Real Surf Surf Shop

Family-owned & operated

49 years in business

Surf Ride has definitely been a staple for my family for years. We love coming in to check out new…read moreboards, wetsuits, clothes, etc. While prices may be high on clothing items, they tend to have decent deals on boards, wetsuits, and surfing gear in general. They have a lot of variety which makes it such a great surf shop to check out. It's really easy to find parking on the side of the building in their lot and/or street parking. Their customer service is great as well as they always greet us, ask us if we need any help, and also help when we do have questions. Everyone is really kind and helpful honestly. Makes shopping here such a good experience.

Justice at the front is a g. SR is always the local go to. I love surf rideeeeeeeeeeeeeeread more

Huge selection of boards

Best Summer Camp IN SAN DIEGO!! Located at the North Jetty in the Oceanside Harbor.

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Best Summer Camp IN SAN DIEGO!! Located at the North Jetty in the Oceanside Harbor.

Asylum Surf Shop

4.7(40 reviews)

Spent some time in Asylum buying a couple bracelets and hunting for sandals for my college-age son…read more The owner (I believe?? Rich?) was incredibly helpful explaining the differences in sandals, how to fit them, and with helping us figure out which were best for my kid. He let him try on all the pairs, talked to him about which were better for his needs and how they should fit. He didn't have to do any of this, but did! Challenge was they were sold out of my son's size. This man coulda tried to talk him into something else (wherein we would have left temporarily happy but ultimately displeased), but he did not. He sent us down the way to another local shop in the hopes they'd have what we needed (they also did not). We returned and he made sure to give my son the model info so we could buy the right ones on our own and was super helpful and pleasant about all of it. Sure, I would have preferred to buy them directly at the store, but it wasn't to be and unlike some big box or online place, he gave wonderful human service like only a small shop can. 100% recommend coming here for some shopping. They have a good wetsuit selection, body boards and surf boards for sale, wax, Vans, swimsuits, sandals, clothing and more. The inventory is great and the staff is a bonus. Thanks again, Asylum!

I like this surf shop, and the vibe it maintains as the downtown changes rapidly. Feels more like a…read morelocal spot than this touristy stuff flooding Oceanside. Prices of course as quite inflated since it's so close to the Strand. If you need essentials stay inland for your sunblock and whatever. I love the Oceanside Low Life gear. It is homage to the locals and the surfing culture. Typically representing Oside with this hat more often than not. Worth supporting the real locals!! Check it out.

Representing in Palm Springs

So Cal Girls!!

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View from the longboarder cafe, beautiful ocean view just south of the oceanside peir

Atacama Surf Shop

5.0(5 reviews)

0.3 mi

Great spot with a sick selection and friendly staff. Stop by for all your surf and clothing needsread more

One of my favorite surf shops I've been too and been living in SoCal for a long time and been into…read moreso many surf shops. The clothes are so awesome and there's always a great selection of vans / different surf brands. On the other hand the service is always great too. Marcus helped us out and was super friendly and welcoming

Atacama Oceanside

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Wall art

Sun Diego Boardshop

4.4(87 reviews)

2.3 mi

Great location. It's usually my go-to when I need a quick outfit for an event or occasion since Sun…read moreDiego carries all the brands I love. I went in to find a dress for Easter on Saturday. I was stressed and had little time to find something to wear since I had a busy day ahead and this was my last chance to find something. Charlie and Shane were so kind to help me find a dress while hyping me up and giving exceptional customer service. Great customer service at retail stores is hard to come by nowadays and this Sun Diego location never disappoints!

This place has such cute clothing and bathing suits. They also have a nice selection of boards. We…read moregot quite a few bracelet/hair tie collections. The employees are super chill and nice.

Sun bum

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JS Garage - Oceanside

4.4(8 reviews)

0.2 mi

Great spot, great people.. down to earth. Nit your typical "too cool for you" surf brosread more

First off I will say the customer service at JS is great! JS the shaper is a great surfer that…read moreshapes great surfboards for some of the best surfers in the world. These boards won't let you down. I have ridden these boards for 20 years and they all work great and are made to last! If you go into the garage or order online these guys at the JS garage will dial you in. If you are a beginner, intermediate or expert surfer or water person they will help you with the right board and products and answer all your questions. These guys are great surfers that know about surfboards and provide A Plus customer service so go get a quality surfboard go get a JS!!!

