Hawaii Lifeguard Surf Instructors - Kona Private & Semi-Private Surfing Lessons reviews, Big Island tours & activities, fun things to do in Big Island | HawaiiActivities.com

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Hawaii Lifeguard Surf Instructors - Kona Private & Semi-Private Surfing Lessons

Overall Rating

4.89 4.89 / 5

Reviews

19 reviews
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Surfing

Reviewed by: Jessica, 2019/05/17

Staff was great took extra time to make it great learning!

Reply from activity provider

Thank you for joining us and for taking the time to share your review with us all. We are so glad you had a great time with our surfing 'ohana (family) out on the waves!

Rating:
Attended as:Couples
Activity Date:2019/05/14
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Great service

Reviewed by: Eric, 2018/07/17

They booked me a spot I wasn't able to book directly through the company; and at a cheaper pricer!!

Rating:
Attended as:Families
Activity Date:2018/07/13
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Group lesson

Reviewed by: Lvklysnatour , 2018/04/08

The kids had fun. However, next day they wanted to try on their own and could not time the waves. I would add a focus on teaching the kids when to start peddling. But average it was good for the first timers.

Reply from activity provider

Aloha All,
Thank you for the review, glad to hear the kids had fun. And happy to hear the kids wanted to try on their own. Learning how to read the ocean and time the waves for most takes years of experience in the ocean. We tell novice surfers who are serious about learning how to surf and become avid surfers, do not get discouraged- keep at it. It takes time to develop the skills to read and feel the ocean and develop the instincts to really hone in on. But keep at it, that's what our Hawaiian lifeguards and avid watermen are there to provide for everyone and we appreciate you all joining us! We are born and raised in the islands and live and breathe the amidst the ocean to share that experience with as many people as we can- it is not something you can learn rapidly- but we encourage surfers to keep at it and remember you will progress with the more time you put into it.

Rating:
Attended as:Families with Young Children
Activity Date:2018/04/04
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Surfing with young child

Reviewed by: Lvklysnatour , 2018/04/08

My son was so thrilled so he decided to do it again. And he did

Reply from activity provider

Awesome photo! Thank you guys again for joining us. Keep it up, looking good out there!

Rating:
Attended as:Families with Young Children
Activity Date:2018/04/04
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Awesome experience and a fun new skill gained!

Reviewed by: Nick Smith, 2018/02/16

I've always wanted to learn how to surf and Jason was totally awesome and fun to work with. Although there were high surf warnings and strong current warnings going on at the time, I nailed a perfect 10, according to him, on only my 5th wave. I later got 3 in a row, including standing up, surfing the wave, and laying back down again without falling in the blue water below. I quickly caught on to many of the trends, such as interpreting the waves and knowing when to go for it. The first thing to do with learning most any skill is to find patterns.

Jason called me a natural at it, and I believe it, given how quickly I learned and how enjoyable my experience was. It did take me a bit of time to get used to getting up to the standing position from laying down, but the classroom-like aspect of the first segment really helped with that.

I would say the hardest part about this whole thing was finding a parking space for where you'd be doing the actual surfing itself. If you're lucky, you could find parking along the street close by, but chances are, you'll need the parking lot that's close to around 700 feet away, but what's a little walking when you've got a lot of paddling to do? It's a nice warm up, at least, to prepare yourself.

I chose the one on one option mainly because I felt it was going to be a skill I wanted to use in other locations. Little did I know, it actually ensured I could do this as everyone but me canceled due to the surf conditions.

  • Me with surf board in background at starting location

Rating:
Attended as:Solo Travelers
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Awesome Lesson!

Reviewed by: Macie, 2017/11/17

John was super helpful, never surfed before and rode quite a few waves during the lesson. Very positive, upbeat, and skilled! Had a blast!

Rating:
Attended as:Couples
Activity Date:2017/11/14
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Can't wait to surf again!

Reviewed by: Kona Lover, 2017/01/23

This was a great time and we can't wait to do it again! We were all able to stand up on our surf boards because of their great teaching, and we loved being in the water with the instructors. Very kind staff! The lesson on the land was a little long and repetitive, but very worth it for the water time. Jake and Tiffany were the best instructor!

