Our kids have had a terrific time at Pillar Point Surf School for three summers in a row. The owner Matt has always been super helpful. He and the counselors are great with the kids and gently push the hesitant kids to branch out and provide opportunities for the more experienced kids to do more. Besides boogie boarding and surfing, they have activities on the beach and swimming challenges. read more

It was a glorious day with Ryan on the water! We made the last minute decision to try to get private lessons for our 4 kids. I ended up texting the number and they got back us right away. They organized Ryan quickly and it was less expensive than most of the other surf schools. Every child got up on the waves! They had a blast. Ryan was a terrific instructor. I couldn't rate higher. It was such a great experience for the kids to have together. read more

Learned the basics. Matt was on time and super patient for first timer. I caught a few nice waves

The instructor is super friendly and the course is budget friendly. Will recommend family and friends.

I recently purchased surf camp for my son after seeing one of their groups at Princeton Jetty over a few days during a 2 week period. After I purchased online and was informed of a personal scheduling conflict, I called the school and spoke with one of the team or owner. No worries, instant refund of a large $ amount and call when my son is ready for camp or group/private lessons any time. Wanted to write a review to let people know you can trust this business to do things the right way even if things change. Thanks PPSS read more

Fantastic summer camp! We went multiple weeks and had great fun and instruction from the counselors.

So great & patient!! Took the time to explain to the kids & worked with them at their level. My daughter said this was her favorite part of our trip which surprised me but I'm glad. I guess we'll have to keep trying her out around here. read more

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My two kids had the best time and loved learning to surf at Pillar Point Surf school! The instructors were great, very fun, attentive and interactive with the kids (Dylan was their favourite!). During break time, they mixed it up with fun games and activities. Also, the BBQ on the last day of camp was fabulous (kudos to Eric for putting together a nice spread!) Out of all the camps my kids did over the summer, learning to surf at Pillar Point was definitely a highlight for them! Thanks for a great time. We hope to come back again next summer! read more

No words can express how THANKFUL I am for the two ladies who helped me out today when I got stuck in the riptide. I never in my life would have thought that this even occurred or even how to get out of it until these two AMAZING ladies came up with their surf board to rescue me. I was definitely in shock and wished I would have gotten their names. THANK YOU a million times for saving me and informing me. I know that this review is beyond the services they provided but if my kids wanted to learn how to surf I would definitely have them go to Pillar Point Surf School bc their instructors are amazing and your kids will learn because I did... read more

Wow, this shop is awesome !! The instructors are awesome! My grandson had his third lesson today. Ryan was his instructor, my 11 year old was surfing by everyone today. He's getting it! We met Ryan at 12 noon for the scheduled lesson. He was on time, brought 2 boards to try. He asked about our time available. Mentioned if we could move the lesson out a hour and a half the lesson would be better, waves better, my grandkid would have a better chance of learning improving then doing the lesson as scheduled. We moved the time and my grandkid surfed the entire 90 minutes. His improvement was awesome, just as Ryan suggested. Thanks again for teaching my grandkid to surf ‍ Roger H. Orangevale ca read more

Super fun! Linsey (Linzy) was our instructor for a semi-private lesson for couples. She took care of us two and made sure we are safe. She was patient and nice, both of us were able to stand up on the board towards the end of the lesson. Glad to have her as our instructor, our first surfing experience was super cool! Thank you Linzy! read more

An awesome experience! My partner and I never considered surfing til some of our friends rented some boards and wetsuits. We were a little anxious to try it out, so we got a semi-private lesson with McKinley. And it was an absolutely amazing experience. We were able to catch some waves and stand up on our board pretty quickly with her help. She was incredibly friendly and made our first surfing experience a joy. read more

I had signed up for a class in October, but one of my cousins did not sign up in time and the session had filled up. Long story short, I ended up having to cancel my lessons and reschedule another day. They have a number you can text and the owner was very accommodating and canceled the class and I got my refund the very next day. Their customer service is amazing! I can't wait for my lessons! read more

I took a private lesson today with Ryan and had a blast. Ryan was a great instructor and was very informative and patient. It was my very first surf lesson and I was able to get on a good amount of waves thanks to the help of Ryan. It was a 2 hour lesson but he wasn't afraid of going over the time to get me in on a few more waves on my own toward the end. I can't say enough good things about him and Pillar Point Surf School. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for a quality surf lesson. Thank you guys! read more

Highly recommend, great lesson! It was very easy to schedule a semi-private lesson with Matt. I made a short notice request, and Matt was very accommodating. Matt provided great surfboards, and while wet suits weren't included, it actually worked out well since you can quickly rent high quality wet suits for $10 at many places down the street (e.g. Mavericks Surf Shop). Matt provided great instruction - he paid close attention to the details of my form and provided very helpful guidance. He knows the local water (the "jetty") really well, which really helped us have a fun lesson in a spot with great waves. I'll definitely be back for another lesson with Matt. read more

