did not care. I managed to lug the board through a tiny trail back to the beach, but my feet were burnt and cut up. Not only were instructors late and underprepared, one was entirely unhelpful if not actively rude. I had a truly negative experience and would not recommend in the slightest if you are at all apprehensive about your skills.
Written May 30, 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.
Devin D
2 contributions
Sep 2021 • Couples
We were greeted 10 minutes late by a very nice instructor, he showed us a video and we drove to a secondary location. When we arrived, the man introduced us to another instructor named Kamu, who made the class the worst experience of our Hawaiian vacation.
In front of six people Kamu asked my wife “how heavy are you”. Stunned, my wife didn’t answer. There was another gentlemen in our group who was a large guy, and Kamu said “I think you’re bigger than him, and we’ve only got one extra wide board, so you’ll be on it.” As my wife begins to tear up, I approach Kamu who pays her on the shoulder and says “cheer up, we’re going to have fun.”. We weren’t.
I told Kamu that while I was not looking for confrontation, he can’t talk to my wife that way. He responds by saying “it’s my job to ask people their weight. I get it if she’s embarrassed, when I was a kid I was overweight.” We picked up our stuff and left.
I was told to call the owner about a refund, his name is Doug. While Doug was quick to say they’d refund the money, he seemed uninterested in our story, how it could be improved, or anything. It seemed like we were annoying him with our complaint and paying us back would get us to shut up.
Overall, Kamu is the issue here. And an issue that has really hurt my wife and I, and hurt our trip to Hawaii.
In front of six people Kamu asked my wife “how heavy are you”. Stunned, my wife didn’t answer. There was another gentlemen in our group who was a large guy, and Kamu said “I think you’re bigger than him, and we’ve only got one extra wide board, so you’ll be on it.” As my wife begins to tear up, I approach Kamu who pays her on the shoulder and says “cheer up, we’re going to have fun.”. We weren’t.
I told Kamu that while I was not looking for confrontation, he can’t talk to my wife that way. He responds by saying “it’s my job to ask people their weight. I get it if she’s embarrassed, when I was a kid I was overweight.” We picked up our stuff and left.
I was told to call the owner about a refund, his name is Doug. While Doug was quick to say they’d refund the money, he seemed uninterested in our story, how it could be improved, or anything. It seemed like we were annoying him with our complaint and paying us back would get us to shut up.
Overall, Kamu is the issue here. And an issue that has really hurt my wife and I, and hurt our trip to Hawaii.
Written September 10, 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.
MelineJ
22 contributions
Oct 2021 • Couples
Doug and his team are great - I felt safe, got great surf advice from our knowledgeable and super friendly instructor Adam and felt at ease the whole time!
My husband and I decided last minute to get semi- private lessons with our own boards as I’ve been struggling with confidence in my surfing for a while. Doug was super responsive by phone and answered my questions, even kept in touch by text. The next day, Adam took us out and he did a fantastic job at tailoring his advice to tweak our surfing. I caught a lot of waves and was able to progress during the lesson. Thanks to Adam I got my surfing mojo back and caught even more waves when I went back by myself the next day! I can’t thank him enough for getting me back out there - he’s one of the best surf instructors I’ve had! I would highly recommend this surf school.
My husband and I decided last minute to get semi- private lessons with our own boards as I’ve been struggling with confidence in my surfing for a while. Doug was super responsive by phone and answered my questions, even kept in touch by text. The next day, Adam took us out and he did a fantastic job at tailoring his advice to tweak our surfing. I caught a lot of waves and was able to progress during the lesson. Thanks to Adam I got my surfing mojo back and caught even more waves when I went back by myself the next day! I can’t thank him enough for getting me back out there - he’s one of the best surf instructors I’ve had! I would highly recommend this surf school.
