My three kids had a great time at surf lessons today with Russell!! They each got waves upright on the board multiple times! Ages 21, 21, and 14. Everything went so smooth and could not have went better! read more

Pacific Surf School - Reed, Myles, and Page from Madison, Mississippi! - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

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Awesome surf school! Took a group lesson for our whole family - we "old" parents and our 13 and 15 year old kids. Our daughter got up on the board and rode to shore on her first go! The rest of us soon followed. Friendly, positive instruction from our instructor Sunny and just a good time overall. Highly recommended. read more

Gavin helped my daughter he was her instructor. I recommend pacific surf school . She feels more confident in the waves

We had a fantastic experience at Pacific Surf School! Our instructor Kiki was incredibly patient and made sure to thoroughly cover all the basics before heading into the water. My son had an absolute blast! He was all smiles the entire time and couldn't stop talking about how much fun he had. read more

My 3 kids just had surf lessons with Christian and they had a blast. They were up and surfing right away! I would definitely recommend coming here for lessons. read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

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(Cross posting from my review on Google) I was so impressed by the experience! I was able to decide morning of that I wanted to do a surf lesson this afternoon and decided for the first time to do 1:1 after a couple group lessons in my past back in my hometown. My instructor was Jeremy and from the start, not only was he able to adapt the lesson to my level but he was also nice and patient and pushed me out of my comfort zone as we got farther into the lesson. For being a newer instructor he impressed me right from the start with his clear instructions and encouragement! All the workers seemed to work together really well/ were organized without ever getting in the way of other surfers or groups. That hospitality left a great impression! 10 out of 10 would recommend to any leve surfer wanting direction, feedback or first paddles in your surfing journey!! read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

This was the third time that my children had gone surfing. There were many places that were offering surf lessons, but we liked the location of this one. We most definitely were not disappointed! My children had Du, as their instructor, and he was quite simply phenomenal. He was patient, funny, and very knowledgeable. He taught them new strategies to improve their surfing styles. We look forward to returning to Pacific Surf School, and having Du as our instructor again. You were given the choice to purchase professional photography of the lesson when you book the surfing lessons, but I decided against it. After arriving at the school tent, I changed my mind and decided to have the professional photographer, Fernando, take pictures of the kids' lesson. This was a phenomenal decision to make. I was able to enjoy watching my children, and received 150+ pictures that I could not have captured using my cell phone. Thank you Du, Fernando (the photographer), and Pacific Surf School for helping us create a lasting family memory! read more

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We were so stoked! Highly recommend... We had Russell Kilburn as a one on one for my seven year-old son.. Russell crushed it with my boy... We could not have been happier with the three days one on one instruction that he received... I was having a hard time getting my son started ...been surfing the majority of my life so I thought a lesson would be a good idea... My expectations were exceeded... Hi Son could not have been happier and requested that Russell be with him every day.. LIFE CHANGER FOR MY SON... I COULD NOT BE MORE THANKFUL FOR THE SURF SCHOOL AND RUSSELL JJ and Holden read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

My 10 year old cousin has taken surf lessons before, but this was her first time with Pacific Surf School and it was by far the best experience we've had. Her instructor, Gaven B., was absolutely wonderful patient, upbeat, and really encouraging. He pushed her just the right amount while also making sure she was having fun the entire time. Even though she wasn't brand new to surfing, Gaven was able to meet her at her level and help her improve, which was so cool to see. She came out of the water smiling ear to ear and already asking when she could come back. I can't recommend Pacific Surf enough, especially if you're lucky enough to get Gaven as your instructor! read more

Came here for a private 3 person lesson on a morning that unfortunately had some rough waves for beginners. Pacific Surf School is set up to churn through as many students as possible. One extra star to our instructor for teaching us how to turtle roll, I suppose. He barely spoke to us, didn't make observations or give us feedback between waves, and generally just seemed very distracted and disinterested in what was happening around him. We've taken a few lessons at different beaches before and were interested in continuing learning how to read green waves, but the instructor didn't even address this goal after initial intros and instead focused on pushing us into white wash for an hour straight. Disappointing instruction at a steep price ($150+ per person for about 1.5 hours!). You can find better at a fraction of this price. I wouldn't come back, nor would I recommend this school to anyone looking. TLDR: small/independent instructors are going to give you much higher quality lessons if you are interested in surfing beyond just sating some first-timer curiosity! read more

