Kids surf camps in Hawaiʻi are a different animal than a one-hour lesson. By the second morning your kid is standing up on their own, by the third they’re paddling out without looking back at you, and the rest of your trip they are the one who wants to be at the beach at 8 a.m. That’s the pitch, and for visiting families it’s a real one.

Every island has ops that run multi-day kids surf camps or standing weekly kids programs during the summer, and a handful run year-round. Rates, ages, and formats vary a lot more than the “surf lessons” pages suggest. Below is what a visiting family should know before booking — the actual camps we’d point our nieces and nephews at, what a day looks like, what to pack, and where the money goes.

Across the operators profiled below, most kids camps in Hawaiʻi run three to five mornings in a row, roughly two to three hours per session, at a single reliable beginner break. Drop-off is early — usually between 8 and 9 a.m., before the wind picks up — and pickup is midday to early afternoon. You are handing your kid to a coach and going to get coffee, not sitting on the sand for four hours a day.

Group sizes tend to be small. Published ratios at the schools linked below generally range from about 1:2 to 1:4, and reputable schools will drop that ratio to 1:1 for younger children. Boards are provided, almost always soft-tops sized for beginner use. Rash guards are usually provided; reef shoes and swim trunks are on you.

Ages vary a lot by operator. A few schools take kids as young as 3 (private-lesson format only). Most group camps set a floor at 6 or 7 and require basic swimming ability — floating, treading water, being comfortable with waves washing over the face (Surf Club Maui, for example, states plainly that campers “must know how to swim”). If your kid is nervous around ocean water, book a private lesson first before committing to a multi-day group camp.

Waikīkī is the easiest surf-camp base in the state. The reef break in front of Kūhiō Beach breaks small, long, and clean all summer — the exact conditions you want for a first standup. The North Shore is a different story: world-class in winter, basically flat in summer, which is when the schools out there switch their programs over to beginner-friendly days at mellow North Shore breaks.

Ty Gurney Surf School runs a multi-day kids camp at the quiet Kapiʻolani-Park end of Waikīkī. Per the school’s site, the camp runs 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and meets at their blue surf van on Kalākaua Avenue near the Waikīkī Aquarium.

North Shore Ohana School of Surfing runs a kids’ keiki camp out of Aliʻi Beach Park in Haleʻiwa. Their summer program uses the mellower North Shore breaks that come alive when winter’s giant swells shut off. If you’re staying up the coast at Turtle Bay, this is the natural pick.

Sunset Suzy’s three-day kids camp runs 9 a.m. to noon at Chun’s Reef on the North Shore, at a price point that’s easy to say yes to compared to Waikīkī rates.

For a big statewide summer program, Aloha Beach Camp runs one- and two-week sessions in summer that combine surfing with swimming, snorkeling, and other beach activities. That’s the “put my kid in something all day” option, not a pure surf camp.

Prefer to book everything in one place with reviews attached? Compare current kids-surf options on Viator’s Oʻahu surfing lessons page.

Maui’s south shore around Kīhei is where the summer swells hit soft, and it’s where every serious kids camp on the island runs. Lāhainā’s surf schools — which teach at west-side breaks like Launiupoko that sat outside the burn zone — resumed operations in the months after the August 2023 fires and are back on a normal lesson schedule.

Surf Club Maui is a locally owned school teaching since 1992. Their three-day summer kids camp runs Monday–Wednesday at their Kīhei location, ages 10 to 15, basic swimming ability required. Boards, rash guards, and surf shoes are all provided. Summer is the peak season; call or text ahead — they book out.

Maui Surfer Girls runs family and kids lessons at Ukumehame Beach Park (between Kīhei and Lāhainā) and offers tandem-surf options for kids as young as 3 who aren’t ready to stand up on their own.

Bully’s Surf School teaches at Guardrails on the west side out of Lāhainā and runs private, semi-private, and group lessons. If you’re staying on the west side, it’s a smaller, community-scale option visiting families don’t often think to look for.

Go Surf Maui runs group and private lessons at Kalama Park in Kīhei. Per their About page, instructors are CPR- and first-aid-certified, and the focus at this school is heavily family-oriented — which is code for “your six-year-old and your eleven-year-old can both be in a session that works for them.”

For a browse view with prices attached, see Viator’s Maui surfing lessons page.

Kauaʻi is smaller and the surf-school scene shows it — fewer operators, but the ones that exist are long-running and family-scale. The south shore around Poʻipū is where every summer program lives. The north shore around Hanalei has its own set of schools for the summer window; Hanalei Bay flattens out enough in summer to work for first-time kids.

