Honestly I never knew taking a painting class while on vacation could be so fun and rewarding…read more Hawaii is such a beautiful place and sometimes you search for other things to do off the beaten path. This is definitely it! What a way to change the pace. Relax, get into the vibe of the island and do what you came to do. Unwind. When you're here book a session take some memorabilia home maybe even buy a painting or two and capture the vacation by using your own creativity. I highly recommend this and you guys should absolutely try a painting class while you're on vacation with Marionette.

Easily my favorite activity on our most recent visit to Kauai…read more I had bookmarked the Painting Paradise site years ago on our last interisland trip, but couldn't make one of the classes work within our schedule - was really hoping to do silk scarf painting. So I was thrilled when I saw that we would be on island for an acrylic pouring class! I emailed Marionette and signed up - the interaction was easygoing and friendly. The building is easy to find - just walk towards the back and her studio is on the left. I arrived super early, but other class members were already there. That gave me time to make some coffee (she has a Keurig in the corner) and peruse her art displayed around the outside, as well as chat with Marionette and other classmates. We had a relatively small class - maybe six of us, which gave us a good amount of room in which to work. Marionette demonstrated some techniques for us, which we then did, and then gave us the freedom to do whatever techniques we liked best. We did five 5x7 prints on yupo paper. There were plenty of materials to share and the camaraderie among the groups in class was great - we all encouraged each other every time we did a pour. The class is perfect for beginners - if you can stir paint in a cup and pour it out, you can do acrylic pouring. Such impressive results for minimal effort! Since our prints had a lot of paint on them, we needed to let them dry for a few days. For those of us who were leaving before they were ready, Marionette took our addresses and sent our prints to us a few days later. Mine arrived in excellent condition and very well-secured. She also sells originals, prints, and cards of her own work, mostly watercolor but not exclusively. She hosts many workshops, and is happy to host custom workshops or lessons for any size group if her class schedule doesn't mesh with yours. I am very much looking forward to returning for another workshop with her!

Review is strictly for the campus and staff! Not education or curriculum…read more Visited Kapaa High School on a weekday to present to the Clinical Health Class. Campus is right up Mailihuna Road on the left side. Parking for guests is right up against the school with marked stalls as such. Make sure you check in at the front office before heading to your destination. The lady at the window was SUPER kind and even offered to show me where the classroom I was looking for was! The campus is HUGEEE! With tons of colorful art and murals throughout. I also saw several art pieces along the school. It was cool to see staff members buzzing around on golf carts; with such a vast space it sure does help to have security and faculty on carts to get to the different places on campus quickly. I was lucky enough to hitch a ride from a security guard after my presentation back to the front office area. Booyah!

Kapaa school staff are great. They helped me transfer my Son out with no hassle and no judgement.read more

My 9 yo daughter and I did the Island Art Night with Dallin while staying at the Koloa Landing…read moreResort last month.This was hands-down the best experience of the trip, even for my pool-loving daughter. It is amazing what you can do, even if you have never picked up a paintbrush! Dallin is an amazing teacher who clearly loves painting and has a lot of patience. Every class he picks a scene and gives detailed instructions with demonstration and individual help on how to create the scene step-by-step. There were about 10 people in the class, from kids to seniors, and everyone obviously loved it. My daughter and I enjoyed doing it together so much! And we got to take our paintings home that we will hang side-by-side to impress family and guests! I highly recommend doing this even if you have never done it before - you will be surprised at what a great artist you are!

This is the best Montessori Preschool on the island! They have Montessori trained teachers and…read moreeveryone is friendly and awesome. They even have drop in care 7 days a week.

This lovely school is located along the highway and across from a beautiful surfing break,…read more"Davidsons", of the Pacific Ocean. The school is named after a French Carmelite nun famous for her "Little Way" of spiritual childhood. She sought holiness through small, daily acts of love rather than grand gestures. The students are preschoolers through 8th grade. The church is next door.

This surf school is run by professional surfer Chava Greenlee and his big personality comes through…read moreall aspects of the school. Chava goes out of his way to make his surf lessons better than the rest. First, the technique that he uses is clearly well-thought out and effective for beginners. Second, he and his instructors are there for the students (not to surf between students's waves). He provides water shoes for each student. Finally, his lessons on Poipu Beach are at a great break that is very good for beginners to learn. While on Kauai I noticed other surf schools doing all of these wrong, but not Aloha Surf Lessons. If you take your lesson early in your stay, be sure to come back and rent a board from Aloha and practice. Chava and the other instructors will continue to give you advice and feedback when they're in the water.

Had a great experience with Aloha Surf! I signed up by myself and the instructors were all so…read moreawesome! One of the highlights of my trip. My instructor was great. He really make me feel comfortable especially it being my first time and by myself. I asked him to take a picture and video for me and he was super cool about it. After my lesson Chava was gracious enough to take me around to a couple stops before dropping me off back at the hotel. He is so proud of this Island and rightfully so. The whole experience in itself was amazing. All amazing people! Excellent company!! Thanks for such a great experience!!!

We had a fantastic experience with our surfing lessons. I did the lesson with my 11-year-old son,…read moreand he loved it so much that he asked to book another session for the very next day, which we ended up doing. We had lessons with Adam and Austin, and both were excellent instructors. They watched what we were doing closely and gave really helpful, specific tips after each attempt to point out what we were doing wrong and how to fix it. Their feedback made a big difference and helped us improve quickly. They were also very thoughtful with my son. On both days, the instructors carried his surfboard down to the beach for him, which made things much easier and showed how attentive they were. Another thing that stood out was that they provided both rash guards and booties. From what I saw when looking at other companies, many seemed to provide rash guards but not booties, so that was a nice extra that made the experience more comfortable in the water. Overall, it was a great experience and I'd highly recommend them to anyone looking for surfing lessons.

10/10 experience. My husband got up on the first ride and was able to ride all the waves. Our…read moreinstructor Adam was super experienced, chill and kind and gave us great pointers. Someone in our group was struggling in the beginning but managed to ride the final wave! This was a highlight of our trip for sure.

The private workshop that I booked for my group of friends superseded my expectations. It was…read moreAMAZING !! Our instructor Irina started off the workshop with such amazing vibes and taught us how to make a lei po'o. Class was about 2.5 hours and you were able to take your time to create your own masterpiece! I would recommend it to everyone that wants to learn how to make a proper lei and take home a little bit of the Hawaiian culture/knowledge with them!

Irina and her daughter hosted our Lei Po'o workshop. They were both so friendly and kind. Irina…read moretook the time at the beginning of our workshop to share with us the history and culture of making Lei. She took the time to bring our family and friends closer by sharing our purpose and bringing meaning to our time together. It was a special bonding moment. We had both men and women make lei po'o. I know our guys were skeptical at first but they all really enjoyed the experience as well. I wore my lei po'o for my wedding the next day and to other events during our stay. This was an experience our friends and family will not forget that let us experience culture and build memories together!