Reply from activity provider

Thank you guys for joining us out on the water and for taking the time to write us a review. We had a great time sharing the waves with you as well and so stoked to hear your awesome board stories and feedback. Mahalo Nui- Team HLSI

Rating:
Attended as:Friends
Activity Date:2017/01/13
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Surf lessons

Reviewed by: Steve L, 2016/07/17

Amazing detail....John and Jacob were fantastic...extremely friendly and helpful

Reply from activity provider

Mahalo for joining us out on the water. We appreciate the review and are stoked you had as much fun out there as we dis with you.
Aloha!

Rating:
Attended as:Couples
Activity Date:2016/07/14
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Very Nice

Reviewed by: Mama, 2016/04/05

Very nice experience! I was going with my 8yd son. Very impressive!

Reply from activity provider

Mahalo for joining us and for taking thebtime to share your review with us all. We look forward to the next time we can share the waves with you both! Aloha

Rating:
Attended as:Families with Young Children
Activity Date:2016/01/20
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Awesome Surf Lessons!

Reviewed by: The Labbe Family, 2015/07/29

My son had a fabulous morning surfing in Kona! We wished we had taken him earlier in the week, so that he could have gone a few times! His instructor was great and he loved it!

Reply from activity provider

Aloha From Team HLSI. Thank you for sharing your experience with us and the world and for the great photo! We are glad you guys had as much fun as we did out there- We are going to add your awesome after surfing shot to our website, and we look forward to surifng with your son again in the future Mahalo!

Rating:
Attended as:Families
Activity Date:2015/07/16
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awesome place to learn to surf!

Reviewed by: hkr, 2015/01/18

The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. We had a brief lesson in the classroom where the lady that checked us in gave us a brief history of their operations and then explained the does and don'ts of surfing. We practiced the three steps to stand up a few times in the classroom then sent us to the beach that's an easy 4mi straight down alii dr. Just as we left, the other couple that was supposed to be in our group arrived (a half hour late). The instructor was very friendly to them even though the girl was acting like being late was somehow the instructors fault. We went to the beach where we met the water instructors and waited for the other couple to finish the classroom session. The instructors were super friendly and answered any questions we could think to ask them. When the other couple arrived, the fun began. There was only one couple per instructor, and they had us standing within minutes! They also made sure we got a full 2 hours of water time (and maybe a smidge extra) despite the other couple's delay. Great experience, highly recomend!

Rating:
Attended as:Couples
Activity Date:2015/01/15
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TWO THUMBS UP for Lifeguard Surf Instructors

Reviewed by: Michael, 2015/01/10

Our family of six (6) spent ten days on the Big Island. On Friday morning, one of our three boys told us how cool it would be to learn how to surf. That was all the incentive his mother needed to commence her Google search for the best firm to school her three sons (ages 22, 26 and 29) on surfing. She started calling on Friday morning at 8:00 o’clock with all of the places informing her that it would be Monday before they would have a spot for the three boys. The lone exception was Life Guard Surf Instructors. This family owned surf instruction firm took the information about our three (3) sons and arranged to have another instructor come in to give our sons a group lesson, which occurred within three (3) hours of when we initially called.

When we arrived they receive a thorough briefing about what was in store for everyone when they got into the water. This was extremely important since one of our sons has some learning difficulties and is very uncomfortable if there are things that he will be expected to do and he is not warned about them in advance. When we reached the place where the water instruction was to take place, to our surprise, our son who has the learning difficulty was given one on one instruction from one of the Owner family members. He thoroughly enjoyed himself. Our other sons also had a great time. We would highly recommend Life Guard Surf Instructors to everyone who wants their children to be instructed by highly trained and caring instructors.

Reply from activity provider

On behalf of our entire team here at HLSI. Thank you taking the time t write a review and share your families surfing experience with others. We pride our family owned and operated surf school on our customer care and satisfaction and number 1- their safety. Sharing our love for the ocean with others is what our surf school is all about!
Thank you guys for choosing HLSI for your surfing adventure here in Kona. Aloha!

Rating:
Attended as:Families
Activity Date:2015/01/09
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So much fun!

