Surfing on Waikiki: My Experience From a Non-Surfer

My family and I had the privilege to visit the island of Oahu in Hawaii several years ago. While we were trip planning, one of my sisters asked if I would be interested in taking a surfing lesson. Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure about it. It felt a bit out of my comfort zone. When I think of surfing, I imagine myself sitting out in the ocean without anyone close by to help if needed, and lets not even mention the fact that sharks could be swimming by at any time. Needless to say, the thought was a little scary! Not wanting to miss out on the fun and experience though, I said yes! And I am glad I did. I can’t wait to share my experience with you.

My sister looked at several different options but decided to book our surfing lesson through the company “Gone Surfing Hawaii” on Waikiki Beach. There were several different options for classes. My sisters and brother-in-law were all wanting to surf, so we decided on a group lesson. When looking at their website now (see here: www.gonesurfinghawaii.com) it appears that they currently offer one-on-one as well as small group classes. When the five of us went to the lesson, we were able to do it all together. We did, however, have two instructors with us out in the ocean when we went. If you have a bigger group like we did, you may want to contact the company and see how they can best accommodate you. 

Gone Surfing Hawaii also offers a photo package to document your surfing experience. We chose not to purchase this package when we went and I can honestly say I wish we had. I would have loved to have had pictures of my family and I out on the water instead of just the few we got on the beach before heading out into the ocean.

Waikiki Beach! Can you really say you’ve visited Hawaii without visiting Waikiki? Not only do you get to surf but you get to do it on one of the most famous and well known American beaches. After your surfing lesson, take some time and check out all the fun things you can do near Waikiki! You could spend more time on the beach, grab lunch at one of the restaurants or check out all the shops around the area.

Now for my thoughts on surfing… I honestly didn’t know what to expect when we decided to try surfing. I assumed it wouldn’t be easy and I was half right. When we first arrived at the “Gone Surfing Hawaii’ stand we were asked to pick out a rash guard to wear while in the ocean. They had a variety of sizes to accommodate whoever was surfing.

I loved that they gave us all this practice before having to try it in real time and do it amongst the waves. Our instructor was great and he was easy to understand. We had no problems following his instructions. After practicing, we grabbed a quick picture and then headed out to the ocean.

Paddling out

The hardest part of surfing (to me) was paddling out into the ocean. With not much upper body strength, it sure was hard. It felt like I was working really hard and making progress like I was a snail on a highway. It took a lot of effort to move against the waves headed to shore. After getting up on my board for the first time, I had to decide each time after that if I wanted to fall off the board early so I wouldn’t have as far to paddle back out or if I wanted to enjoy the ride closer to the shore. I ended up doing a little of both.

Hitting a wave

Like I mentioned above, before heading out into the ocean, the instructor shared how to approach a wave head on so that it wouldn’t knock you off your board. Well…. when the first wave hit, I learned quickly that I wasn’t doing it the right way and you really do have to position yourself perpendicular to the wave. When the wave hit hard and I went dashing into the sea, I thought, “What have I gotten myself into?”. I didn’t give up though (I mean, I was out in the middle of the ocean so I couldn’t really if I had wanted to). The next wave I came across I did much better and it kept getting easier as I went. There’s nothing like actual experience to help you learn! If you decide to give surfing a try make sure you pay close attention to the instructor when they show you how to approach a wave! 

Getting up on your board

Once we made it out to the where we would be surfing from, the instructors helped get us set up and get into the right position to grab a wave. The instructors were wonderful at watching waves and giving our boards a push when we should go. Being new to surfing, this was extremely helpful since I had no clue what I was looking for. When the instructor told us to go, they would give our boards a push and we would paddle as hard as we could until we felt the wave begin to push the board itself. When the wave was pushing us we could then stand up on the board in the way the instructor had showed us. This was a lot easier than I imagined it would be! I was able to stand up on the board almost every time I tried. I had so much fun! We did this cycle of paddling out to the ocean and surfing back to the shore for close to an hour before heading back. 

Falling off your board

While it seems like you wouldn’t need instruction on how to fall, there is an art to it. Because we were surfing where there was coral underneath us, we were instructed to fall off the board like a “star”. We were supposed to extend our arms and legs out straight to avoid hitting the coral beneath us. Not only do you want to protect yourself from coral but you want to protect the coral itself. I felt like I did fairly well with this while surfing but realized after we got done that I did have some scrapes from the experience. Thankfully it wasn’t to bad and didn’t stop us from having fun.

Am I glad I decided to go? Absolutely! It was such a fun experience that I would recommend anyone who can, to give it a try if they get a chance. Am I ready to try surfing on my own? Not at all! But I would definitely take a class again. Next time though, I would try and get that photo package too 🙂 – Pepper and Passports

Do you love visiting the beach? Then you need to visit Half Moon Cay – https://pepperandpassports.com/what-i-learned-visiting-carnival-cruise-lines-private-island-half-moon-cay/

And if you would prefer an adventure on land, why not try a hike at Big Bend National Park – https://suitcasesandsalt.com/three-hikes-everyone-should-do-at-big-bend-national-park/

Keep track of all the fun places you would like to visit and the things you want to do with this free bucket list maker – https://seasonedtravel.kit.com/793556e6a0