Seven Resorts Where Surfs Up: Learn to Surf at Your Hotel
If you’re planning a beach getaway and have always wanted to learn to surf, there are resorts that can get you hanging 10 within a couple of hours. Family-friendly resorts with surf lessons for all ages can be found in some of the best beach getaways in the U.S. Here’s a look at seven great resorts with surf schools that’ll help you learn to surf.
1. Boca Raton Resort & Club, Boca Raton, Florida
Not only can you learn to surf on a surf simulator at this South Florida resort, you can join the Beach Club’s surf school. Group lessons offered every day are just $60, and stand-up surfing lessons at the Flow House is just $30. Accommodations range from tower rooms to beachfront suites, with water shuttles connecting the property.
2. Four Seasons Resort – The Biltmore, Santa Barbara, California
Kids can surf with a legend when they hang with World Surf Champion Tom Curren at the Four Seasons. He’ll provide lessons at his favorite spots for all skill levels. The experience is a unique perk for the upscale resort and prices and times vary. With a name like Four Seasons in a town called Santa Barbara, you just know it is worth it!
3. Hotel del Coronado, San Diego, California
The famous Hotel Del features a wide beach overlooking the pacific in the heart of Southern California’s surf community, so it makes sense it provides surf lessons. Ninety-minute group lessons for ages six and up are $100 and includes a wetsuit and surfboard. Children as young as four can take lessons in a private setting.
4. Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
This large resort on Hilton Head Island borders the Atlantic Ocean with three miles of beaches. Surf School at the resort is an hour and a half and covers the basics. Everyone who takes a lesson, which is $90 to join a group, is guaranteed to ride a wave by the end. Kids has to be 7 or older and lessons are available twice a day from Monday through Friday. The resort features a choice of condo-style accommodations, vacation home rentals and hotel rooms and suites.
5. Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, California
The luxury resort nestled on the Pacific provides a Surf Tour with a pro surfing instructor or a Surf Experience with instruction, ocean awareness and safety and techniques. The two-hour private lessons include transportation to and from the resort to a good surf spot and all equipment. This Ritz location is also one of the best in terms of sunset watching after a day on the water.
6. Sanderling Resort, Outer Banks, North Carolina
Visitors to the Outer Banks can turn to Kitty Hawk Kites for surf lessons at the Sanderling Resort on Duck. Kids will learn how to read ocean conditions and about rip currents before practicing on the board on the beach and eventually hitting the waves for over an hour. Nestled right into the beachfront dunes, the Sanderling features tons of other water sports to enjoy, as well!
7. Turtle Bay, Waikiki, Oahu, Hawaii
Surfing in Hawaii is a Bucket List item that can be checked off when getting a lesson at the resort’s Hans Hedemann Surf School. Lessons are $100 per person for three daily available times where kids can practice on shore and ride their first wave in Hawaii. At 850 acres, Turtle Bay is one of the largest resorts on Oahu. It’s time to learn to surf!
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Lissa Poirot, Family Vacation Critic | May 31, 2017
Lissa Poirot is editor-in-chief of Family vacation Critic, a website dedicated to the needs of family travelers with family-friendly destinations, attractions, hotels and planning and tips articles. She often appears as a family travel source for news outlets such as ABC News, CNN and Today Show, and travels often with her two children and three stepchildren.
