Ohana Surf Project — Local services in Honolulu

Me and a friend bought a "semi-private" 2-hour session, meaning it would be the two of us with one instructor. We arrived a few minutes early to the shop in the lobby of the Marriott, and then had kind of a long wait, along with a pretty big crowd of other students. The entire crowd of about 20+ people were told to crowd into a tiny shop room (about the size of a large bathroom) to watch an instructional video. The video was difficult to hear, difficult to see, the narrator sounded like he was doing a "fall asleep" meditation podcast, and there was a rapid series of football-on-TV drawings over the video that seemed to be giving important instructions, but way too fast to be absorbed. And later, once we were on the waves, our instructors gave us completely contradictory directions from the video, especially about how and when to return to the breaks after a run. The whole thing felt pretty impersonal and like it was just a convenient way to "soak up" some of the 2-hour session time with additional labor-free wait time. I would have liked it MUCH better if we had arrived at the beach while the previous class was still underway, and had a person explain the courtesies and so on by showing us real people on real surf.

Anyway, after the video, we then were taken on school buses to the Queens/Kapiolani Beach. This is a gorgeous beach, away from the commercialism of the central Waikiki beaches, and I would recommend this beach for basically anything you want to do in or near the water.

Once we were on the beach and met our "Coach", Damien, things improved rapidly. Damien was really present with us, he was humble, kind, and made it very easy to talk with him and ask questions. On the grass, he did some very basic warm-ups with us and a lesson on how to catch a wave, stand up and lower down. My friend seemed to catch on immediately, but I probably would have benefitted from just a little more time on the grass going over the motions. But, no better way to learn than in the water I guess, so onward we went!

In the water, Damien worked his arms off to tow my friend and me to the best waves, gave us great push-starts and constructive and measured advice after each run. He was careful to focus on just one point each time, so I never felt overwhelmed with suggestions, and could easily focus on one step at a time towards my improvement. The tow was really helpful and appreciated - I did not realize what hard work it is to paddle a surfboard! Thank you Damien!

The manager Chelsea was also out on the water with us. She was a bit more aggressive. I think it was just her way of being positive, but sometimes she came across more like a drill sergeant than a chill surf instructor. She did capture some great video of my friend (who was killing it!), and I'm really grateful for that.

Although our lesson was "semi-private", we were still surfing in the same pod of about 20 people who I mentioned at the shop. More than once I was dropped into the same wave just a few feet from another surfer who had also been dropped into the same wave. Crashing into a child on a surfboard seemed like bad form, so I wiped out each time on purpose. I'm sure someone from the school will say I was probably going to wipeout anyway, but my point is that it was really crowded for me as a beginner and made me more nervous about getting hurt, or worse, hurting someone else.

Before we knew it, time was up. I'm sure my friend had a 5+ star experience. She was amazing and got just what I think she needed from Ohana Surf Project. On the other hand, I had a great time, but I was looking for a little more for my money and I hope my comments are viewed as...

My family of four had a “two hour” private surfing lesson (total time of the experience is 3-4 hours) with OSP early March 2022. We chose them after looking at YouTube videos and google reviews. Well organized setup with friendly knowledgeable staff. Nick was our main instructor and he’s top notch…worked extremely hard to ensure our success. We would do it all over again in a heartbeat. As far as details go, here’s our experience: We were picked up near our hotel and driven to the “Queens” stretch of Waikiki beach. They provide you with a rash guard type shirt if you don’t have one. They also provide surfing shoes/footies that help grip the board. After watching a safety video, the instructor will spend some time on land teaching you the fundamental techniques to catch a wave and how to transition from laying to standing position, etc. Once out on the water, the instructor “reads” the waves to pick one that will give you the best chance of getting your surf on. You will be instructed on how far forward or rearward you should be positioned on the board for that particular wave. As the wave gets closer, you will be told to start paddling and as it reaches you, the instructor gives a little push to help your speed match the wave. The main instructor will cheer you from behind to get up and as you get further away from that instructor, there will be additional staff in the water to provide instruction and encouragement as you pass them. These additional staff will also have cameras to film each of your runs. You can purchase the photos and videos for an extra cost, but it’s a great value for the quantity and quality of the footage. Once you finish your surfing run, you will paddle towards an area off to the side of the main surfing zone. This is the designated waiting zone where more staff members will be present to help you with questions or just hang out and watch the rest of your party take their turns until it’s your time to go again. The whole flow of movement is roughly the shape of a rectangle which helps keep it organized and safe. So how were our results? Personally, I attempted 7 runs and rode 5 of them all the way standing upright… including my very first try!!! I had one full run but only got up on my knees…made for a cool photo of me facing the camera and giving the shaka sign with both hands. And one run I got upright but only maintained balance for a few seconds before falling off. For reference, I’m 48 years old and in average physical condition. As expected, our teenage children had an even easier time surfing with their lower centers of gravity and they made around a dozen runs each. My wife was a little tired from hiking Wiliwilinui that morning, but still made 6 attempts and rode three of them fully. In the end we were all smiles and will cherish that...

If you aren't doing lessons, wouldn't recommend renting surf boards from this place. Went to the office to pay, and they tell you to go down the road to their van which is across from the beach. There are other vans there, and Ohana's van is not marked at all. Long story short, there was one nice lady running the show and everyone else was in total non-verbal mode. This made getting basic information and setup very difficult when lady left. I wouldn't say I'm any sort of stickler for "good service" but this was really strange.

I think they were supposed to give us or offer to rent us shoes because their surf area has a sharp rocky bottom. We chose to rent from these guys because their shop is closer to a quieter area of the beach which they advertise, but no wonder its quieter because the water there is like 18 inches. Despite the tame waves, not a good spot for a beginner or anyone who doesn't want to keep minding the rocks the whole time.

This was not communicated to us at all, and there is no sign saying anything, but I had earlier seen deep in their website that they close the van multiple times a day. We went to return our boards 20mins after they were supposed to be back but nobody was there. They had all of our stuff including phones (it is a plus that they hold stuff for you), so we couldn't just drop the boards off and leave. I used a passerby's phone to confirm their hours (it took a long time to find the place in their website where it shows their closures), and we had to wait until like 40mins after they were supposed to have re-opened to return the boards.

The next day we rented boards right in the main hotel zone and honestly it was great. I was put off about the crowding at first but it actually wasn't that bad and you aren't going to dangle your foot off the board and hit a rock. Just be mindful to keep your eyes on others and you're fine.

I will say that I did see some of the instructors out there and they seemed cool. Also they are way cheaper than the Royal Hawaiian so you may just want to rent from here and head a little...