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Watermark Surfboards

4.2(5 reviews)

0.2 mi

Was going through some old things in storage and came upon a set of fins I bought online directly…read morefrom Watermark quite a few years ago. Just such an overall bummer with these. The front part of the left fin base covers the fin box screw so it cannot get installed properly. I guess who needs the screw right? Maybe just glue em in with resin? At the time I bought em, I was pretty stoked on the price and not having to pay an arm and leg that the big name brands typically charge (and to also support a non big brand), but shows what I know. Sent them an email regarding this issue, but never got a response so I'm stuck with these. Maybe I'll sand off that base? Anyways, hope the quality control has improved since.

Honestly, I could not be more stoked on Watermark. After running into some communication issues…read morewith [HB shop that advertises cheap customs on CL], I emailed my stuff to Oliver for pricing. To say the guy was available to answer questions would be an understatement. Oliver would often email me back within minutes, and we worked together to get me exactly what I wanted - and all for the right price. Five star customer service, without a doubt. Keep up the good work, Watermark!

Custom fish by Watermark Surfboards

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Whitlock Surf Experience

4.8(191 reviews)

It was a great experience, I was a first timer and we got out there and shredded some waves and had…read morea great time, definitely will be coming back in the future!

Wow! I can't say enough kind things about my whole experience. Cory and his team were absolutely…read moreamazing. Ray led the lesson and made everyone feel included. He even took his time to remember everyone's name, which says a lot. He was very encouraging and helpful. My group ended up connecting after to hangout the rest of the day in Oceanside and we all even ended up buying surf boards back at the shop (also highly recommend). Give Cory your money and go surf! Trust me!

You know it's a good sign when you take your first lesson and leave with a surfboard and wetsuit.

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Moose's One Hour Surfboard & SUP Ding Repair

4.3(56 reviews)

1.2 mi

If I could leave zero stars, I absolutely would. Do not give this guy your business. He changed his…read moreprice on me three times and told me if I left the price would go up by $50 because I was gonna go try and shop his estimate. He then told me if you don't bring it back he wouldn't care because he's so busy anyway. Well a hole if you're so busy why do you need to raise the price if I leave? I went to a couple of other shops who said they've heard a lot of weird things about moose.

Moose is awesome! We took my wife's epoxy longboard in that had the nose crushed in some shorebreak…read moreand he did a phenomenal job at an extremely fair price! We also took my son's shortboard that had a massive ding on the rail that he patched up perfectly!

New shop is amazing!

Conversation prior to arrival.

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Nice new shop and setup. Love it‍

Freeman Street Surf Shop

5.0(1 review)

Had a great experience here! Paul helped me pick exactly the board I was looking for and was very…read moreconsiderate through the whole process. He came off very honest and I immediately knew I made the right choice coming here. I'll definitely be back here in the future!

From the owner: A unique surf shop featuring surfboards by local shapers, Thunderbolt, and Surf Crime. Shop our…read moreselection of fins from True Ames, Flying Diamonds, Futures, and FCS. We make our own apparel locally, and also offer brands such as Birdwell, Mollusk, Rhythm, Mulch, and Katin.

Mollusk Shroom Shorts in Indigo Blue available at Freeman Street Surf Shop.

HI Mid Model by Harley Ingleby for Thunderbolt Technologies Surfboards. FCS Fins.

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Inside Freeman Street Surf Shop, Oceanside, CA

Asylum Skate

4.5(31 reviews)

Cool skateshop in Oceanside, this one focuses more on skateboaridng and they have a sister store…read morefor surfing. Its local to me but I'm located more than an hour away. It's a nice drive up and it's close to the beach so that a plus. I mainly enter the raffles at this shop for their sought after Nike SBs and I haven't won a lot but I do hit a few times. The raffles are fair and they give you a call if you've won so it's pretty quick to find out the results. I can't speak about anything else but so far experience has been good over there. My recent pick up are the Maui Wowie SBs. Follow their IG for drops. Support local businesses!

My granddaughter has recently gotten into skateboarding. I happened to find Asylum Skate shop while…read morevisiting the Oceanside Thursday night market. So, I decided that I would get her a hat from the skate shop. The guys were AWESOME and very helpful!! I told them about my granddaughter and they were genuinely excited for her. The shop has a vast selection of apparel, skateboards, and accessories. Pricing is very reasonable for the merchandise available. I am glad that I found them and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the shop!!