Written October 3, 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.
user888623
New York City, NY1 contribution
Mar 2024
Firstly, we were given an address for the meet-up. When we got there, we were having trouble finding the instructors so we called the school. I sent them a photo of where we were (we had put the exact address into the GPS) and the man on the phone was very rude about how far we were from where we needed to be (even though he was the one who texted me the address.) When we arrived at the location, one of the instructors asked for our names but could not take the time to learn my boyfriend's name, asking if he could call him "Nick" instead of learning his name even though it would have taken 20 seconds to try and learn his name. The instructor would barely even make the effort until I corrected him and said his name was not "Nick." He was not particularly friendly from the start. Thirdly, they took us to a very very shallow surf spot that was absolutely packed with children, so we weren't able to properly surf because we had to constantly maneuver around others. Yes, I understand that there are of course other people learning however there were simply too many people in that small area of the beach and they should take that into consideration for adults who book semi-private lessons. Having 20 other people in the line of where you are trying to surf is frustrating and I bumped surf boards several times with a few of the other surfers. The area below was also very rocky and so shallow that I actually scraped my feet quite badly and even hit my eye hard enough of on the surfboard that I had a large bruise. When I fell one of the times, my instructor asked me if I was ok and said it was "so funny" to watch me fall the way I had. When I first caught a wave (it was my second time surfing ever and the first time in over a year) he said, "I was starting to lose hope." He did give feedback after every time I tried to surf and he helped me set up the surfing so that I would maximize my chance of successfully catching a wave, but his overall attitude and the attitude of the initial person with whom I spoke definitely soured my experience with Poipu Beach Surf School.
Written March 24, 2024
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.
StephanieJBO
2 contributions
Jul 2022 • Family
Our family of 7 had a wonderful time learning to surf with Poipu Beach Surf School. Our 2 instructors were super informative and personal and charismatic (even at 8 in the morning!). I really enjoyed that our instructor informed our family the importance of watching the water, wind etc before even getting into the ocean. This is something that we continue to tell our boys the importance of understanding the ocean before just jumping in (but they don't seem to listen), so to have our instructor say this as well gave our kids the knowledge they needed to hear from someone other than their parents!
We got out into the water quickly and started learning by doing. I do appreciate getting as much water time as we did, however I think some of us would have liked to practice getting up on the board on land first. We watched the tutorial video before we came, but we assumed we would practice the footwork/body work together as a group on land first. We all made it up on our boards multiple times, but even if we didn't our instructors were always ready to share a helpful tip or reminder to make it better the next time. They definitely made us learn and we loved that - afterall that is what we signed up to do! Great overall experience and would highly recommend!
We got out into the water quickly and started learning by doing. I do appreciate getting as much water time as we did, however I think some of us would have liked to practice getting up on the board on land first. We watched the tutorial video before we came, but we assumed we would practice the footwork/body work together as a group on land first. We all made it up on our boards multiple times, but even if we didn't our instructors were always ready to share a helpful tip or reminder to make it better the next time. They definitely made us learn and we loved that - afterall that is what we signed up to do! Great overall experience and would highly recommend!
Written August 9, 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.
grapejellyonsunday
Portland, OR1 contribution
May 2021
I had a surf lesson with absolutely no surfing experience prior. I booked my lesson through Nukumoi Surf Co. I’ve been coming to them for rentals for over 6 years and my experience has always been top notch, so when they recommended I take a lesson before renting a surfboard, I didn’t hesitate to take the advice. Super glad I did because I was able to catch the first wave I started paddling on. The basic fundamentals I was taught before even getting out into the water such as where the “sweet spot” on the board is and how to properly stand up made it feel pretty natural too me which wouldn’t have been the case at all had I not signed up for the lesson. My instructors names where Aaron and Lucas and they where goofy, positive, straightforward with their instruction, happy to discuss any question I had, and overall an absolute joy to learn with. Hope this helps you decide whether or not to get a lesson! If you do, I’d recommend booking through Nukumoi to support two great local companies, but that’s just me.
Written June 1, 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.
Danno
2 contributions
Mar 2021 • Friends
Great fun, good boards, Adam was a patient and capable teacher. The waves were small but we had a blast catching the few sets that came through. I highly recommend Doug and his crew if you either need to rent a board for an afternoon session or want the complete first time experience. Simply the best pro service with an island aloha that will make you feel right at home.
Written March 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.
rescags
Palatine, Illinois
Are there large rocks and coral in the surfing area? I would feel much safer knowing if I fell off the board I wouldn't hit my head (or any other body part) on rocks and/or coral.
Written June 3, 2018
You just have to flop fall rather than jump off, if you hit the bottom with your feet, you'll cut them. If you just lay out and fall on your side, back or front, you'll be fine.
Just keep your feet kinda quiet as you hop back on and paddle out again.
It's a fun activity and a nice little wave to learn on.
Written March 5, 2019
Showing results 1-1 of 1
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.