Hawaii Surfing Academy

My friends and I decided to take lessons with Jimmy during our mini vacation and we all had such a wonderful time! It was the highlight of our trip and I'd highly recommend him to anyone looking to try surfing for the first time. His lessons are very beginner friendly. During the day before our lesson even started Jimmy was very attentive to the weather conditions and was flexible with the start time. He made sure that we went out at the best time possible. Jimmy and his wife also had everything we needed and were both thorough, knowledgable, and fun giving instruction. They even gave us free water bottles. A huge plus: there are FREE pictures and videos included with the lesson! Jimmy's wife utilizes drones to get close up footage. It's almost too good to be true that this is provided at no extra cost. Overall if you're looking for a place to take lessons in Hawaii, Jimmy is your guy.

My husband and kids were surfing within 20 minutes! Jimmy is an excellent teacher. They had cool boards with marking so you know where to put your hands and feet/ knees. It was also a great value for 2 hours! Other surfing lesson companies had tons of students per instructor, but this place we had our family of 3 to one instructor. Best part is they have a drone taking videos and photos for free - they could easily have charged extra money for this! I think that is what makes this company so unique. And owner is super kind helping treat my sons new sting. In the end they also gave us yummy Chinese herbal tea drinks for free. Definitely recommend this memorable experience.

Jimmy was recognized for his hospitable demeanor, consistently welcoming others with a friendly smile and a compassionate disposition.

Jimmy and his wife were great with my kids. They were very thorough and patient. Gave my kids great memories of Hawaii. I would highly recommend!

Jimmy and his wife were extremely kind throughout the lesson. Jimmy was a great instructor and my friends and I were easily able to learn how to surf for the first time. Truly was a fantastic experience, and having all those free photos and videos of us riding the waves was a plus! Would highly highly recommend anyone vacationing Hawaii and wanting to learn how to surf to try out this place!!

Unprofessional Instructor - Jimmy, Harassed and Threatened Us We are a group of 3 girls who booked a 2-hour surfing lesson in April. Our experience was quite unpleasant due to the surfing instructor being very rude and unprofessional. Despite being fully refunded, we would still like to share what happened to give a fair warning to others. - When we arrived at the beach, he gave us a call apologizing for possibly being late for 30 minutes. We had a tight schedule and wasn't happy about it. - He couldn't give us a clear direction of the place to meet and was rude over the phone, wasting us more time walking over there. - When we finally met, we found him arguing with his wife, our photographer for the session. This quarreling probably dragged for about another half an hour, with him trying to pour this personal issue to us and his other fellow instructor, before we could finally have all our equipment ready and get into the water. - The surfing class was okay, but he tried to touch one of us several time and said something sexual during the lesson, before the victim warned him not to. - He surely realized the lesson was going south, so he offered us a full refund. We appreciated the offer, but would like to pay for what we get, because we at least got into the water. However, he was trying to end the lesson ASAP because it was refunded and kept talking about the refund as the excuse for all the unpleasantness. - When we couldn't agree, he said rude words and made one of us infuriated, and then suddenly took our video, threatening us it can serve as proof of us harassing him. He even pointed to the waiver saying this video was not against law because we consented in the waiver, and that he had a lot of friends, etc etc. - We tried to reason with him, and then he started to interrupt every sentence we started, even with racial stereotype statements like "Huh, Chinese people, I never see a Chinese like you!" - Besides unprofessionalism, he seemed to have a huge ego by berating the techniques we learned from other instructors or talking down to his wife, the photographer. Overall, the experience ruined our day, and we would not recommend others to this instructor.

This is a great mom and pop shop. Jimmy and his wife were awesome. Drone footage was amazing. Highly recommend. Jimmy was very responsive to texts and fit us in the next day. Kids ranged from 10-16 and all were able to stand up and ride. Thanks Jimmy!!

We had a great lesson with Jimmy! He propels you right into the wave so you don't have to work super hard to catch the waves. We all stood successfully on almost every attempt. His wife captured amazing pictures and videos to help us commemorate this amazing experience. Highly recommend!

I've taken 5+ lessons with Jimmy and always have such a fun time! The fact that his lessons are 2 hours with photos and videos makes it a really good deal.Added bonus, Nani takes the best photos and footage with either Waikiki or Diamond head as the backdrop. Honestly sometimes I want to get out there just for the cute pictures haha! She is super kind and great at what she does. Def won't be disappointed with your photos.I like this surfing at the beach park they operate out of as it is much less crowded than the main Waikiki area so less chance of you crashing into others or getting in the way. Also the waves seemed a lot more gentle when I went so good spot for beginners! Jimmy is good at finding the right spot and taking you there.Jimmy is super laid back and fun to talk to while you're out on your lesson. The drone footage helps him spot what you need to correct in your form too. They provide you with everything you need including water shoes, rash guard, board, etc.Both of them are so warm and hospitable honestly it feels like uncle aunty vibes hahah. Really looking forward to taking another lesson with them when I'm back!!

Jimmy is a very experienced surfer and a skillful teacher. After only 10 minutes training he already got my friend on his first wave, who had never stepped onto a surfboard before! For a beginner surfer like me who has some experience under the belt, he is very analytical and candid about what needs to be improved and gave me a lot of very useful pointers. I understand surfing on a much deeper level thanks to his coaching. His wife is a very welcoming and passionate lady, who snapped a lot of crazy cool drone footage for us. We feel like ocean warriors demanding the wind and summoning the water, woohoo! Overall Jimmy is a jolly cool guy to ride waves with, and there's a fun dynamic between him and his wife, both are very uniquely interesting people. Five stars for the experience! Best value throughout O'ahu from the specular of a Taurus!