Stand Up on a Kihei Wave, Six Students Per Class
A beginner-only class that starts on the lawn at Kalama Park and ends with you paddling into the whitewater off Kihei.
Kalama Park sits on the ocean side of South Kihei Road, and at the south end of its parking lot a surf class gathers most mornings. Waivers get signed on the stone wall. Boards come off the van and go down on the grass, where the pop-up gets drilled on solid ground while the ocean is still something you are only looking at.
Two hours later you have either stood up or you have a free lesson coming: the operator guarantees you will be surfing in one lesson, or the next one is free.
The group class runs two hours and is built for people who have never stood on a board. The board, a rash guard and water booties come with it, and the one-dollar state ocean stewardship fee and taxes are already inside the ticket. You meet the van at the park. There is no hotel pickup on this one.
Maui: Two Hour Beginner Group Surf Lesson in KiheiSurf Shack Maui · Kalama Park, Kihei · 2 hours · ages 9 and upwww.viator.comWhy the Class Stops at Six Students
Surf Shack caps the group class at six students, which the operator says is the number that lets an instructor give each person real attention. Everyone in the water with you is a beginner too. Nobody is working on a cutback while you are still learning to lie straight on the board.
The two hours cover ocean awareness and water safety, then paddling and catching a wave, then stance and balance, then the pop-up itself. Surf etiquette is part of the syllabus, which matters at a break other people also use.
A party larger than six will not fit into one group class. The operator runs private lessons for those, at any skill level and from age five.
Nine and Up in the Group, Five and Up Privately
The group class takes ages nine and up. Younger children go to a private lesson, which the operator opens from age five. Children need an adult with them.
The listing calls the class suitable for all fitness levels. It also names two groups who should skip it: travellers with spinal injuries and anyone pregnant.
The operator asks you to leave rings, watches and necklaces behind. Anything loose comes off before you get in the water.
Two Start Times, Monday Through Saturday
Lessons go out at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. The schedule runs Monday through Saturday, and the operator closes on holidays as well, so a Sunday plan will not work here.
The two slots are not priced the same. The later one books at a higher rate than the first, which makes the early start the cheaper of the two.
Both slots run the same two hours with the same class size.
What Comes With It, and What Does Not
Included: professional instruction, the surfboard, a rash guard, water booties, and the one-dollar state ocean stewardship fee with taxes.
Not included: gratuities, and hotel pickup or drop-off. Getting to Kihei is on you.
Photographs of your session are available from the operator for an extra fee. Cancel at least twenty-four hours before your start time for a full refund.
The meeting point is the south end of the Kalama Park parking lot at 1976 South Kihei Road, directly across from the Kihei MarketPlace. Face the ocean and the van is on the far left of the lot: white, with a yellow polka-dot front end.
Park, find the van, and pick out a board. The whitewater at Kalama does the rest.