I booked a two hour private lesson with Surf Menehune and this was such a blast. I had never surfed before, so was a little nervous at first. My instructor, Patrick, was great. We spent some time at first going over safety, then practiced popping up. Then we hit the water. This time was great, learning how to paddle out, controlling the board, picking out a wave, and paddling and catching the wave. It took several tries, but I got up - what a rush. I've never experienced anything like it, and I'm hooked. My recommendation: if you are comfortable in the ocean then give it a try. Rent the wetsuit - for the additional $5 its worth it. read more

Another epic week with Menehune! Kurrent, this year's instructor, didn't disappoint! He was such a positive influence both in and out of the water by helping my daughter to grow in SUP, kayaking, most definitely surfing, and believe it or not, even snorkeling-he he he- inside joke. She had an amazing and informative week once again with your surfing adventure camp. As a parent, I had the pleasure to see Kurrent interact with the campers and his sincere concern for their safety and the love of the sport was palpable. I thought he was insightful and intuitive and can only hope he'll be back next year as the girls will be requesting a party wave from him! Mahalo Kurrent! A hui hou! ‍ read more

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My daughter LOVED Menehune Surf camp - we signed up for another week! The instructors are great and the program is fun. She learned a ton in just one week and is now surfing on the "outside". read more

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My 12 year old son had an amazing time at Menehune Surf Camp. He went for 2 straight weeks and if he could, he'd go for another 2 weeks. The main instructor, Mark, who is an educator by profession, was fantastic and developed bonds with the kids. The other instructors were great as well and were focused on helping the kids learn how to surf while still ensuring the kids had a great time. Also, they were COVID compliant and I felt they made it a safe environment. I would recommend Menehune to anyone who wants to have their kid learn how to surf in a safe and fun environment. read more

I did the five-hour package with Menehune, and the whole experience was absolutely fantastic. I surfed with Fonzi, Mimi and Andrea, and they were all great instructors: they quickly figured out my surf level, gave me a bunch of great technical pointers on how to improve, and were just wonderful people to be in the water with. Menehune were also accommodating with scheduling and quick to get back to me, and the people in the shop were friendly and super-efficient. I highly recommend them! read more

It's the second time my kids ended summer break with a week of surfing at Surf Divas/ Menehune surf school. La Jolla Shores 84 degrees, water temp 70 degrees, water crystal clear, surf 2-3 all week, it's what you call California paradise. They surf, play, compete, goof off, frolick, laugh, smile. It is what surfing is all about, and it's a magical thing to watch. Thank you to the staff, and especially Mark "The Shark" for instilling education, etiquette, and the stoke of surfing. See ya next summer. read more

My daughter (8) and I (older than 8 ;) had a fantastic experience. It was her first time ever surfing and the Team made her extremely comfortable. I would highly recommend this company for kids. I had a 2 hour lesson with Cannon who did a great job teaching me about wave sets, under currents, technique, and how to see what other surfers not catching waves are missing. Cannon is the man! I caught more waves in a 2 hour set than I've caught in many days of surfing. read more

My older boys, 23 and 30 took a 2 hour private lesson. They got up right away. Great lesson. read more

So here I am again, still with Menehune, and another year under our belt. My daughter and her four friends just finished their week long camp. We were lucky to have Mark Heinze again as our lead coach, lovely Victoria, with fun Tanner and Jordan. A great team of experienced and super nice instructors. Menehune has top notch staff.... ownership has recently changed but you will see the very in-tune owner, Izzy, on the beach from time to time just checking in. She's a wonderful woman who knows what it means to lead a well-oiled, client-centric company. I started with Menehune when my son was 5 (now 17 and surfs on own) overlapped when my daughter turned 5, who's now 12. They get great instruction, a respect for the ocean and its creatures, and have developed a solid foundation in all things surfing. My daughter has been going past the break the last couple of years. To see the confidence grow so she can get to the outside and catch a wave all the way in is just awesome! To this day, Mark Heinze remembers my son, his group of friends that we would refer to join in the fun week, and of course now my daughter and her group of friends. That says a lot about the high quality, superstar team Menehune has. Love this surf school! ------ First review about 2 years ago.... We have been coming to Menehune the last 10 years.... I always stay at the camp (I mean come on, why wouldn't you stay a week at La Jolla shores!?!) and I've watched all the other surf schools lined up along side and there is no comparison to Menehune! They have the best instructors who are great with kids, teens, and adults alike. We have had Mark Heinze for multiple years who is just an amazing surf instructor and teacher who has a love for the ocean, makes things fun, and super knowledgable. The past two years we moved on from surfing to Ocean Adventure camp, which gives you surfing every day plus a fun activity like paddle-boarding and kayaking. Nat coached my daughter and her 4 friends and he topped the charts! So much fun, relevant, and so good with the kids. You can tell the owners Dave and Angela care about their school and want to ensure the best experience for all. Don't settle for just any surf school.... Go with someone who excels at all levels. As always, we'll be back again next year! read more

I had a great time and actually got a couple of waves thanks to my patient instructor Fonzie. Couldn't have done it without him :) highly recommend read more

Warren was an awesome instructor, he got us up and surfing in no time! Thanks for a great lesson!