My mom and I just got back from a totally great surf lesson with Dominic. He was patient, encouraging, and fun to learn from. It was clear that the whole time he was paying careful attention to both of us and thinking about how to keep us safe and surfing well. He did a good job of adjusting to both of our skill levels and pointing us at waves we could handle. Would surf again! read more

I took a two hour private lesson with Matt this past weekend and it was amazing. I've been surfing a handful of times with very little success and was looking for some pointers and help getting past the "can't catch a wave" phase. This lesson was perfect and I can't wait to use all the new info and skills I learned during my next time out. Matt was flexible and responsive beforehand and worked with me to schedule a time via e-mail. We met at Surfer's beach near Half Moon Bay and Matt was there on time and suited up. He went over a few basics with me on the shore (I didn't have a formal lesson beforehand) and answered all of my questions. It's clear that he understands both the sport and the ocean deeply. I was also happy that he spent some time on etiquette before we went into the water because I've read alot about locals in different areas not being super tolerant to newbies. Once we got into the water, Matt tuned my technique including where to sit, when to paddle, how hard to paddle, and when to stand up. After I fell a few times, I was able to stand up on a few waves but couldn't make the transition to riding the wave for more than 5 seconds or so. Matt helped me work on my positioning first so I was set up for success, and I rode the last wave of the lesson all the way in. This was my first real wave and it was an amazing feeling. I'm booking a lesson for my wife (who also surfs casually) immediately and hope to do a group lesson with her in a month or two. Highly recommended! read more

I had one surfing lesson with the Pillar Point Surf School. The teacher was a nice young man who did surf from being able to crawl ( at least I had that impression). He did a good job although surfing definitely is not my pastime. Thanks! read more

Our kids spent 3 weeks at Pillar Point Surf Camp. It was the kids first time to swim, boogie board and surf in the ocean. They felt comfortable with all the instructors and had a blast. A big thank you to Molly, Ethan, Lindsey, Ella, Matt, Molly, Claire, Lilly, Clara, and Eric. Sorry I know we are missing a few people. Running a camp is a huge amount of work. We greatly appreciate all the hard work, patience, kindness and safety measures that you taught the kids. Cooper and Jemma will definitely be back next year. They have already told me that they will only go to Pillar Point Surf School. read more

My kids (6&8) both had a blast with Pillar Point Surf School. The instructors (especially Ella and Molly) were attentive and made the week fun. Matt also helped make this a great experience, he was very accomodating. My kids have already asked to go back next year! read more

Had a great time with Matt today (6/3/17). It was very easy to schedule with him, provided a great lesson and had a great time!

My boyfriend and I had a surf lesson w Matt today and it was excellent experience. Matt is a teacher in real life so teaching really is his thing. He was patient and made sure to teach us lots helpful background info such as etiquette, wave patterns, and techniques to stay safe. He's a pretty experienced surfer himself so I'm sure he'd be able to teach at all levels. Would definitely recommend him to others! read more

Matt is so kind and friendly. He was informative and easy to work with. He makes something as scary as the open ocean feel so fun. Thank you, Matt for my first ever surf lesson. I am in love with the ocean and cannot wait to come back! Definitely recommend him for anyone trying to surf. read more

Matt is an awesome teacher, his knowledge of the water is appreciated. My son felt safe and will continue to have a few more lessons with Matt. I trust Matt to teach all ages, he is respectful and kind, and knows what his students can handle. Thank you for the great experience read more

East coast kids tackled pacific coast surf with a fantastic instructor (Jason) and requisite wetsuits. From start to finish our experience was truly seamless and the kids had a blast. One for the memory books! Safety talk and pre-surf instructions were on point, needed, and very much appreciated! Matt was quick to respond to our lesson inquiry and directed us to great surf shops for wetsuits (cowboy surf and Mavericks). read more

This is an awesome place to learn how to surf. I had my first surfing class ever in this place, and the experience is really good. The instructor is super nice and patient. He explains things well. At the end of the class I achieved a lot with the help of the instructor. If you want to learn how to surf or just want to try surfing for fun, I strongly recommend this place. read more

Matt was terrific- he took our ten year old out in pretty chilly weather and our son had a blast. A great instructor- really teaching him skill as well as safety- so much fun. We can't wait to return again this summer, hopefully have him teach our other 2 as well. read more

Matt rearranged his schedule when we called for a same day lesson for our daughter and her out of town friend. Not only was he friendly and knowledgeable, he was extremely patient with the girls learning the basics of surfing. They had an outstanding time and we cannot recommend Matt more highly. We will definitely use him again ourselves. read more

Matt is a great surf instructor. He teaches and coaches surfing better than most. I took surf lessons in Hawaii and Matt taught me more than what I learned in Hawaii. read more

Matt is awesome! He is friendly, knowledgeable and laid back. Perfect for a beginner. He'll teach you everything you need to hit the waves and then he'll be in the water to help you along. I will be recommending him to all my friends who want to learn how to surf. read more