This is my 2nd time taking lessons with Pacific Surf School and I liked both sessions but definitely liked the 2nd one a bit more because I actually stood up and surf for at least 10+ seconds!! That's success in my eyes!! Haha! But before I go into the review, I'll tell you the logistics. You go into the office/shop area to check in, they give you a pacific school shirt and asked for your driver license/ID to keep. Once you return the shirt after the lesson, they will give you your ID back. Then you walk over to the beach/surfing lesson area and they have a canopy to check in. You can leave your stuff near/underneath their canopy if you're by yourself or have no one else to watch your stuff. Thankfully none of my stuff got stolen! Now to the review. Both times, I waited about 10-15 minutes for my instructor after the actual lesson time started, so they were a little bit "late". The 2nd time, I had Eduardo and he was amazing!! Super attentive and gave great instructions and was super supportive every time I stood up and surfed! He cheered me on, gave me high fives and even a hug! When we got out to the waters, he would fix my leg position and also watched out for other surfers and waves that came our way. After each surf, he told me how to improve my posture. And when I fell down into the water, he asked if I was okay. I felt safe with him. I will definitely take more lessons with Pacific Surf School and I would like Eduardo again!! After when I returned the T-shirt, I got my ID back and was able to see the photos that were taken. you have the choice to buy them there or purchase it online later. The guy at the front desk told me there were different prices to buying it now at the shop than buying it online later. I guess they have to make money somehow! I definitely recommend this Pacific Surf School if you want to learn how to surf! read more

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Christian was the most professional and cosmopolitan surf instructor I've met! He appears to be a competent golfer too. I'd pay for another weekend with this surf school! Shout-out to Gavin and Ford for being badass sales professionals too. Thank you for letting me surf like a sled rider! I was the person who surfed on her knees liked a sled rider in Ohio! I'd recommend surf school over Vegas any day of the week! Cheers to PB :) BTW-PB has better customer service/food than Scottsdale fyi read more

Signed my 9 year old son up for a private surf lesson. The location changed from La Jolla due to better conditions at another beach (pacific beach), but we were notified well in advance. The instructor was very nice and my son had an excellent experience. They surfed almost the whole 90 minutes (only a brief land- based instruction) and my son really spent the whole time catching waves- he was very happy and had a lot of success. I think the cost was on par with other local companies. The staff was professional. They kept a close eye on my son (who is a strong swimmer anyway). He would love to have more lessons here. The biggest challenge was parking- you should allow maybe an extra 20-30 minutes if parking in pacific beach in the summer. Even at 9 am street parking is tight and you may have to walk a few blocks. read more

Chris and Ryder made our day!!! Professional from the get go!!! On time , had good equipment, great attitudes!!!!! Have used other surf shops but will only use Pacific Surf School from now on! They have a great spot on beach with public parking right next to Woodys, and ice cream for kids ! Had a blast !!!! Thank you PSS for Making our beach great read more

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This place is great! Super beginner friendly and great at teaching. I had Ford as my instructor (best instructor by the way) and he was super chill and gave great instructions. I would definitely recommend it to anybody that wants to try surfing and will go again if I'm ever in the area. 5 stars! read more

Did a semi private w daughter and her friend! Berkeley was amazing! Would def come back! Easy location to get to, street and paid parking depending on luck/time. read more

Russell was an amazing instructor!!! Was able to get up the first time & rode some fun waves! Surfing tips that are memorable and I will definitely take with me for life thank you for such a positive experience! read more

