San Clemente Surf School

Absolutely Fantastic. These guys are the real deal and very professional. We brought a group of 40 college students from Phoenix and were incredibly pleased. Knowledgeable, professional, and we’re great. We will be using them On a yearly basis!

Awesome! We came to Cali for October break from AZ & the kids decided they wanted to learn how to surf. I called & Joann was so helpful and accommodating! We arranged for lesson the next day. A big shout to Montana & Morgin! The next day after we rented surf boards & surfed all day! The perfect activity for everyone!

I got a lesson from Daynger about a year ago, and he was so patient and fun to learn from! I have some lumbar disc issues, and he was so helpful on giving me modifications, that I was able to ride into shore my first day! I was so stoked, I came back to Minnesota and got a paddleboard. :) I am excited to get back into town and take another lesson, thank you!

I took my sister on a surf lesson while on vacation in the San Clemente area. We were just a couple of rookies, but Josiah took us under his wing and showed us everything we needed to know. He is super encouraging and helpful. Besides that, Josiah is patient and easy going. Chilling with him while waiting for waves was fun. 1000 points for Josiah.

My girlfriend visited from the East Coast. Josiah was simply fantastic teaching the both of us at our different beginning ability levels. We got some great instruction on the beach, and then he dove into the chilly surf with us without a wetsuit and guided us from the basics on up! We had a blast, and even stood up a couple of times before our time was up. Will definitely try surfing again!

My 2 boys (13 and 11 years old) just finished a week of summer surf camp. They absolutely LOVED it. They have been surfing on their own for a couple of years but have never had any instruction. This was exactly what they needed. They came home the first day and already felt like they had markedly improved and that continued each day, all week. They are stronger, safer surfers because of this camp. And, I’ve never heard them rave about a camp (and they’ve been to several) like they did about this one. It was money so well spent. I’m thrilled that they had an amazing week, enjoying sun and surf and learning along the way.
I loved that they could be dropped off and picked up in the loading zone near the SC Pier. There was an instructor there to make sure they are signed in/​out each day. It made it so convenient.
Additionally, there were lots of sting rays in the water all week (purple flag warning) and the instructors focused heavily on what to do when that’s the case — how to shuffle your feet while in the water. No one in the camp (which was about 20 kids, I would guess) got stung, despite being in the water almost 4 hours a day. My boys said that kids in other camps on the same beach were stung.
Joanna and Chris, who own the surf school, are terrific.
We’ll definitely be doing this camp again.

I put my 2 kids in this camp in July 2014. My son complained, «Mom, I’m not a surfer. Don’t make me do it!» But I made him anyway. I told him he didn’t have to surf, he could just watch. And then I crossed my fingers.
Chris, the instructor, took great care of my son. On the first day, I was shocked to find out that not only did my son get on a surfboard, he also RODE A WAVE ALL THE WAY IN, STANDING!!! I’m so happy!
Now, he wants to surf all the time. Which is awesome, because my husband and I are surfers and it’s so great to have the whole family doing it.
Thanks to Chris and Joanna for the great time my kids had, and for a lasting love of surfing that we will enjoy as a family!

Chris & Joanne are amazing! Thank you so much! Love, Taco :)

I have four children (ages 14, 12, 12 and 6). They have taken surf lessons a few times at various other beaches. Our experience at SCSS was as good as it gets. The lessons were easy to set up, they were flexible with our schedule and the price was competitive with other surf schools we have used.
The four children had two instructors for a two hour lesson. The instructors were knowledgeable and fun. The kids were so excited to get up on their boards and were worn out by the end of the two hours!
We would definitely use SCSS again.

What an amazing lesson! Josiah was my instructor for my first Surf lesson ever! He was so patient and understanding as well as knowledgable about surfing making it easy for me to pick up! Granted its an expensive lesson, but it was well WORTH IT! I had such an amazing time! 5÷8÷14

I have taken multiple lessons from SC Surf School. First two with Chris. Stood up on a wave after my second lesson. Chris is an easy going guy. We chatted about the finer thing in life in between set waves. I’m a duke lacrosse fan and Chris knows his stuff. My last lesson was with «Yoga» another awesome instructor. Caught a few small rides and chatted about Crossfit between sets. Highly recommend lessons by these guys! Oh and they can recite any quote from point break.

Chris and his team gave a great lesson. They were patient, knowledgeable, and had Chardogg standing up his first time out, even if I did swallow a few mouthfuls of saltwater. Plus it was super affordable. I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a good lesson from a great mentor.

The surf lessons were awesome! I bought my groomsmen lessons as part of their wedding present and had the lessons the morning of the wedding. They loved it and had a blast… we all did!!! The instructors were very cool and really wanted to see us all get up and catch a wave. The owner even showed up to see how we were all doing. Overall the experience was top notch and very easy to set up. They are very reasonable in price and you get a lot for your dollar. I shopped around and this is the best around. The experience was awesome and I highly recommend!!!

I have the honor of being the first to review San Clemente Surf School. First, I set the whole lesson up through Facebook! Easy! Spoke with the instructor «Evan» via phone on the day of the lesson. He took my nephew and his friend to a surfing location in San Clemente. It looked way to «gnarly» for the boys (2^nd time surfing for both of them) so he decided we should go to Doheny state beach. I followed him, on the freeway to the beach. The boys said Evan was a fantastic instructor. Since they had already had the basics down from before, Evan showed him the finer points of surfing and took them right to the water! They had a great time!

Not sure why there aren’t other reviews of this surf school. They’ve been around for a few years. I had Chris as an instructor and really enjoyed learning how to surf.
I have to admit, I didn’t learn how surf in one session. I took lessons for months in order to finally be able to ride my funboard (7’2″). Chris had me start out on a 13ft long board and then helped me slowly transition down to the board I had.
Last summer, I had some friends in town — so we all did a group lesson. The school provided everything! They got foamie boards and nice wetsuits. It was a two hour session and everyone was having a blast. great day :)
I would highly recommend anyone interested in surfing to try this school out.