Hats and shirts

The skateboard that they built (super good job)

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This is a board from this skat shop they set it up hella good I appreciate this skate shop a lot w shop

Why does Yelp recommend reviews?

Hundreds of millions of reviews are posted on Yelp, and our automated recommendation software works in the background to showcase the reviews that it …

17 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Jack J.

0

1

0

5 years ago

First review of anything in my life. Thank you to Shawn the slime ball owner for inspiring me to do this! Took my board in for a simple fin box replacement. Said it would take 3-4 weeks. A long time, but I was cool with it. Eight weeks to the day it was ready!! Or was it? The last three weeks I would call and ask if it was ready, each time was told yeah Its almost ready. I would wait a whole more week than ask again. Same response each time. Finally the meth head owner said yeah give me another hour and it will be ready. After eight weeks... Go there to pick it up and the fin does not fit in the box he out it! Never even thought or cared to simply take a fin and stick it in there to check his work! The owner, Shawn was leaving on his bike and came back in with his helmet on and tried to help the shop employee who was struggling to get the fin because of the shotty work he did (taking eight weeks to do so mind you) The Owner then says you will have to come tomorrow bc I have an appointment to go to (at 415?) I said you have had it for eight weeks and you never even bothered to check to see if the fin fits in? He then goes into full on toddler-meth outrage and literally throws his helmet across the floor and calls me a prick! Then KICKS my board on the rack outside the shaping room then takes it in the shaping room and slams it on the shaping horse cussing at me! All because I called him out on his terrible everything. Comes back out and throws his visor off his helmet across the floor with another tantrum AFTER he takes all of three minutes to fix the problem he created. Slams my board (again) down and walks away fuming and now apparently late for his meth hookup. I read some of the other reviews and they are spot on except the ones that were obviously generated by the shop. Love the review of a customer saying you were oogling his daughter. You are as classy as you look. Talk the three other people at The Harbor while surfing after this awesome encounter and they all said the same. Shawn, I dare you to respond to this as you are ne of the worst human beings I have ever encountered and you are truly lucky I did not beat every bead of meth you had in your body right then and there but I have a life and you are not worthy of ruining mine you meth head loser! Real Surf Shop Real Bad should be the name of your crap hole! I hope for your sake I never see you in the water although your fat arse could get up on a surfboard without a crain. Not one word of this is made up swear on a Bible! read more

deez n.

0

2

0

5 years ago

So I see your Yelp buddies who you pay have taken down my review and moved it to the non-recommended reviews because it's a one star telling absolute truth. So here's the same review again long story short this time. Drop my board off for ding repair said it would take 3 to 4 weeks I was cool with it. It took eight weeks. Went to pick it up after getting the runaround for three straight weeks of when it's going to be ready. Went in and the fin did not fit in the fin box which was supposed to be replaced and obviously not tested. When the meth head owner came in realizing he didn't fix it correctly he said I would have to bring it back tomorrow because he didn't have time and had an appointment at 4:15 in the afternoon. After voicing my displeasure he then proceeded to throw his motorcycle helmet all the way across floor and then proceeds to call me a prick and kick my surfboard then throws the fin key and takes my surfboard inside and slams it down on the shaping horse calling me a dick again. I would not send a dead person into this meth heads shop ever! If you ever want to see a toddler on meth then go see Sean at the RealSurfShop. I do like Sean that you had helped take my review down without responding to me even though I dared you to respond to my review but like the coward you are he decided to send your money to yelp to get your bad reviews taken off and have all your meth head friends post good reviews which could be the biggest lie in the world or in the history of lies itself. Funny how the day I picked up my board after EIGHT WEEKS and went to the harbor to paddle out I talked to three different people in the water who also said you're as shady as a tree. A tree on meth that is. I hope I see you out in the water Sean please see me out in the water that way some justice will be served and you can't pay yelp to take all your bad reviews off. Absolute loser absolute worst surf shop I feel bad for the employees that have to work for this unstable meth head. And I see that this review was taken down before it even went live. Way to pay for the platinum package at Yelp. read more

Drake D.