Reviewed by: Sarah and Marc, 2014/12/26

Marc and I have never surfed before, so we were slightly scaptical of how much you could learn in 45min theory and one hour in the water. As it turned out, it was totally enough to get the basics and make you feel exhausted (you will be sore the next day, but it is really worth it!). The teachers are awesome, they are very encouraging and positive. It is a really great hawaiian family run company - they just have the natural aloha attitude.They help you picking the right waves and show you how to stand up on the board right away. Of course you will also fall in the water, but eveyone does, so it is just so much fun! We recommend taking a surf lesson with them 100% and would do it again immeadiatly!

Reply from activity provider

Aloha Sarah and Marc,

Thank you guys for joining us out on the water and for taking the time to share your experience with the world. We appreciate your feedback and enjoy reading your first hand encounter with surfing and our Hawaiian surf school, it reminds us why we do what we do everyday! We look forward to surfing with you guys again on your next visit to Kona. Happy Holidays from Team HLSI

Rating:
Attended as:Couples
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Best time ever

Reviewed by: Katherina Tcheprasov, 2014/11/25

That was my first surfing lesson and I had a great time! The coaches were very nice, helpful and tried hard to choose the best waves for us to go on. We were registered to come in the early morning but they called and told us that there was no wind at the time and no good waves for surfing. Instead they suggested to come a bit later. We arrived later in the day when waves were pretty good. The place is really well suited for starters. I really enjoyed the experience and had a wonderful time surfing! I really recommend this surfing lesson because it was beyond my expectation.
My father asked for advanced board and they easily accommodated his request and helped him to advance to the level of driving such a board.

Reply from activity provider

Aloha from Team HLSI. Mahalo (Thank you) for the feedback and taking the time to share your review. We are glad you both had as much fun out there as we did. We look forward to surfing with you all again on your next visit back to Kona. We try to share our knowledge and love for surfing and our waters with others and enjoy meeting wonderful people like you from around the world.

Rating:
Attended as:Families
Activity Date:2014/11/24
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Great for Kids

Reviewed by: S. Doyle, 2014/11/23

This was my children's first introduction to surfing. I really liked how they could have a private instructor who rode the board with them. My son is 5 and my daughter is 7. She has high functioning autism and struggles with anxiety but she really wanted to give it a try. The instructors were really great with both of our kids. The waves were pretty minimal and we had the option to cancel, but the kids would have been so disappointed so we decided to go anyway. Both kids managed to stand up and my daughter did indeed ride a small wave. The pre-lesson on dry land in the office is really useful, especially since they use visuals which really meets my daughter's learning style. We would love to do this again, and next time mom and dad want to give it a try too.

Reply from activity provider

Thank you for your review. We are glad your young surfers had as much fun out on the water as we did with them. Aloha from Kona and Team HLSI. We hope to surf with you all again soon.

Rating:
Attended as:Families
Activity Date:2014/10/31
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Calleja Family-From Fresno, California

Reviewed by: John A. Calleja, 2014/06/26

Due to the weather and not having any surf waves we were not able to attend the event, but the company that offered it they tried two different times to get us, just no waves to offer for surfing.

Rating:
Attended as:Families
Activity Date:2014/06/19
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Great experience.

Reviewed by: S Chase, 2012/07/20

Wonderful staff...very polite and friendly. Great with our kids ages 16, 13 and 6!

Rating:
Attended as:Families with Young Children
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pleasantly surprised

Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2011/07/08

had no idea you could actually surf on the big island! but you can! and I did! ha!

only having been surfing a few times, those instructors had their work cut out for them! but they were really patient and encouraging, and yessir I got up on that board and rode a few! yeee haw!

check this lesson out!

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Attended as:Families with Young Children
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Mad Fun!

Reviewed by: Mr. Anonymous, 2008/08/09

I caught one!!! Hahaha! Me and my son did the Tandem so that he could go out with the instructor. He got over the nerves and wanted to do it over and over again. But we had a great time and ended up renting surfboards in Waikiki to test out our new skills pretty much everyday. I wish we had an ocean in Texas!

Rating:
Attended as:Families with Young Children
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