My daughter had been begging to take surf lessons for a while now, so we were happy to find pacific surf school open and giving lessons. We booked online and decided to do semi private lessons because I wanted to try as well. We also decided to get the photo package which I highly recommend! Heather was our instructor and she was the best. She explained everything to us before we got in the water. We were provided wet suits and boards, as well as a locker for our belongings. The first lesson went a lot better than I anticipated. I was surprised I actually got up. My daughter did better than I did. Without the lessons and help, I don't think we would have had as much success. The pictures were amazing and something awesome to keep. Anyone wanting to learn to surf should take lessons from pacific surf school. You won't be disappointed and you'll be surprised how fun it is! read more

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07.14.2020 While in the La Jolla area Little O took surf lessons from this place. Booking online was quick and easy. We originally booked to have lessons at La Jolla Shores but due to COVID guidelines they had to change our lesson location. We were called immediately with the location and time changes. Parking for the surf school/store is limited to neighborhood/residential parking, but it was FREE. If you choose to be closer to the beach there's paid hourly public underground parking across the street, closer to the beach. After checking in at the surf school and receiving a rash guard, we were instructed to cross Mission Blvd towards the beach and look for their red pop-up tent. In the surf school/store they had a live feed video showing the tent on the beach. The lesson included use of a surfboard, sanitized wetsuit and rash guard for 90 minutes. After putting on your wetsuit and rash guard, instructors gave a short land lesson/intro before taking the student out to the water. You return your rash guard back at the surf school/store after your lesson. That's where they show you the pictures taken by their photographer for purchase (optional). You can purchase individual pictures ($20 each) or you can purchase all the photos (sent to you via email), which is the BEST deal of them all. Little O had 104 pictures from her Day 1 lesson. I'm glad I ordered those because I didn't see a photographer at her Day 2 lesson. Andre (Day 1) and Joe (Day 2) at the PB location were great instructors! They gave great explanations, were patient and made sure to get Little O out catching some waves as much as possible. Big thanks to the photographer the first day (I didn't catch his name). He took some amazing shots! ‍ read more

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Aloha! My son took the 5 day surf camp, it was his first time surfing and by the end of the week he was surfing strong. The instructors at Pacific Surf School were patient with each student allowing them to learn proper technique and ocean safety. Mahalo to Eduardo, Fiona, and Charlie for helping my son become a confident surfer! Highly recommend Pacific Surf School, San Diego to any level and age! read more

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Today was my first surfing lesson with Nick Puentes. He is a great teacher and great at explaining how to hold onto the board, and getting up on the board. I was really never this morning for surfing and he helped me feel more-comfortable. And it was allot of fun I will definitely bring my friend and family back for the same lesson . read more

Look I love to surf, the ocean speaks to me and typically is very forgiving. Today the swells were bigger than I anticipated so I was all over the place. Usually I can handle larger waves but the wind, overcast day combined with the increased rip tide killed me. The instructor was great guiding me through the So Cal waves and provided decent encouragement. I appreciate the ability to go at my own pace having never surfed in San Diego before. I highly advise wearing water shoes, my feet were freezing but once the adrenaline got going the cold water was an after thought. read more

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Instructor Cole S. the best. On first day my niece was up on surfboard and had fun filled day. We requested Cole S. for 4 day surf lessons because of his kindness and expertise. Good guy. Niece saw dolphins swimming close by while learning how to surf. Very cool read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

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Pics from the photo package we bought-- our pictures were too good to pass up!! We had the best time. Julia was a fantastic teacher and so so patient. My husband is much more athletic than I am so I was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to grasp it like he would but she met us where we were at and helped us when and where she could-- including pushing my board out when I was clearly dragging. I'm super glad we decided to do this! Under Julia's instruction, we both popped up on our first waves and mostly all of them after-- 1 major wipe out. She even offered to send us resources and gave us her card to connect with on local groups and surf boards. This was a lot of fun and I'd recommend it to anyone! read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

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My 9 year old daughter just finished a week of surf camp at their Mission Beach location and she had an amazing time! We live in Sacramento so she only gets to surf for one week each summer during summer vacation and her skills and confidence really improved. The instructors were absolutely great and she adored them. The supervision was phenomenal and I felt extremely confident leaving her in their care for the day. Highly recommend!!! read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

