HOKALI has four surfing locations available in California and Florida. Many more locations are opening soon. Stay tuned for more updates!

Our lessons take place in:

- Los Angeles
Surf Spot 1: Venice Beach. Meeting point: Nw8, Windward Ave, Venice, CA 90291, United States
Surf Spot 2: Santa Monica. Meeting point: Santa Monica Beach Parking, Unnamed Road, Santa Monica, CA 90401, United States
Surf Spot 3: Huntington Beach. Meeting point: Rays Rentals Huntington Beach, 124 Main St Unit 102, Huntington Beach, CA 92648, United States

- San Diego
Surf Spot 1: Mission Beach. Meeting point: 3221 Mission Blvd, San Diego, CA 92109, United States

- San Francisco Bay Area
Surf Spot 1: Pacifica, Linda Mar Beach. Meeting point: 575 Crespi Dr #1, Pacifica, CA 94044, United States
Surf Spot 2: Half Moon Bay.Meeting point: HMB Board Shop, 3032 N Cabrillo Hwy, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019

- Jacksonville
Surf Spot 1: Jacksonville Beach. Meeting point: Beach Life Rentals, 102 6th Ave N # 13, Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250, United States

If this is your first time surfing, we recommend these locations because they offer excellent learning conditions.

If you are an intermediate or advanced surfer and would like to try another beach, we also offer surfing lessons at advanced surfing locations. Please send us an email to info@hokali.co and we will try our best to make it happen. However, please note that we won’t be able to provide you with the surf gear in other locations.

Lessons at Ocean Beach in San Francisco?

Ocean Beach is one of our favorite beaches in California. However, Ocean Beach is not a surfing spot for beginners. The rips are very difficult to see, and the waves can be big and powerful. HOKALI wants to help you to become an Ocean Beach surfer. We can do some lessons there during the year when the waves are 2 to 3 feet. However, these conditions are rare and only occur 10 or 20 times a year. If you really want to try surfing there, we recommend getting a package of surfing lessons from us at Half Moon Bay or Pacifica State Beach. You should surf as much as possible so that you get more confident in the water as you read waves and pop up! When you’re comfortable with that, we can help you to achieve your surfing goals at Ocean Beach

To check availability, search by a specific coach or by a location and surf spot.

To search by coach, click “Coaches” from the top menu. When the list of available coaches is displayed, pick the one best suited for your needs. When you select a coach, you see his or her availability in a calendar. See the image below:

If you search by location, you find the different types of available lessons. When you select the most appropriate lesson for your needs, select dates and surf spots available in real time. See the image below:

When you pick a timeslot at your desired spot, select from all the available coaches.
Please check image below:

HOKALI can provide you with a beginner surfboard (Wavestorm/Soft Tops) or wetsuit if you need it. The price of the lesson does not include the surf gear, but our software adds the surf gear by default after you choose the location, date and coach for your lesson. The price for the wetsuit rental is $15.00 and the board rental is $20.00. If you don’t need surf gear, delete it by clicking the ‘’X’’ at checkout. See the image below as an example:

Prices vary depending on the type of lesson and location. To check the price for the lesson, go to https://hokali.co/, search by location and find the price of the lesson that you are looking for.

Select your location and choose the lesson of your preference. All prices are available on the website.

Note that packages, courses and group lessons are always cheaper options!

HOKALI offers surf lessons for beginners, experienced surfers and everyone else in between. We personalize each session according to your abilities and skills. We guide and teach you to understand the ocean and its currents as well as the different types of waves and so much more.

The Surf Camp is a four-hour lesson. During the lesson, the surfer works with the coach on surfing techniques. You can book a private Surf Camp for one person or up to four people.

A typical Surf Camp starts with a warm-up (run on the beach, stretches, pop-up technique, practice in the sand). Students learn about safety and are told about currents, tides, and the type of break at the location.

The instructor also discusses surf gear (surfboard, leash, tail, fins, quad versus thruster, and longboard versus shortboard).

The coach teaches the “Green Wave” theory and techniques. Advanced students practice green wave techniques in the water, and enjoy free surfing at the end of the lesson.

Package lessons are a great option for those who want to become surfers and want to improve quickly. When we created this product, we thought how to help our students improve and learn to surf with one on one lessons.

Our packages include 3, 5 or 10 lessons that you can buy today and schedule at any time in the future. These are available on our website as ‘’Packages.’’ This is a cheaper option for those interested in achieving their own personal goals in surfing. We would love to get you there!

We listened to our students when we designed our packages. Each package is a series of one on one lessons, designed as a “Learning Path” rather than an “One time” experience.

These are the features that the new packages add to the learning path:

• Forecast App: Exclusive Forecast App developed by HOKALI. Access link for the active course students.
• Premium Video Tutorials: Course students receive exclusive video tutorials made by HOKALI. The tutorials explain surfing technique and best practices (only available in the Premium and Full courses). We will share these premium videos with our coaches soon.
• Surf Meetups: HOKALI Courses Meetups are held every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month for 15 hours (in winter) and 17 hours (in summer) at each location. Surf Meetups allow HOKALI to build community, share experiences, and have fun. Course students receive an Eventbrite invitation link (Only available for Premium and Full Courses).
• Final Exam and Certification: On the last week of the course, students take a virtual exam to receive a certificate of completion (Only available for Premium and Full Courses).
• Surf Gear is optional at check out.

