Surfing Adventures

Every surfing spot on this site is in Hawaii, which is fitting, because Waikiki is where surf lessons were invented and it is still the best beginner wave in the world for a child. The waves are small, they break slowly over a long distance, the water is warm, and there are more instructors per square metre of sand than anywhere on earth.

What makes a beginner wave

Slow and crumbling, not steep and hollow. A beginner wants a wave that gently pushes a board along, which is what Waikiki does and what the North Shore emphatically does not in winter.

A sand bottom. Reef breaks are unforgiving of falls. Waikiki is sand over reef and shallow enough to stand.

A long ride. Waikiki waves run for a very long way, which means a child gets ten seconds of standing up instead of one, and that is the difference between wanting to go again and not.

Lifeguards, and other beginners. A break full of learners is a safer place to learn than an empty expert break.

About the North Shore

The North Shore is the most famous surf on the planet and it is genuinely dangerous from roughly October through March - this is where the big-wave contests run, and it is not a place to take a child in winter. In summer, the same beaches go flat and become gentle swimming and snorkeling spots, and beginner lessons at Haleiwa run then. Season is not a detail here; it changes what the place is.

A first lesson

• Group lessons start around age 5 to 7, private ones sometimes younger. Most operators require the child to be comfortable swimming.
• Expect the first half hour on the sand. Popping up, board position, and where to be in the water. That part is not filler.
• Soft-top boards, and big ones. Beginner boards are foam and much bigger than they look right. Stability beats performance entirely at this stage.
• A rash guard, always. Chest and ribs get raw from the board very quickly, and it solves sunscreen at the same time.
• One hour is a lesson. Two hours is an ordeal. Paddling is tiring in a way kids do not anticipate.

Beach sense, which matters more than technique

Teach kids to look for the rip - the channel of calmer, often darker, sometimes sandy-looking water running out through the break. It is the safest place for a surfer to paddle out and the most dangerous place for a swimmer. Tell them that if they are caught in one they swim across it, parallel to the beach, never against it. And check the posted signs: Hawaii beaches are well flagged and the warnings are specific and accurate.

Best time

Summer on the north shores, winter on the south - the swell flips. Waikiki, facing south, is at its most consistent for beginners in summer but works year-round. Mornings are less windy everywhere.

What to bring

Rash guard, reef-safe sunscreen, water, a towel, and slippers you do not mind losing. Boards are provided by every lesson operator.