Surf’s up at your Oahu beach house!
May 17th, 2008
In summer, when the water’s warm and there’s a soft breeze in the air, the south swell comes up. It’s surf season in Waikiki, the best place to learn how to surf on Oahu. For lessons, go early to Aloha Beach Service, next to the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, 2365 Kalakaua Ave., Waikiki (tel. 808/922-3111). The beach boys offer surfing lessons for $30 an hour; board rentals are $10 for the first hour and $5 for every hour after that. You must know how to swim. At your Oahu beach house on the North Shore, you have no excuse not to learn to surf: Hans Hedemann, a champion surfer with 34 years of competition under his hang-ten toes, has opened the Hans Hedemann Surf School at the Turtle Bay Resort (tel. 808/924-7778; www.hhsurf.com). His classes range from one-on-one private sessions to group lessons (four students to one teacher) and begin at $50 a hour. The school offers lessons at six different hotels: New Otani Kaimana Beach Hotel, Park Shore Waikiki, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Sheraton Waikiki, Kahala Hotel & Resort; and Turtle Bay Resort.
Surfboards are available for rent on the North Shore at Surf-N-Sea, 62-595 Kamehameha Hwy., Haleiwa (tel. 808/637-9887; www.surfnsea.com), for $5 to $7 an hour. This company also offers lessons for $65 for 2 hours.
At your Oahu beach house on the windward side, call Kimo’s Surf Hut, 151 Hekili St., across from Daiei, in Kailua (tel. 808/262-1644). Kimo and his wife, Ruth, couldn’t be more friendly and helpful. In addition to surfboards ($30 a day) and body boards for rent, Kimo has his own personal collection of vintage surfboards, lovingly displayed on the walls of his shop. If you have the time, Kimo will gladly tell you the pedigree and history of each board. Although Kimo doesn’t offer formal surfing lessons, he’d be happy to give you pointers. More experienced surfers should drop in on any surf shop around Oahu, or call the Surf News Network Surfline (tel. 808/596-SURF) to get the latest surf conditions. The Cliffs, at the base of Diamond Head, is a good spot for advanced surfers; 4- to 6-foot waves churn here, allowing high-performance surfing. If you’re in Hawaii in winter and want to see the serious surfers catch the really big waves, bring your binoculars and grab a front-row seat on the beach near Kalalua Point. To get here from Waikiki, take the H-1 toward the North Shore, veering off at H-2, which becomes Kamehameha Highway (Hwy. 83). Keep going to the funky surf town of Haleiwa and Waimea Bay; the big waves will be on your left, just past Pupukea Beach Park.