Signed my niece and nephew up for lessons a couple of weekends ago and they had a great time. Mimi was great, went over the basics and safety while on the beach, and she was very conscientious of the rip tide. She was encouraging and helped them make a lot of progress during the session. Thanks for an awesome time! read more

My 8 yr old daughter really enjoyed the half day surf camp. The instructors were very kind to her and very patient. My 5 yr old son did a couple of private lesson with Fonzie and he was amazing!! I highly recommend him for private lessons. read more

Absolutely love this little outfit. Since I am new to the sport, I had a two-hour Individual Private Lesson with Fonzi, a wonderful Portuguese surfer. The first hour was enough to learn and practice the basic mechanics of getting up on the board and balancing, and the second hour was spent actually standing and getting guidance from Fonzi, who was in the water with me the whole time. I'd recommend this place to anyone looking to learn for the first time, or even an experienced surfer looking to fine-tune their mechanics. read more

I took my two boys - 9 and 7 - for their first surfing lesson with Eric. We made reservations the morning of, so they were super flexible getting us in. While the meeting spot was surprisingly far from the surf shop where we registered (about a 15 minute walk), it was easy enough to find and we got started right away. They had everything there and ready to go: wetsuits, rash guards, and boards. Eric did a great job starting from scratch with my boys and he devoted most of his time with them in the water. They tired out before our hour was up, so Eric spent the last 20 minutes or so working with me. We had a great time and would go back the next time we're in town! read more

My boyfriend and I had a private lesson with Dave and he was fantastic! He was incredibly patient and encouraging and took the time to really help us get the most out of the hour. It was our first time surfing and we both were able to stand up on the board- thanks to dave! I would recommend this lesson to any first timers out there!! read more

I took a surf lesson with the instructor Jordan and had such an amazing time! He was knowledgeable and gave each one of us specific one on one direction. He would tell us how to correct ourselves and cheered us on when we caught a wave. Awesome time and great instructor! read more

Had a great experience with this surf school! Was lucky enough to have Dave as my instructor as well as someone shadowing. I liked that the instruction was quick and to the point on land so we could get into the ocean quicker. Dave was great at pointing out what was wrong with my form and where I was shifting my weight incorrectly. With some board sports experience, I was able to get riding some waves within the first 20 minutes! Had a great time and would definitely go back for another lesson read more

Three complete novices had a great morning surfing with Drew from Menehune. Really good experience from booking to following up on our satisfaction. read more

I took both a surf lesson and SUP lessons here and both instructors were younger than I expected but incredibly nice and patient instructors. This was my first time doing either and I had a blast. I would've had no clue what I was doing without the different teachers. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn. Or even someone who has surfed a few times before. read more

I had a great time learning to surf. I decided for the one on one lesson. The instructor (Mark... I THINK) was funny, friendly, and informative and made me feel really comfortable in the water. My only complaint would be that there is no signs on the beach and it was really hard to find the tent and it ended up cutting into my lesson a little bit because I had such a hard time finding it. But it was overall a great experience. I even went and got a surf board and spent the whole day surfing on my own after the lesson. read more

Kids had their first summer camp, 1-week long with this surf school. Overall it sounds fun. Kids enjoyed it a lot and I dont think there were any issues during the camp. The camp is short (around 4 hours a day) but that's obvious since most of the time they are in the water and it is pretty exhausting. I would definitely recommend them if you'd like your kids learning how to surf or just surf few days during summer times. read more

STAY AWAY. I saw some of the good reviews and thought I would give it a shot, but this company doesn't give a CRAP about it's customers. Purchased the Groupon that said it would expire in Dec, called in early October to book a semi-private group lesson and basically they said that unless they have 3 other people signed up for a group lesson, you can't book it.... and by the way, they're last group lesson was around Labor day since it's now off peak - so there's basically no chance I would get to use it unless I called every weekend and got lucky where 3 other suckers decided to book with them. The guy really didn't care and he basically said, "I'm not going to lose money on this just because you bought a Groupon that you can't use." I told him, "You know, sometimes it's better to lose money than your reputation... it's easy to make more money, but very hard to repair your reputation." It's clear which path he preferred and he actually had the balls to laugh at me in response. If this is the kind of business you want to support, go ahead, but I would stay clear away. So if you got stuck with a worthless Groupon like I did, here's what you do, let Groupon know and see if they can help refund your money. If not, you call your credit card company and tell them what happened and ask for a chargeback. My credit card company was GREAT and credited my card. (Chase) And then post about your experience on Yelp and every other review site. read more

I had a really good time. It was totally worth it and I learned how to catch my own wave. The instructor Kurrent was really good!

