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    Hawaiian WaterSports

    3.9 (143 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 11:00 AM, 3:00 pm - 5:00 PM

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    Teaching Keiki ocean safety and to malama the ocean and aina.
    Malia R.

    Hawaiian WaterSports has knowledgeable staff and a ton of quality equipment to rent or buy. Cute water clothes and suits too! They are a locally owned shop that gives back to the community and they are passionate about teaching everyone to be stewards of our shared beaches and environment. They share a parking lot with Egan's boot camp / gym and had plenty of parking when we went. Found out you can ask to use Egan's parking spots. Super easy to find & close to the beach. Highly recommend!

    My 8 year old who is usually afraid of watersports having a blast thanks to great instructors!
    Rene C.

    We had an AMAZING experience at their keiki Watersports clinic! The day started off with everyone meeting at the shop...plenty of time to see their selection & everything they offer. Next was an info session for everyone about ocean safety; both for ourselves and for the sea life & beach preservation. We then met the crew at the canal where the gear was set up and waiting for us. The instructors were INCREDIBLE! So patient & well informed! They really took their time to educate and encourage our keiki. My (8 year old) son had a blast kayaking, windsurfing & getting on the SUP. We will definitely be returning for additional classes!

    These are not 'racks'
    Ariana K.

    I would highly recommend to GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. The prices might appear cheaper to rent here, but it's just not worth the hassle and the rude attitude from all the workers here. Plus they are located 2 miles away from the beach! [[ THE SERVICE ]] When we gave them our reservation information they basically had the attitude of sign this here and here and get the heck out. They were rushing us to hurry up and pay and get out the door. Very unfriendly service from the beginning to the end. After reviewing the waiver more carefully I found it interesting how the waiver is for a 'non-profit foundation' called Pa'ani Wai Hawai'i, and no mention of 'Hawaiian Watersports' from which we made all our rental arrangements with. I have no idea who this non-profit organization is and why we had to sign a contract for them instead of Hawaiian Watersports. This company seems VERY shady to me. [[ HIDDEN FEES ]] http://www.groupon.com/deals/hawaiian-watersports-3?p=7&utm_source=pc&utm_medium=email&sid=3a7bba4b-82eb-41ac-8129-3b862f0a01d2&division=honolulu&user=4fe53939d9cf031d06bf136d13614a962dc68bad305701e8ced43a10bd6694f7&date=20140519&s=body&c=deal_title&d=deal-page&utm_campaign=3a7bba4b-82eb-41ac-8129-3b862f0a01d2 Maybe this is Groupons fault, but honestly I think it's the company. When purchasing our kayak rental for $55, we called in to Hawaiian WaterSports to make a reservation for kayaks and let them know that we are using a Groupon. Everything seemed fine and dandy. When we were in the store, they said it would be an additional $10 fee for racks (per car) to get the kayaks to the beach. Which IS a hidden fee cause no one is going to carry your stupid kayak 2 miles to the beach. Not making the customer aware of this (pretty much mandatory) charge prior to coming the day of, is bull. [[ THE 'RACKS' ]] Those are not racks. Those are foam sticks that you use so your stupid kayaks don't damage our cars. Hardly worth $10 to rent. Plus all you guys use to secure the racks down is two straps. 'Racks' Picture 1: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hawaiian-water-sports-kailua-4?select=NDuoIbFncvyR2o-7_xaQpA#my8r_waXvDzC0zhSyJoyug 'Racks' Picture 2: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hawaiian-water-sports-kailua-4?select=NDuoIbFncvyR2o-7_xaQpA#kyLnMuEmp_TfWUfhdyuzVg [[ LOADING THE KAYAKS ]] Where to begin here... First of all, we are the paying customers; you guys should be the ones loading the kayaks on our cars and removing them when we return, Not us. Do your jobs. Or if you expect people to load and unload the equipment themselves you should not be charging us over $50 per kayak PLUS $10 rack fee. Secondly, just because we have a truck does not mean it is okay for you to throw your equipment in there carelessly! I could understand if the truck looked like a carpenters truck or something that is already busted up, but how dare your workers throw things so carelessly in the bed of our friends new truck, obviously not caring if they damage our vehicle. [[ "NON PROFIT" ]] Something I found interesting was after we finished loading the kayaks to our car was how the worker slipped in this little piece of information. "If anyone asks, you donated money to a non-profit organization that in return let you use these kayaks." Does this strike ANYONE as a red flag or at least something suspicious is going on with this company? However, after arriving to the beach we learned from someone that Hawaiian WaterSports does not have the proper licensing on their kayaks to allow users to land on Mokulua Islands. Did you also know that YOU can potentially be fined $1000 for doing so with an unlicensed kayak? [[ RETURNING THE KAYAKS ]] When we came to return the kayaks, the workers didn't lift a finger to remove our kayaks. They also said with a very rude tone, that if the kayaks are sandy that we have to clean them off before returning them, or else they would charge us a $10 cleaning fee for each kayak. We asked them where do we rinse them off at, the workers response was 'See where all the sand is over there? Yeah there is a hose over there.' Like seriously people? What is with your attitude? Side Note: I noticed as reading other yelpers reviews for this place that some people said stuff like they think others are 'cooking the Yelp Reviews.' Let me be clear, I wrote over 300 reviews and left maybe 13 companies with 1 star. The fact that a company has many negative reviews should honestly tell you something about them. I'm sure this company has its good and bad days with people, but my experience here was just horrible and insulting as a paying customer. I hope no one else will have to experience what I did here.

