Your First Surf Lesson on the North Shore

Why learn on the North Shore

The North Shore is famous for its big winter waves, and that reputation scares off a lot of first-timers. The lesson doesn't happen at those breaks. It runs in a protected cove at Turtle Bay, and Jamie O'Brien Surf Experience publishes no seasonal closure: the calendar runs year-round. You get the setting and the surf culture without being thrown in at Pipeline.

The catch is distance. Turtle Bay is about an hour and fifteen minutes from Waikiki, well past where the buses turn around, and the lesson doesn't include transportation. A 90-minute lesson plus a long drive each way is a lot of day for one activity, which is why most guests pair it with a private tour.

Ohana lesson vs. group lesson

Lessons are booked and paid directly with Jamie O'Brien Surf Experience, and the booking calendar shows live availability. Children 10 and under can ride with a personal instructor on the Ohana lesson at $299.

Both include the surfboard, fins, leash, rash guard and reef shoes, so there's nothing to rent or bring. The group lesson is the social, better-value choice and a fun way to catch your first waves alongside other beginners. The Ohana lesson is worth the extra $30 per person if your group wants the instructors to itself, if someone is nervous, or if you need a start time other than 12:45. You can cancel or move your booking free up to 48 hours before (24 hours if you're staying at the Ritz-Carlton Turtle Bay).

What the 90 minutes looks like

Check in at the surf shop 30 minutes before your lesson. It's on the ground floor of the Ritz-Carlton at Turtle Bay. You start on the sand with a land lesson on paddling, popping up, stance and ocean safety. Then you head into the water with an instructor for every four guests, and a photographer shoots the session. Wear your swimsuit under the rash guard and bring sunscreen and a towel for afterward.

Which lesson time?

Ohana lessons start at 9:00 AM, 10:15 AM, 11:30 AM, 12:45 PM, 2:00 PM and 3:15 PM, and every option becomes an 8-hour private day. A few ways we build it:

Morning lesson (9:00 to 11:30). We pick you up in Waikiki as early as 7:00 AM, drive up through the middle of the island, and stop for coffee at Ted's Bakery at Sunset Beach, open from 7, or at Green World Coffee Farm on the way up. After the lesson the day turns west: lunch, then Sunset Beach and Pipeline, Waimea Bay, turtles at Laniakea and Haleʻiwa Town, with everything running one direction and no backtracking. With the 9:00 lesson you're back in Waikiki around 3:00 PM.

Afternoon lesson (12:45 to 3:15), including the group class. We go the other way round: over the Pali, up the Windward coast to Kahuku, and along to Turtle Bay for your lesson.

Make it a full day

Lunch is your call. The original Giovanni's is minutes from Turtle Bay at Kahuku (garlic shrimp), or you can grab poke at Foodland Pupukea or a Kua ʻAina burger in Haleʻiwa. Because you finish the lesson at the top of the coast, the whole afternoon runs west. Your guide adjusts on the day for the swell and the weather: a big swell means we go watch the surf, flat and clear means we snorkel, and rain on the North Shore means we move.

The tour is 100% private and fully customizable: just your group, your pace and your stops. It's $800 flat for 8 hours in a Toyota Sienna seating up to 6 ($200 per person for four, about $133 for six). Extra hours are $100, and cancellation is free up to 72 hours before. The lesson is booked and paid separately with Jamie O'Brien Surf Experience, and after you've booked both you reply to your confirmation with your hotel and lesson time so we can build the rest.

See all our private Oahu tours →