I have read the other reviews. All I can do is tell you about our experience with Menehune, which is vast. My daughters have done the half day surf camp in Del Mar four times (and I am about to sign them up for their fifth). I have one daughter who is rather adventurous and another who is not. Although the instructors want to encourage the kids to try new things and improve upon their skills, they have always been patient and understanding with my less adventurous daughter. As a result, she is willing to keep going back and has been improving at her own pace. While we have loved all of our Menehune instructors, last year's took things to a new level (so much so that I even wrote a letter to the company letting them know how much my girls enjoyed them). I am so pleased that we live in San Diego and have access to such a wonderful program. read more

Great experience here. Energetic surf instructors with a true willingness to teach as well as educate. It is a smaller store on the block and it is nice to support the little guys. read more

OkAn update now that I'm not in the moment and way less upset. I called them and they helped me out. Turns out the instructor and I just missed each other on the beach. Dave was really apologetic and has rescheduled me lessons. I really appreciate them working with me to reschedule and now I'm looking forward to trying out surfing read more

I had an amazing time surfing. The waves were just perfect and my instructor gave me lots of good advice and added and some extra time. He also took some super cool surf pics and videos of me. I will definitely come back here and use the same surf school. read more

My siblings and I had a great time at the La Jolla beach with Fonzi, our instructor. We had a 2-hour private lesson for the 4 of us and we all felt like we got personal attention and feedback from Fonzi. Each of us stood up at least once. I would definitely go back to Menehune for another lesson! read more

Great time with Jessica. She was very observant as to the things I was doing wrong and helped me to fix them which made for an extremely good surfing experience. Looking forward to returning for another lesson. read more

Awesome Camp!! My two sons, ages 9 & 11, just finished up a week of Ocean Adventure Camp and they LOVED it! They not only had the chance to surf, but they got to paddle board, kayak, snorkel, boogie board, and visit both the tide pools and Birch Aquarium. Zach and Rob were very patient, knowledgeable, and fun. They really made my sons feel comfortable and confident. Last year my sons went to Menehune Surf camp and they loved it almost as much as this year's camp. They have both already asked to do it again next year! read more

Took a lesson today with Fonzi and had a blast! He was a great teacher and had some really helpful tips...it was my first time surfing but by the end he helped me catch a wave by myself! Highly recommend when visiting SD :) read more

Sean did a great job of helping me and my wife practice surfing. I did their groupon and had so much fun. Me and my wife were teamed with another couple and one instructor. They had wetsuits and good quality boards available and we got 2 hours of riding, which is great and just the right amount of time to really get the hang of it. They don't give you tons of advice but let you go out and practice with guidance and the ability to take advantage of the waves. It's a nice compliment to another surf school I previously tried that was more hands on in terms of the instructions. However, it can be difficult to process so much on the first time you try surfing, so I really enjoyed both methods. read more

Davo did a great job of showing me the fundamentals. He had great energy and made the lesson a lot of fun. Would highly recommend for anyone looking for a surf lesson in San Diego. read more

Had a great lesson this morning with Fonzie! He was my instructor back in September too. He taught me how to really carve lefts and rights. Definitely will book again when I'm back next year. read more

These guys are great. Nat was my instructor for the day. I made major improvements in one lesson and feel confident to go out on my own.

Ive been living in San Diego since November, moved from London UK and have been trying to surf since..struggling as all beginners do. Today I had a one on one lesson with Fonzi and after 10 mins in the water I'm riding the best wave of my life.. Great guy, very enthusiastic and spot on with little tips and techniques that made all the difference! Today I can actually say I surfed and I surfed properly... If you want to learn to surf ask for Fonzi! I'm totally stoked... Can't wait to get back out in the water.. read more

We have been going here for a few years now. After going somewhere else, this was the one for us. My daughter loves the instructors and they keep the kids entertained. We have even done the Ocean Adventure Camp and she loved that as they were able to snorkel in the cove, kayak in the caves and still have time to surf. We are coming back again this summer with the same crew of kids because they love it. the instructor to kid ratio works perfect and my daughter loves when they take her way out and she can surf all the way in. She will catch wave after wave until it's time to come in. Menehune is our surf home away from home! read more

We've started a few summers with Menehune Surf Camp for a week. Absolutely the best way to start your summer! Instructors are knowledgeable, hands on and relate well to campers. Very safe and smart way to teach your kids how to ride their boards and respect each other & our beaches. Also, Richard is a great instructor! Request him if you get a chance. read more

I am 71 years old, love the water and a frequent visitor to La Jolla. I have sat on the benches at Wind and Sea beach and watched the surfers and have always wished I could try. My instructor was Marianne and I called my surfboard " the Nimitz" ( it was so large that a B-52 bomber could have landed on it) and between the two of them and a cheering section of my wife and a couple of friends a wish became a reality. A memorable day was made possible by an expert instructor, a very helpful staff at Surf Diva ( when I came out of the dressing room the first time I had my wetsuit on Backwards) and the beautiful Pacific Ocean . Thx to all at Surf Diva, special thanks to Marianne for helping to teach this old dog a new trick. If you really want have a go at surfing , these folks will get it done for you. There is a quotation out front of Surf Diva that really puts surfing in perspective , " the best surfer is the one who is having the most fun " . I must be the best because my experience was just a hoot. Russ read more