Top Santa Monica Surfing Lessons

Immerse yourself in the SoCal lifestyle—and learn the basics of surfing in an accessible, hands-on way—with private surfing lessons. Choose from multiple convenient class times, and meet your instructor right on the legendary Venice Beach. With personalized guidance, you’ll learn the basics on the beach before grabbing your board and trying out your skills in the waves.

We are a surf school based on Venice Beach. Our goal is for you to have an excellent surfing experience, whether it's your first time trying surfing or you are trying to advance your skills. For the first 30–40 minutes, we will be training on the beach, and then it’s one hour with the instructors in the ocean. The remaining time is yours to practice your skills and have fun with the surfboards that we provide. We’ll be giving lessons on Venice Beach, one of the most famous beaches in California. You’ll be able to not only enjoy the ocean and get surfing experience, but also explore the unique spirit of the eccentric cultural hub of Venice Beach.

Learn how to hang ten with a surf lesson in Venice Beach. Before you head into the water, you’ll learn about board design and dynamics, ocean safety, surf etiquette, pop-up technique, and form. Plus, learn about California surf culture. The lesson includes all of the necessary equipment: surfboard and a wetsuit.

Kapowui, was awarded best surf school in Venice beach for the last 5 years in a row. Kapowui is a family run business and and an icon of southern California. We live, eat, and dream surfing and teach surfing because we want to share our love and stoke for the sport. This is a life choice for us and what gives our lives meaning. All of Kapowui's instructors are imbued with the Aloha spirit, live within blocks of the beach (4 of them live in surf vans), surf every day and have many years teaching experience. When we are doing a lesson with you, we are 100% focused and in the moment with you. At Kapowui we truly care about your experience. Whether surfing is a one time bucket list item or a new sport you want to pick up, we will have you up riding waves, 100% guaranteed! Additionally you will be immersed in the surf culture, giving you the opportunity to feel the true surfer vibe, while learning a skill you can use forever.

When you take a surfing lesson from Kapowui, you are learning from the best. Not only do our instructors live, eat and dream surfing, they are imbued with the Aloha spirit, live within blocks of the beach (4 of them live in surf vans), surf every day and are experienced teachers. Come feel the surfer vibes with us, and we'll be sure to have you up riding a wave!

Cruise the iconic Pacific Coast Highway in our signature open air buses, and enjoy some of Southern California's top surf spots. Any level of surf experience can be accommodated. We take care of the gear, transportation and expertise, you just bring your good vibes and enthusiasm!

At WaveHuggers, our passion is sharing the fun of surfing as well as the importance of ocean conservation. When you book this private group surf lesson in Santa Monica, you’ll learn how to surf on the waves as well as how to protect the ocean. Our instructors are highly-trained and CPR-certified and teach about surfing safety, etiquette, technique, tides, and ocean conditions. Come shred with us!

Most surf schools will get you to stand up your first time surfing. They all say so. And for your typical surf instructor, it’s easy to get someone on their feet. Here at our Surf School, we teach you how to actually read & ride a wave, starting from your very first lesson. Reading waves and knowing where to be are the most crucial aspects of surfing. Fostering the knowledge of the ocean is how you truly develop the ability to become a real surfer. That being said, if surfing is something you want to kick off the bucket list or to do on vacation with friends or family, no one on our team has taught this sport for less than 5 years. Our focus is getting you to surf not just anywhere on the wave, but on the best, most fun part of the wave. We are 100% the only surf school that custom-makes their boards (made in California) specifically for optimal learning as a beginner or intermediate. We have the warmest, cared for wetsuits, and we're all American Red Cross certified!