Learn To Surf

I like to think of myself as an expert sampler of lots of beginners instructors, (since I practice surfing so infrequently, I always go and drop money for a «beginners» lesson.) And Cliff and the Learn to Surf school are by far the best value, quality of instruction, and optimize for the most important thing on surfing… getting you up on the board. Like any good kindergarten teacher, Cliff breaks surfing down to the simple fundamentals and gives you two things to think about — beginning position, and tells you when to get up. As you get those basics he’ll advance you to next levels of timing, momentum, etc.
If you’re staying in Poipu, the resorts will tell you you can surf right there. But why would you? There’s rocky bottoms that will hurt you bad as you’re trying to learn! Get in the car, get off the resort and go see so many other beautiful parts of Kauai and spend some of the best 2 hrs surfing with a true teacher.
We learned about Learn to Surf via Kuai Revealed, you’ve learned from him here, so give him a call.

Cliff is the best. He spends about 15 minutes going over safety and the basics on land. Then he gets you out in the water and has you up in riding in no time. He’s sweet, patient, and really great at pointing out the specifics when offering suggestions for improvement. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience — and we had an absolute blast! Will definitely be an in forgettable experience from our trip! You da man, cliff!

CLIFF IS A PHENOMENAL INSTRUCTOR! Fantastic Experience!
GOOD FOR ALL LEVELS OF EXPERIENCE: There were three of us taking lessons, and Cliff was able to cater his lesson to each person. This was my first time surfing, and even though I was a little nervous to try this, Cliff gave a lot of guidance and made it a very enjoyable experience. The other two people had taken one or two lessons before and Cliff was able to give them more advanced tips.
LOTS OF TIME OUT ON THE WATER: Unlike some other surfing lessons where the instructor spends 20 minutes or more on land going over techniques, we were able to get more time in the water and getting hands on experience and learning techniques in vivo, which was fantastic! Even though each student was at a different level of skill and expertise, there was no waiting around to get your «turn» to catch a wave since Cliff strategically had the more advanced students catching larger waves with me closer to shore.
GREAT PRICE: Every other place we looked at cost double or triple the price. This is truly unbeatable in price and with a phenomenal instructor.
Overall this was a highlight of my trip: D

Cliff is the man. Period. Such a cool guy and amazing instructor. Any booking with a surf instructor should go like this, «I’ll text you tomorrow afternoon and let you know where the waves are and where we are going to meet…»
All of us where up and riding in no time and having a total blast. If you want to learn to surf and have a real experience with someone who loves what they do, hang with Cliff for a couple of hours.

Whether you’re a beginner or have some experience, Cliff is the man!!! Very laid back, patient and encouraging… He’s such a cool guy that after the surf lesson with my wife and I, we hung out like old friends throughout the rest of our stay!
Don’t let the awesome price fool you… it’s just a reflection of how humble he is and that he loves what he does! Definitely worth double the price.
Can’t wait to go back! See you soon my friend…

My wife and I surfed with Cliff from Learn to Surf. The experience was fantastic. I’ve taken many a lessons for various things over the years and have to say that Cliff is one of the best instructors I’ve ever had for anything. He is patient, encouraging, and never seems to get bored. My wife caught on very quickly but I had some difficulty. By the end, I was catching waves and Cliff was happier than I was, which is pretty tough to top. Highly recommended and at $ 45 per person, this is probably one of the best deals on the island.

Cliff is awesome! The lesson was probably the highlight of our trip. They were half the price of anyone else on the Island and we were standing and surfing in no time. I just couldn’t wipe the big stupid grin off of my face.

My boyfriend and I took 2 surfing lessons from Cliff and we couldn’t have been happier. He is a very laid back guy and explains things so they are easy to understand. He was in the water focusing on us the whole time. The fact that he is 6’6″ I think helps him so as I was trying to battle the waves he just stands tall and was able to give me that push to help catch the wave. I took a lesson 10 years ago but never really got up and kind of wrote off my chance of ever surfing but Cliff got me up on the second wave and I LOVED it!!! He gave great feedback on what we were doing wrong and then helped me catch another wave. We loved our lesson so much that we took a second one the next day right before our flight home. I just wished we would have taken the lessons sooner in the week and I would have done it every day. I also think that Learn to Surf is the cheapest place for lessons and I believe they do a max of 3 people.

Cliff is an amazing instructor. He cared about our wishes, needs and expectations and tailored the class for us. Highly recommended! We did 3 lessons and improved our surfing skills.

My daughter and I took a group lesson with Cliff. In no time Cliff had us all up and surfing. Cliff was laid back and made it a really fun experience. We will be back next time we are on Kauai.