    Purchased from this store.  Fin broke after Cost was $80 dollars and this company failed to make it right and give the size requested.

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    1 month ago

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    10 months ago

    Had a great morning wing foiling with the guys from Hawaiian Watersports. Strongly recommend these guys.

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    8 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Great experience! The island is fantastic. Thanks for taking us to the secret spot. See you soon

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    4 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    Arlene S.

    Mahalo for your kind words!

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    Arlene S.

    Glad to share our Aloha with you guys. Hope to see you again!

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    Arlene S.

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    4 years ago

    Excellent, efficient and friendly service - our reservation was easy to book and picking up SUP boards was easy and convenient.

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    9 years ago

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    Page 1 of 4

    Hawaiian WaterSports Reviews in Other Languages

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    Review Highlights - Hawaiian WaterSports

    Josh was awesome, very quick and to the point, but in a way that was never intimidating.

    Mentioned in 18 reviews

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    Windward WaterSports

    4.5
    (113 reviews)
    0.4 mi

    Friendly staff and good equipment! We wanted to rent on Sunday to go to Kaneohe. Unfortunately,…read moremost places are closed on Sunday, but not Windward! We called day of to confirm we are able to go to the sand bar on a Sunday. He had a few kayaks left and suggested we reserve it ASAP. We showed up at 10:15 to get our 2 tandem kayaks. Jeff and another employee helped us load it onto the top of our Nissan Altima, taught us how to load it, and told us where to park to get to the sand bar. We were off within 15 minutes. The kayaks are a lot heavier than I expected. They mounted them with ease but it was much harder for us to do on our own. It isn't hard in terms of the order to do everything or how to do it, but it was hard just because it is heavy. Overall I'd rent from here again as long as you have strong people to carry the kayaks. The rental for Kaneohe sand bar must be a full day rental (we used about 4.5 hours but would have felt rushed to get it back in 4 hours). It includes an anchor as well. It was $75 per tandem kayak + tax for us.

    Review for Windward Water Sports 33 Hoolai St, Kailua, HI…read more96734 Owner/Instructor: Jeff Tobias On August 31, I contacted Windward Water Sports, owned and operated by Jeff Tobias, regarding a kayak rental. Since it was a Sunday and most other rental businesses were closed, we reluctantly went with this company -- a decision I sincerely regret. From the outset, the experience was chaotic and unprofessional. Calling ahead yielded little useful information; staff were unclear, unresponsive, and seemingly uninterested in helping. We were forced to book online due to the lack of timely or reliable communication. Upon arrival, we were issued kayaks and life vests that were in poor, unsafe condition. The life jackets were tattered, worn out, and looked completely unmaintained -- a major safety red flag. It's clear that this business does not prioritize safety or equipment standards. There was no proper safety briefing, and we received no warnings about the unfavorable weather or ocean conditions. The water that day was rough, choppy, and unsafe -- especially for first-time kayakers. No one at Windward Water Sports made any attempt to reschedule us or even disclose these conditions. A responsible and ethical business would have recognized the risk and acted accordingly.The parking at the launch site was disorganized and overcrowded, costing us nearly an hour of our already limited rental window. What should have been a 20-minute paddle to the snorkeling area took over 90 minutes due to the dangerous wave activity. Once we arrived, visibility in the water was zero -- snorkeling was completely out of the question. To make matters worse, on the return trip, one person in our group capsized and could not reboard their kayak without assistance -- a terrifying experience that further reflects the lack of proper safety measures, briefing, or equipment quality. After this ordeal, I requested a partial refund, understanding that we used the kayaks briefly. I was met with a flat denial. The justification? "Business has been bad." That is not a valid excuse. It is completely unacceptable to prioritize your financial struggles over the safety, experience, and basic rights of your customers. At this point, given the unsafe conditions, defective equipment, and the lack of disclosure or professionalism, I am demanding a full refund. That is the only reasonable and ethical course of action. Jeff Tobias needs to do the right thing and issue a full refund immediately. This wasn't just a poor experience -- it was negligent, unsafe, and unethical. I will be filing complaints with relevant consumer protection agencies and posting this review across all major platforms to warn others. Avoid Windward Water Sports. Your safety and your money are worth more.

