Hawaiian Watersports — Local services in Oʻahu

I saw other reviews for the Kailua location. However, I have not been there nor was I told to go there. I'm assuming they're both owned by Josh. He answered my online registration, suggested for 24 hours notice, for Stand Up Paddle-boarding, which helped me save some bills. I was scheduled with another student named Michael for 9:45am on Sunday 7/29. I came a little early and Alessa introduced herself. I thought she was just going to process my application and 'mind the store'. But I was pleasantly surprised that she stated she would be the instructor for the day! I have to admit, I was intimidated initially and expected a tribal tattooed salty male local w/ a macho attitude. Alessa broke that stereotype and kept my attention with her professional instruction and laid back banter. Her encouragement, patience and positive attitude, from the beginning to the end of instruction, buoyed my enthusiasm and cemented my loyalty. After the legalities and prepped work were mandatorily and obligatorily done away with, the van was packed with our boards and paddles and we hopped aboard for the short trip to Ala Moana State Recreation Area. As the only students for the day, Michael and I were warned about reef protection and avoidance and to common sense yield to swimmers and young children when they are in our lane of travel. We lugged the boards and paddles that Alessa assigned to us to the beach. Michael wore Vibram Five Fingers. I didn't. He was ahead of the curve. Disclaimer: Please bring some sort of water shoes or Vibram Five Fingers. Otherwise, you will have to walk bare foot on lots of rocks and possibly fall while shallow on coral and reef in the water. Alessa, of course, didn't need them. We were instructed within earshot to start off on our knees then slowly transition to the standing. This worked well and if you've balanced on those balls in the gym, you can get this. If you get tired, you can get back on your knees or even sit on your butt with either your feet in or out of the water. Of course, you will fall and then you have to figure out how to get back on the board if you're not in shallow water. As you fall, we were told, keep a grip on the paddle or you will have to swim for it. For going out in the hot sun, bring sunglasses with straps (Croakies and a Floatie attached). My sunglasses didn't once come off my head, even as I fell several times. Wear lots of sunscreen, especially if you're light skinned. I will now return in the near future for kayaking, and beginning surfing lessons. Hopefully, Alessa - now a trusted instructor, will be available...

I was renting a surfboard here and returned it one day earlier than I told them I would. Well, it turned out they charged me money up front for the three days and would not give me refund even though I returned the board earlier. I have been renting surfboards on Oahu for many years and many times I had to return the board earlier for different reasons and I was always charged for the number of days I actually had the board, not for the number of days "I was going to". Of course nobody told me about such "rules" in advance, I would never sign up for that. By the way even with car rental companies if you return a car earlier they will charge you only for the number of days you actually had the car, its a standard rental practice, so I did not even expect this could happen to me. If you rent a board in this place then you have to watch your back and be extra careful about what you...

I had a great day out on the water! I loved the easy paddle out to the islands and back. Even saw a sea turtle on the reef so bring your mask! I used a Groupon and had no problems reserving my kayak. I did have to call (not book online) because I was barely within the 24-hr window. They took my Groupon info. over the phone with no problems. Reserve in advance and don't wait until the last minute if you are worried about a discount voucher. I also recommend getting there right at 9am on a weekday. I was in and out in 15 minutes (including loading up my car). I got great parking at Kailua Beach that way too! Also cleaning off the sand was no big deal. I pulled my kayak next to the showers and rinsed out the inside by filling an empty water bottle. By the time I got the kayak loaded, I was able to brush the rest of the dry sand off with my hand.

Fantastic day...