Met Nefi and his crew on the beach; GREAT GROUP. Organized, instructive and entertaining all in a relaxed atmosphere. They spend time with those who need it and send others who are stronger out to the deeper surf… Highly recommend for all ages!

very simple and easy learning experience, i had surfed several times w friends w/​o being able to stand up, also it was exhausting having to paddle back out each time. after a few mins of simple instructions on the beach we walked out to the surf break which was close to shore. like everyone else i was up in 3 tries. then later caught my own waves. after i was pooped out, they let my wife and dog borrow a SUP and they used it while they packed up. Wesley was my instructor, def best if you have a pvt or semi pvt lesson so the instructor can stay w you. Nephi gave me precise directions to find the beach, Cost was $ 45 but i gave them $ 60
Dog friendly also

We had cliff as our instructor and he was great. Everybody stood up on their first try. It helped that he had us on the beach first. Plus he was really good with getting photo points like he had my brother and I get on the same surf board. The surf boards were a little beat up so we all had surf burns. So I recommend a light long sleeve or they provide a shirt for you and long board shorts if possible. Definitely made our stay in Kauai better.

Cliff was great. I had been surfing for about a year and took the time to teach me a lot of new things. He was patient and a clear teacher. I’m excited to get back out there and practice what I learned. Thanks Cliff

First time trying to surf. We followed the tips on the ultimate guide and booked class for two.
These guys charge little ($ 45) and I suspect they can do it because they only take cash. The class includes 90 minutes of instruction in a group of 3 or 4 plus 30 minutes of extra board usage.
BF was up and running by try number 3 and so was pretty much everyone else in the group. But I sucked, so the instructor held my board for 2 straight hours and really tried to get me to stand. As I just said, I sucked so I only got up about half the times.
Even with my inability to make it on the board, did not make the experience any less fun, and I really appreciated that the instructor didn’t give up on me. The other guys helped out too, giving me useful advice, but I guess I am not a natural… Maybe with looooots of practice…
Anyway, my point is: they are awesome! For natural talents and for less talented alike!

Nefi, and his employee Cliff, are really great guys. They are good teachers and their service is reasonably priced. Nefi is an excellent instructor, but you need to make sure you specify that he will actually be teaching you himself. Some of his assistants are not good at all. Cliff, another instructor who works for Nefi, is also good… but Nefi is the best.
What’s great about learning to surf with these guys is that you once you learn to catch waves, you can join them wherever they are teaching and rent a board for $ 10. An easy way to get some practice in without having to worry about scouting a location or renting/​lugging a board.

I am a huge wuss and not that athletic, but to my surprise, this surf lesson was the most fun thing we did on our honeymoon! Nefi was a great surf instructor. He made me feel like a bad*!# surfer girl and I got up many times with his simple instruction. They take you to a beach that has the right wave conditions if you are a beginner and so you are totally safe and comfortable! Great price for the fun!

This place is not well advertised, so we are very glad the blue guidebook pointed us in their direction.
First off, they charge the least of anyone we could find on the island: $ 40 per person for a 90 minute session. This is usually 15 minutes of beach instruction and another 75 minutes in the water. They then let you use the boards on your own to keep practicing.
Our main instructor, Nephi, was a great guy who seemed to genuinely want us to be able to surf. They are not tied to one particular place on the island, but instead go wherever the weather and surf will be perfect for learning. That means that they could be in Poi’pu one week, Waimea the next, and Princeville after that. You just have to call to find out if they are booked and where they will be.
Have cash or a check ready, no plastic for these beach bums. They provide everything else you need, except your swimsuit… They have the boards and surf shirts to help prevent skin rash and keep you warm. On that note, it is suggested that women wear board shorts to keep their upper thighs from getting rashed when moving or pushing up on the board.
We both managed to stand up and surf multiple times during our first ever attempt at surfing! We highly recommend this group.

Very friendly people for some surfing fun. They also have best prices that I found on Princeville side. The «tourist info centers» and concierge had companies charging much higher prices. They had both my daughters up on their first tries and even did a tandem board ride together for some great photos.

Me and two friends came on vacation to kauai looking for fun outdoor activities. We met a surf instructor at the beach who wanted to charge us 80 a person and we got the feeling he was trying to rip us off cuz we were girls. So we looked in the ultimate kauai guidebook and found Learn to Surf. Their rate was half the price and the instructor was super professional. The instructor actually cared if we got up on the board and had a good experience. We all caught a lot of waves and learned how to stand up stay standing and control the direction of the board. My friend who had taken surfing lessons before from a hotel said this was 100 times better because the hotel instructor didn’t care and stopped paying attention to them. With Learn to Surf we actually got to stay out extra and practice with the boards. It was exactly what we were looking for — professional, quality and good price.