0

1

0

10 years ago

Had a great experience here. I will definitely be back for more gear. I was cruising down the 101 looking for a local surf shop. When this little bright shop caught my eye. Went inside to take a look was greeted right away by a employee named Shawn. He was dressed in a professional manor and looked well taken care of as a business owner should. We got talking and he helped me pick the right wet suit and sweatshirts. As well as he informed me of his wealth of knowledge about surfing and shaping boards. Ended up walking away with a whole new set of gear.. I'm ready for the waves and set up with gifts for the whole family. read more

Karma L.

0

2

0

14 years ago

Being nice and being an ethical businessman who knows how to run a business are 2 completely different things. My story is similar to others here and the facts are Shawn just doesn't treat his customers right because he lies to them. I despise liars and thought Ambrose was not like this, but he is. He lies to get business and then lies to you once he has your business to cover for his shitty business skills. There is a reason why people have come here to Yelp to WARN others about him and why Ambrose lies, never does what he says while his shop is dirty and dingy with no employees but him the snake. read more

Harry V.

0

3

0

13 years ago

I've noticed that Yelp only holds onto 12 comments. That will not going to help anyone that does not realize just how many people are complaining about this man named Shawn. I urge anyone who is interested in Surfing products to ask around at the various Surf Shops before you enter this store. Personally I will never go back into this place again. This is my second follow up on this store. My experience was extremely disappointing. I won't bore you with the details but do read what others are trying to warn you about. Good Luck in your Surfing experience. read more

Natalie P.

0

3

1

12 years ago

My group of seven from the midwest (read: no idea of our way around a surf shop) couldn't have been happier with our experience. Shawn got us everything we needed at competitive rental rates and gave us some tips for getting started in the water. He quickly eyeballed us for size and found us wetsuits that fit us great and were in good condition. He was also very friendly and gave some great recommendations for local restaurants that we have not regretted following. This is definitely the kind of place you feel good about giving your business to! read more

Kristi M.

0

1

0

10 years ago

My kids and I love Real Surf Shop! The staff is always courteous and helpful. The owner is super knowledgeable and friendly. We make sure to stop by here every time we are in the area to see what's new in stock. We always end up buying stuff. Their hoodies are our favorites!! Can't wait to go back! Thanks! read more

Heather A.

358

7

1

15 years ago

A fantastic find in Oceanside!!!! Helpful staff - Donovan Craig Daniel & Shawn all make you feel comfortable. Will give you great local knowledge. They have an excellent selection of used boards you can rent. Check this place out!!! read more

Roberta J.

0

2

0

16 years ago

FANTASTIC SHOP!!! wouldnt' go anywhere else for custom surfboard, ding repair, rentals, or anything surf related. its a must see in Oceanside for sure!!! (and it is much bigger than it looks from the outside) read more

Jim P.

0

7

0

13 years ago

Good local shop. Shawn made me a sweet 7'6" quad (he calls a super fish) love the board, price was fair. Also repaired my old board that I put my elbow through! Might not have even charged me for that? read more

Jo M.

0

1

0

10 years ago

This Is THE place to go, Real Surf Shop! Novice or Pro you can find what you need here. Friendly and helpful staff, and the best rental prices in O'Side. I'll be back for sure. read more

Jen D.

2

5

0

18 years ago

Excellent core surf shop. Shaper owned and operated. Nice custom boards as well as a large selection of used surfboards. Great prices and friendly staff read more

Richard L.

0

1

0

15 years ago

HONEST!! positive, virtuous integrity, truthfulness,straightforwardness GREAT PLACE!!! Check out Shawn's shapes this is a real shop love it

Michelle S.

101

8

0

9 years ago

great local surf shop- alway buy my hats and surf t-shirts for my husband here. Love the local guys that work here.

Joseph D.

0

1

0

12 years ago

Awesome place, Shea is knowledgeable and helpful, great selection and location, would recommend for board rentals

Matthew M.

0

3

0

6 years ago

Love this place, never been but I know the owners personally and think you should definitely check it out

Amanda B.

0

1

0

5 years ago

Stay rad! Great shop. The takes great pride in his community.

Real Surf Surf Shop - outdoorgear - Updated September 2026

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4.2

(87 reviews)

This place is great!! I always somehow misplace or forget stuff when I'm going to the beach, this…read moreplace always has me covered! Leashes, wax, swim suits, you name it they got it. They got a good mix of local stuff as well as big named brands

Got a new board and couldn't get my fin in the box. Swung by UP Surf Shop and George was super…read morehelpful. He tried to get my old fin to fit by sanding it down; but when that didn't work he replaced it and the fin was way cheaper than what I would have paid for at other surf shops. Thank you George for all your help. We will be back for sure.