HOKALI has a built-in algorithm that recommends the best coach according to your needs. After you pick a lesson type and date, the HOKALI provides information on a specific coach. You can always select another the coach if you don’t feel comfortable with the recommendation.

Are you planning to give someone a surf experience? We have gift cards available on our website. Give someone a gift card now and they can book the surf lesson any time in the future. You can redeem the gift card at any HOKALI location: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Jacksonville.

If you would like to share your surf experience with your friends or family, we offer a private group lesson. You can choose between a 1.5 hours private lesson or a surf camp (4-hour lesson). Group surf camps are a great way to connect with surfing.

If you prefer to join a public group session, book a ‘’Join Group Lesson.’’

We teach kids of all ages. Lessons are taught in white water in easy and safe conditions. For kids from 5 to 10 years, HOKALI offers only a private solo lesson. (Courses are for kids starting at 15 years old).

If you are a family that wants to book a private group lesson with your kids, we recommend this option for kids over 10 years old.

If you have received a special promo code to book your surf lesson, select the type of lesson, date, and coach and then apply the code on the check-out page. After you enter the code, the discount is applied.

We are operating during COVID and take all necessary precautions. In order to abide by Public Health COVID recommendations, we clean the surf gear before and after each lesson. Our coaches maintain a physical distance of 6 feet in every lesson possible and wear masks before and during the lesson whenever possible.

We are the first surfing community that connects students with local vetted surf coaches in the United States. Our mission is to empower surfers who want to protect and preserve our coasts and oceans. It is our belief that each student can be a powerful force in contributing to the health and sustainability of our marine ecosystems. To this end, HOKALI has partnered with several non-profits that primarily deal with maritime conservation issues. HOKALI pledges to have a square foot of kelp sea tree planted for each lesson contracted through our website.

For every lesson booked, HOKALI helps restore kelp forests in California. Find more about kelp forestation here.

You can reschedule the date or time of the surf lesson within 24 hours of booking, and up to 72 hours before the lesson is scheduled to start. If the weather is a safety concern either before or during the surf lesson, the surf instructor may cancel the lesson. If this happens, you can reschedule the lesson for later. You can reschedule a lesson up to 3 times.

To reschedule, please contact our service desk here.

For a full refund, cancel within 24 hours of purchase.

A purchased lesson expires after 12 months of purchase and no refunds are made.

You can reschedule the date or time of your lesson up to 48 hours before the lesson start time. The lesson will expire after 12 months of purchase and no refund will be granted. Customers will be allowed to reschedule a lesson up to 3 times.

If the weather creates a safety concern, either before or during the lesson, the instructor may cancel the lesson. If it happens, you will be able to reschedule. If an emergency situation occurs (such us COVID, fires, government measures, or other similar) and lessons have to be canceled, students can reschedule the lesson for another location or different sport in the next 12 months, but no refund will be granted.

To submit a cancellation or refund, please contact our service desk here.

HOKALI may cancel lessons due to weather situations. If the conditions are considered unsafe for our students, the coach my decide not to continue the lesson and resume it later. If HOKALI decides to cancel a lesson, students can reschedule their lesson for any time in the future.

Students must submit a ticket to our service desk with the reschedule information. We will not issue a refund unless they have purchased that lesson 24 hours prior to cancellation.

Rain is not considered a valid reason for canceling a lesson unless there is a safety concern. The coach decides on this on the day of the lesson. Students can reschedule their lessons 72 hours in advance if they have doubts about the weather.

The water temperature in San Francisco varies from 61°F in the summer to 52°F in the winter months. In San Diego the variation goes from 72°F in summer to 59°F in winter. Wetsuits are designed for surfers to be in the water anytime! The wetsuits are nice and warm for students! Wetsuits these days are high quality and they do an amazing job keeping you warm!

- About the Surfboard: Selecting the right board for your surfing level is important. If this is your first time surfing, we recommend a foam board. These are a great choice for beginners. An 8 to 9-foot foam longboard surfboard is one of the best options for a few reasons. Foam surfboards are stable, user-friendly, and easy to paddle with, which makes catching waves and standing up easy.

- About the Wetsuit: Southern California is known for its consistently warm weather. A good wetsuit choice for the summer is a 3/2 thick wetsuit. During winter months, a 4/3 wetsuit keeps you warm for the entire lesson. If you are surfing at a San Francisco location, the best choice is a 4/3 full wetsuit.

In Venice Beach there are different paid parking areas near the meeting point. You can find free parking at 200-278 Windward Ave, Venice, CA 90291.

At Linda Mar beach in Pacifica, you can park in the main paid parking lot. If that's full, there is another paid lot off Crespi Dr. If you want free parking, park along the streets off Crespi Dr and walk to the beach.

Getting to Mission Beach is easy. If you are driving from the north, take the Seaworld Drive exit to W Mission Bay Drive and then go to Mission Boulevard. This puts you right into the heart of Mission. Ample parking is available near the famous Belmont Park. If you are driving from the south, take the 8 freeway to W Mission Bay Drive, and then go to Mission Bay Boulevard.

All the lessons can be paid for through the website. We do not accept cash or payments made by phone.