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    Honolulu Kite School

    Honolulu Kite School

    4.5
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    10.8 mi

    I've taken lessons with a few instructors in Oahu for kitesurfing so I can say with full confidence…read morethat this is by far the best one on the island. I'm dead serious - just go with Maui. Here are a few reasons why: 1. He has a boat. That means instead of losing your board in the water and spending precious time having to body drag and locate your board, he actually just brings it back to you. For me, it meant I was able to have "many shots on goal", giving me a lot of opportunity to try to get up on the board during the water start. Not to mention, you can get immediate feedback from him. Compare that to other instructors where you literally aren't getting any feedback (very few instructors have two-way radio headsets in Oahu) until you get back to the beach. 2. He takes you to a location where it's just you and the calm flat water. Most kitesurfing schools will have you at Kailua beach. However, it's a crowded beach with a small launch area and when the wind is good, the waves are choppy and there's a bunch of other kitersurfers, windsurfer out there. For a beginner like myself, that's stressful. 3. He's calm and patient. This is more of a personal learning style but there's already so much to think about when you are on the water (flying the kite, grabbing the board, getting your feet in situated correctly, starting to do the power stroke all while trying to incorporate the feedback you just got from a failed attempt) so it was made much easier for me when you didn't have someone who would just tense you up from his demeanor.

    Maui is an excellent teacher and while we were only able to do one lesson I'm really glad I did it…read more Maui takes you to an amazing spot that is perfect for learning. We went over the basics and then got to flying the kite. Maui was quick to correct exactly what I was doing wrong and helped me fix it immediately. After I had gotten proficient enough we got in the water. Maui is able to follow you in the boat and get you right back to learning. I can't imagine trying to learn in a group setting or just off the ground like some other places. I was able to keep focused on getting better. I never felt frustrated and Maui's cool attitude helped keep it fun while still being challenging. It's definitely a lot to learn but Maui got me up and riding just before the first lesson ended. I booked three lessons but the wind was too strong for the last two. Maui kept in contact the night before and the morning of to let me know the conditions weren't good for a lesson and that we would try again the next day. Unfortunately that day had even stronger winds. I appreciated that Maui made sure I was going to get the most out of the lessons instead of just going forward and struggling instead of learning.

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    Oahu has amazing wind and waves year-round, we are truly blessed. Lucky we live in Hawaii, come join us!
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    Ty Gurney Surf School

    Ty Gurney Surf School

    4.9
    (437 reviews)
    9.6 mi

    This place had last minute booking options which was so convenient for us as we have a little girl…read moreand didn't think of lessons until the day before. They have easy online booking options and they sent you an email right away to sign a waiver. It's a little hard to find as it's between the Denny's and a parking lot, so just be vigilant while walking. They have a little shop with a receptionist and the instructors. There's a QR code for tipping your instructors which was convenient considering you're so tired after the lesson. I felt comfortable leaving all my stuff in the office (even shoes) as we walked across the street to the beach. My instructor, James, first practiced my footing, head placement, and movement. Then we paddled out, and he held my board the entire time. I got to enjoy the view prop my head on my board and give Ms. America waves even though no one was looking. That alone is worth all the money. James gave me tips and tricks each wave he pushed me in. Telling me to balance more on the right foot, etc. I felt like I had also paid to hang out with someone really cool. The vibes on the break were so chill. Everyone knew each other and were respectful with waves of hello and aloha. This is a must do in Waikiki. The waves were so soft on my beginner board and they have a 99.9% rate of success. James said he was able to help a 84 year old catch and stand up in a wave. Remarkable!!! I caught six waves and it felt incredible. I'm wiped out and exhausted, but so satisfied and excited for my next lesson. What a treat! I highly recommend Ty Gurney- ask for James!!

    We had a surf lesson and video package with Ryan and Marco and had THE best time. They made us feel…read moreincredibly comfortable and confident and were genuinely just really fun to talk to. 10/10 recommend

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    Hawaiian WaterSports - paddleboarding - Updated August 2026

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