Did this activity for my bachelor party with a small group of childhood friends and it was absolutely my favorite aspect of my bachelor party. It was a humbling experience and you will get an absolute workout in your time on the water. It's a full body workout and is exhausting cardio. I gained a lot of respect for surfing and it is something I want to continue to do in my life going forward -- I can thank our instructor for enhancing our experience! Paul G. was absolutely amazing! He matched our energy and allowed us to not only have a good time but be our goofy selves. This only made our experience better. After giving us group instruction he followed up with some individual instruction as well. On the water he gave all 5 of us individual instruction/pointers as we are a group that ranges from 5'7 to 6'7, this personalized instruction was needed. Each one of us were given how to not only get up onto the board but to stay and ride the waves to match our own journey on the water. A testament to Paul G. is ALL 5 of us were able to get up and ride the waves which made our day even better! I now need to teach him how to ice skate! As our instructor Paul noted, it was more rough than usual, so if it is your first time it should be early in the day. 9AM being the best time. We went at 10:45. Later in the day, the rougher the waves. Thanks for a great experience Paul -The Minnesotans read more

Pacific Surf School - Our group paddling out - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

Had an amazing morning at our surf lesson. My friend and I had Jesse as an instructor and he was INCREDIBLE!! He was so patient, helpful, and kind. He's a great teacher I recommend him as an instructor to everyone. My friend and I had such a blast and learned a lot read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

Booked private lessons for our college-age son and daughter, and definitely recommend! They said the instructors were very funny, and gave them the perfect balance of patience/"go get it". Both were up on the boards right away after some instruction on the sand, and were out catching waves with confidence during their lesson. The location was beautiful with good surf, and we even got to watch the dolphins swimming nearby. read more

I just finished my second of four lessons with Zack. I couldn't be happier with my instructor and the school This is an incredibly professional and yet laid back team. Zack is enthusiastic, patient and knowledgeable. I highly recommend him and the Pacific Surf School for a beginner surfer of any age. -K. Graham read more

My review is for the children's surf camp only, not surf lessons. My children were signed up for a three day half-day surf camp while we were vacationing in Mission Beach. The camp was larger than we were expecting, around 25 kids. The instructor to kid ratio seemed fine at first (1:5) but it was very chaotic once everyone got in the water together. My kids reported being very frustrated with other kids crashing into them or blocking them as they tried to surf. Both my children injured their ankles within the first 90 minutes, one sprain was serious enough to require x-rays and two weeks in a walking cast. Neither was able to attend the rest of camp. No refunding or rescheduling was permitted so the camp was a loss (I was not expecting one, I know how children's camps work). If we returned here, I would stick with a private lesson over a camp. I believe the camp enrollment is too high for child safety or useful instruction. read more

Wonderful! I signed up my two kids for a 4 lesson pack. The school is well organized and their teaching method is great. The first part of the lesson takes place on surfboards on the sand where the instructors teach students how to lay on the board and how to stand up. My kids practiced this multiple times before going into the water. The school provides wetsuits which was great, because the cold water would have caused my kids to bail on their lessons. We had two fabulous instructors: Charlie and Zach. Both teachers were patient and encouraging. My two children were successful in learning to stand up on their own and despite his negative initial impressions of surfing by the last class my mostly sedentary son announced "Mission accomplished mom, I love surfing" My daughter also had a great time. Highly recommend this school. It is pricey, but worth every penny! (Ask for Charlie or Zach!) read more

Donny was an incredible instructor made sure I felt safe and confident and Encouraged me to keep trying!! thank you so much for the experience! read more

Russell was an amazing teacher. Got up on the board each time. Did I mention I never surfed before and I'm 51 today. It's a must when in California. Go to this school and ask for Russell read more

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Today our kids had their first surf lessons and it was incredible! We had prepared individual lessons for each kid, and the instructors were very compatible and worked well. All of the instructors were very patient in teaching each kid as well as motivational, and very kind. Definitely would recommend Pacific Surf School. read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