Surfboard Broker

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The person that runs their IG account engaged privately. They messaged me that women are only 15 %…read moreof their followers and that they're running a business that prioritizes being " savage " stating that what matters is what gets likes . When I said they are being disrespectful to women they said I was a "Karen". They referred to women as "girls". This interaction from a business is very disappointing and inappropriate. There are many women surfers in Carlsbad . It's discriminatory and sexist business practice and very unprofessional. I hope you reconsider your social media platform to include non discriminatory practices.

Been coming here for years! Tyler has been helping me find the right dimensions and litters of the…read moreyears which I couldn't dial in myself. The reason I love getting my boards here is it's effortless to trade in and find that magic board. I've noticed my surfing has really excelled because of it. Don't drop $1,000 bucks on your next board.. do yourself a favor and stop by this shop. Highly recommended !!

Asylum Skate

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Cool skateshop in Oceanside, this one focuses more on skateboaridng and they have a sister store…read morefor surfing. Its local to me but I'm located more than an hour away. It's a nice drive up and it's close to the beach so that a plus. I mainly enter the raffles at this shop for their sought after Nike SBs and I haven't won a lot but I do hit a few times. The raffles are fair and they give you a call if you've won so it's pretty quick to find out the results. I can't speak about anything else but so far experience has been good over there. My recent pick up are the Maui Wowie SBs. Follow their IG for drops. Support local businesses!

My granddaughter has recently gotten into skateboarding. I happened to find Asylum Skate shop while…read morevisiting the Oceanside Thursday night market. So, I decided that I would get her a hat from the skate shop. The guys were AWESOME and very helpful!! I told them about my granddaughter and they were genuinely excited for her. The shop has a vast selection of apparel, skateboards, and accessories. Pricing is very reasonable for the merchandise available. I am glad that I found them and I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the shop!!

Bing Surfboards

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Deserves 10 stars and MORE! How about 100+++ stars! The gals here, Gabby & Summer are gorgeous and…read morefantastic. Will is study and sweet. Pardon me if I like beautiful gals and surfer guys with sparkling personalities and sexxxy bods, long silky hair and radiatnt smiles! FAB products! REALLY RAD outfits and gifties! YEP bought LOTS! TOTALLY RECCOMENDED! So GREAT I went back for more! Gals on the beach and menzzz on the surf is an understatement. Thank you, BING! - ICONIC CALIFORNIA! TOODLES! Mark Gonzaga

Amazing boards. Theeee best…read more Though sometimes employees can lord over you and can act too cool for basic questions. Which kind of sucks when you're trying to work something out. It's a luck of the draw when you deal with humans.

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One of my favorite surf shops I've been too and been living in SoCal for a long time and been into…read moreso many surf shops. The clothes are so awesome and there's always a great selection of vans / different surf brands. On the other hand the service is always great too. Marcus helped us out and was super friendly and welcoming

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I ordered a custom surfboard from Chemistry as a gift for my husband, and they were the nicest,…read moremost caring company I could have ever asked for. Will, at the front desk, walked me through all of the options and even had Jason, the guy with the beard who "shapes" them, write a personal message to my husband on the surfboard "I love you Danny Shakib". He loves the surfboard and says it's the best he's ever owned. I would highly recommend, from start to finish they are the best around. And made in America!

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Tyler is very knowledgeable and patient. When I arrived to the store, it had passed his closing…read moretime but he didnt mind spending the extra time answering all my questions. The board was very reasonable price around and look very unique, I have been using it non stop and loving it. Thanks Tyler. Fyi : you can also make an appointment with him.

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I bought a board that ended up having some issues on the first day, and instead of blaming me or…read moremaking it difficult, the staff went above and beyond to make it right and hooked me up with another board. They were also super helpful throughout the process of picking out a board that actually fit my style. They took the time to listen to what I was looking for, gave me great advice, and genuinely made sure I was happy with my purchase. They even gave me a free leash and 20% off accessories which was super helpful. Really appreciate the customer service and how they handled the situation. I'll definitely be coming back to Hansen's in the future!

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