North Shore Oahu Surf School

Kala took my daughter out and showed her some awesome breaks. My daughter is a competitive surfer but needed some assistance with a few manuvers she couldn't really get down. Kala worked with her and she was hitting these manauvers by the end of the lesson. She liked it so much she went out again the next day with another instructor from the school, Kane, and he helped her put her competition manuevers together. My daughter had some friends that did a beginner lesson with the North Shore Surf school also and they had a blast. They were standing up and catching waves by the middle of the lesson. All and all great experience.I know a lot of beginners go to this surf school and they are taylored to it but if you are advanced and never been to the North Shore like us this was the best.

Took out our group of 8 kids (ages ranging from 6-17 yo) on a stormy day. Kids, and parents, we're all nervous about the conditions. The instructors did an amazing job in a perfectly protected spot to keep everyone safe and enjoying a great first surfing experience.Highly recommend it if you're on the North Shore

My 10 year old son Leonidas had an amazing time. This was his first time surfing. Kane was very patient with my son. It was so awesome to see my son out there catching waves. I recommend North Shore Surf school to everyone. Good times!!!!

My partner and I got lost trying to find where they were located (we're not local, obviously), and were late. So, the other folks in our lesson (our family members) were waiting on us, but the folks at North Shore Oahu Surf School were so sweet and chill about it. They were so kind and patient with everyone. Though I did not partake, I watched and took lots of photographs. My partner and our family members had a blast and couldn't even finish the 2 hour session because of how exhausted they were! They caught some waves though. Mahalo, North Shore Oahu Surf School for the incredible experience from my partner, who was an actual student, and myself, as an observer

My 12 year old and my big ol butt had a blast. Stone had us both up on two feet (my son much quicker than I) pretty quick. just a warning, shoulders will not love you the next morning . Totally worth it.

Both kids went and had a great time! First surf lesson and both were surfing during the 2 hours. Would def. Reco these guys !

We had such an amazing time! There were ten of us ages 6-45 and everyone had a blast! such a great local company and Kala was so friendly! we really enjoyed our experience!

Overall, I had a good and fun experience.The instructors are awesome, friendly, knowledgeable and serious about your safety while making sure you are making the most of your time in the water.If you are a beginner or even new to surfing, a fun, safe and successful experience in the water is 100% guaranteed.There are a few things that need some improvement so I'd like to provide some feedback, but it's important to mention that this is a review based on my experience. Yours could be very different.For context, I took a 1 on 1 advanced lesson with Lawrence (thanks a lot!)1- Communication prior to the lesson wasn't the best.I had a couple of questions regarding the forecast, weather conditions, gear and spots.I sent them a couple emails asking these questions but I never got a reply.In the same email I suggested using WhatsApp, since I didn't have a US SIM card and thus I couldn't call them directly.Luckily I was able to find a way to call them and they suggested using WhatsApp but then they only used SMS and Calls to tell me where to meet up, so if you don't have a US number you are going to have a hard time getting in touch with them.2- VERY LIMITED board choices.They mostly use 10' to 12' longboards. They are decent quality boards but a little bit hard to maneuver with.I understand these boards are great for beginners.But for people who surfed before I wish they had more options to choose from in their quiver.3- The lesson was alright. I have some surfing experience, I'm not very good at it but I am definitely not a beginner.I was hoping to find someone from the area to give me a couple of pointers and improve my technique.Sometimes things felt a bit rushed. My instructor Lawrence had set a goal of catching 20 waves in 2 hours, which sounds reasonable, but I feel there was that mentality of "more is better" vs "quality over quantity".I feel this was done this way in order to hit that 20 mark wave count. Maybe I'm wrong here but at least that was my perception.So here's a suggestion for the school:For people booking beginners lessons, the 20 wave count and the paddle assistance is great.For people booking advanced lessons, it would be great to do some sort of assessment beforehand and ask them which areas they want to improve (i.e. paddling, reading the waves, maneuvers, positioning in the peak, etiquette, style...) There are a lot of things to improve, so if you offer Advanced lessons, talk to the students, listen to their request and see what you can offer to them.On the positive side, Lawrence was great explaining safety procedures, talking about the board itself, the spot we surfed at and he was also very flexible with my requests too. He would listen to my questions and give me very useful tips.He is a great instructor, he helped me a lot and I had a great session.Thanks again Lawrence!4- Price: There are a lot of surf schools and lessons all over the North Shore on O'ahu.North Shore Oahu Surf School lessons are more expensive than other schools like Haleiwa Surf School for example.One of the main reasons why I decided to go with North Shore Oahu Surf School is because of the reputation of their instructors and also because I wanted to support North Shore O'ahu local scene as much as possible.I understand that Kala and the rest of instructors are very high quality experienced surfers and I am very happy supporting their business.But it is possible to find other cheaper options for lessons easily.In fact, you'll notice most surf lessons will happen in the same spots (Chun's Reef or Puaena) regardless of who you are booking with.I hope North Shore Surf School can take this rant as constructive feedback and put some effort in the areas that need work.I also hope this information is helpful for future people who visit the North Shore for the first time.I want to reiterate that I still had a great time at the end of the day and I am sure that anyone taking lessons with them will be satisfied.Mahalooooo

What an experience! The first surf lesson for two of us and Lawrence was a fantastic teacher. Highly recommend this school if you want to try surfing!!

Highly recommend North Shore surf school, especially our instructor, Lawrence. My 3 kids (8,13,15), first time surfing, were able to get up immediately thanks to Lawrence's instructions and guidance. The kids had a memorable and safe first experience surfing. Mahalo Lawrence!