One and done! Scratch this off my bucket list. I will say that I consider myself to be pretty strong and athletic, but this shit was tough! My husband did much better than me; I bailed after 10 minutes after getting trounced in the water and fearing injury. Nick was our instructor & he was TERRIFIC & assured me that they take good care in assessing everyone's strengths and take it easy on those who may seem like they could struggle. These waves were crazy big (for us, from the West Coast of Florida) so some of you out there may fare better than I did. Nick was super attentive and encouraging to my husband, who also didn't perform as well as I expected. Repeat: This shit is tough, but fun, and you'll be proud of yourself if you get through the hour. read more

II booked the package deal that was 3 private lessons get one free.  The first two lessons were great. Thank you to Ricardo and Cale for such an amazing time. You two are the only reason why this review is getting three stars instead of one. I You guys rock! I canceled my third lesson due to an incident on the trolley on my way over and was not fee'd for it. Thank you to the office staff for being considerate and understanding! My last lesson was HORRIBLE! My instructor was named Cody and he was undoubtedly the meanest teacher you can have. His behavior was completely unacceptable as he was belittling me, mocking me and making me feel completely unsafe. I hated my time with him as it came to a disturbing ending!  I had to leave early just so I didn't have to put up with his unprofessional demeanor! After not being able to keep myself on the board, I asked if he could stay by to help me feel safe. He then mocked me saying that I was scared and if I was afraid then I should go in and take a break. I told him that I wasn't scared several times and he just kept saying it over and over again. I have never been treated that way by any teacher I've ever had and I ended up just leaving the water. He followed me up to the tent and ridiculed me the way there saying that I needed to "self-reflect and that I  should've just had a good time". After telling him that I just wanted to feel safe and that he was being completely rude, he proceeded to gaslight me again saying that I shouldve just had a good time and implyed that it was my fault that I wasn't enjoying myself. He was completly selfish in every way and I told him to politely stop talking to me. I even said please. I said if he doesn't like me telling him these things  then I'd just find another instructor. (I'd be worth my while to find one that listens to their students anyway.) So, there you have it. If you want to book with this company I suggest avoiding Cody, but other than that I had a great time with Cale and Ricardo and had caught some bad a** waves with some pictures I am hoping to turn out okay from the few minutes I had up until that point.  Still I'm utterly disappointed the whole thing couldn't have gone as smoothly as my last two. Don't get Cody! Edit: I received a call back from this group and they offered to allow me to rent one of their surfboards for free for an ENTIRE day :) 4 stars out of 5 now :) read more

Mike was our instructor and the lesson was amazing. His advice and encouragement helped me go from a complete novice to being able to stand up whilst going over a wave on the first lesson. Very tiring and felt great afterwards. The wetsuits were super helpful for keeping warm, the water felt lovely with them. read more

My son has used this school to learn how to surf years ago. Our most recent trip we asked for a surf buddy if you will. For 3 days my son surfed with Angelo. He was amazing. He taught my son so much in our short time. I highly recommend this school and ask for Angelo. Hope to see him again next summer. read more

Pacific Surf School - Surfing Near Me - San Diego, California

Had lessons with Alex and Kenny today. They were phenomenal teachers. Explained the basics succinctly and had us in the water quickly. Once in the water, they were super attentive and would give us just enough coaching to make rapid improvements without overwhelming us. We were catching waves consistently by the end of it and can't wait for our next lesson with them. Alex got stung by a stingray but STILL KEPT GOING. This man is a legend. Hope you're feeling better bud! read more

Had a great experience booking a semi private lesson for myself and my wife. Booking process was smooth online the night before. We arrived and were given our rash guards and shown where to head to on the beach. From there we met An and Leo, who would be our instructors. Both instructors were beyond awesome and led to the best surf experience we've had. The direction and guidance from An and Leo was perfect to get us up on the boards. We both rode plenty of waves and had a great time. 10/10 would recommend anyone wanting to have a great time surfing to check out Pacific Surf School. Don't forget to check in on Yelp for the rad sticker! read more