Kahalu'u Bay Surf and Sea — Attraction in Hawaii

I signed my 12 and 16 year old daughters up for their first surf lessons. The guy who answers the phone for the shop (sorry, I can't remember his name) was great. Both times I called, it went to voicemail and he called me back right away without my having to leave a message. He answered all my questions completely.

I chose for them to have the semi-private lessons and that is pretty much what they had. There were 7 surfers and 3 instructors. The class started out with about 45 minutes of dry land instruction. The instructor for this part was awesome! He was engaging and personable and even made my 12 year old crack a smile once. He showed them 3 different ways to get up on the surfboard and then had each of them practice 3 times. He gave them all feedback so they could be more confident when they were in the water.

After the dry land, they took the students to the water where they helped them for about an hour to catch some waves. I don't have any surfing experience or know anything about the waves in Kona. It seemed like they had to wait a bit for some decent waves to come, but I think that comes with surfing in general. I believe all of the students were able to get up on their boards and ride at least a few waves.

My 12 year old got a bit seasick while they were bobbing around waiting for the waves. They were sweet and brought her in and gave her ginger candy to help settle her stomach. My 16 year old came in with big smiles and had a great time. She was able to get up several times and rode some good waves.

Overall, I thought the service and professionalism from all the people we interacted with at the surf shop were great. They were kind and did a great job of teaching a basic surf class. I would recommend them to anyone wanting lessons when they...

My 11 year old was very happy with 3 of the instructors she was with over 4 group lessons. They all were very passionate. On-land instructions were very thorough and re-assuring. Once in water, after each ride, instructors gave tips to do better. They quickly modified instructions when my daughter needed change in approach.

Ben covered the pre-session instructions and Steve and Corry were instructors once we were in water. They all were very focused and my daughter was so happy when she started riding waves standing.

I did one session and was already able to stand up. Then I rented next 3 times as I wanted to catch waves on my own. Even when I was not doing lesson. Ben spent a lot of time in the surf shop to help me with how to deal with wipe outs. Once in water, instructors were happy to give me tips even when I was not signed up with them.

Originally, my hotel had recommended another school (which I will not name) but I found them to be just ok. They were good people and good surfers but lack that drive to enable their students. Then, as I was walking by when Ben from Kahaluu School was giving instructors, I felt that he really wanted his students to succeed and I switched to him. Without hesitation I recommend this school and I am grateful to...

We did a semi-private surf lesson (2 people, 1 instructor). I loved the way they set up the lesson. We had on-land instruction first with Max to keep us safe and teach us tricks to make us successful in the water. I had never been surfing and was very unsure if I would be able to stand on the board, but with the fabulous instruction both my partner and I rode SO MANY WAVES. The part of the bay they take you into is ideal for people learning to surf. The waves are the perfect size and speed for learning. I thought the way they had us rotating in with our instructor was really smart, I'd go and catch the wave with the instructors guidance and then I'd paddle back to the safe waiting area and my partner would go and then it would be time to paddle back to the coach and catch another wave. The smart system allowed for me to catch 12-15 waves and utilize the time of the private super efficiently. The owner was there and I absolutely loved how he talked to his staff and the clients. The instructors were so patient and gave really helpful adjustments. I already signed up for another lesson next week. You should absolutely get lessons from them, I left smiling ear to ear and...