Kauai Surf School, based at Kōloa Landing near Poʻipū, has been teaching since 1999. Their published camp offerings run 1-day, 3-day, and 5-day formats — activity-only, so lodging and meals are on you. Prices below reflect that structure; if you’ve heard about an older lodging-included clinic package, confirm current availability directly with the school before assuming it’s still on offer.

Poʻipū Beach Surf School runs 90-minute group lessons. Per their site, kids 6–9 can join a group only if a parent from the same party is also in the group — otherwise a private lesson is required.

Endless Summer Surf School runs kids-private lessons for ages 6–12 (one child per instructor). Their site requires a parent in the water for kids 8 and under, which for a lot of families is actually the point.

Up on the north shore, Hawaiian Surfing Adventures and Hanalei Surf School both teach at Hanalei Bay through the summer, both use soft-top boards, both run private 90-minute lessons. Either is a good pick if you’re staying in Princeville or Hanalei; the drive back down to Poʻipū every morning is not fun.

The Big Island isn’t known for surf camps because it doesn’t have the sustained beginner-break geography that Oʻahu and Maui do. Kahaluʻu Bay south of Kailua-Kona is the exception: a well-protected reef break with small, steady waves that’s the state’s best kids-first surf spot outside of Waikīkī. Every kids operation on the island is centered on it.

Kona Mike’s runs “ʻOhana surf lessons” — family-format group sessions at Kahaluʻu Bay with local, lifeguard-certified instructors (their site confirms lifeguard, first-aid, and CPR certifications). Not a multi-day camp exactly; more a rolling schedule of family sessions across the week.

Local Boys Surf Adventure in Kona offers private, semi-private, and family group lessons. Private is the way to go for kids under 7 or for the nervous first-timer.

If your family is set on a multi-day kids camp specifically, do the camp on Oʻahu or Maui and use the Big Island half of your trip for the volcano and the beaches. See Viator’s Big Island surfing lessons page for the current per-lesson options that do exist.

Rough ranges pulled from the school pages linked above, as of summer 2026. Nothing here should be treated as a booking quote — check the operator’s site the week you go — but this is the ballpark to plan against.

A single kids group lesson (1.5–2 hours) generally runs about $100–$180 per child. Reference points: Poʻipū Beach Surf School around $125, Go Surf Maui around $109, North Shore Ohana around $125. Waikīkī sits toward the higher end; Kīhei and Kona are cheaper on average.

A private kids lesson (one instructor per child) runs roughly $180–$250 per child per session, and it is the right shape for kids under 7 or for anyone who wants a coach’s full attention. Ty Gurney around $190 for a 2-hour private; Endless Summer Kauaʻi around $200; Kona Mike’s around $210.

A three-day kids camp — the sweet spot for visiting families — usually lands between $275 and $500 per child total. Sunset Suzy’s is around $275 for three days at the low end of that band; Surf Club Maui’s three-day keiki camp is around $425.

For a longer stint, Kauai Surf School’s 5-day activity-only camp is listed around $525 per person on their site. Multi-day packages with lodging and meals show up occasionally in the Kauaʻi market as custom bookings — if that’s what you want, ask the school directly for a quote.

Summer — June through September — is the peak season for kids camps and it is the peak season for a reason. South-shore breaks (Waikīkī, Kīhei, Poʻipū, Kahaluʻu Bay) get the small-to-medium south swells that make a beginner day work. North-shore breaks that are life-threatening in winter go essentially flat, and the North Shore surf schools shift into beginner mode.

Camps run through the fall shoulder (October–November) too. Fewer sessions, easier to get a spot, and the water is still warm. If your travel window is flexible, the last week of August through early October is our favorite: crowds thin, prices soften, weather still cooperates.

December through March is winter. South-shore breaks still work for kids — Waikīkī and Poʻipū are largely a year-round beginner playground — but the North Shore is closed for beginners. Most kids programs run reduced schedules through winter.

Book two to four weeks ahead in summer. The good camps sell out for July especially fast.

Most schools provide the board, the rash guard, and the leash. Everything else is on the family.

A UPF 50 long-sleeve rash guard owned by the child fits better than a borrowed one, gives better sun coverage, and doubles for snorkeling later in the trip. Amazon’s search for kids UPF 50 long-sleeve rash guards is where I’d start.

Reef shoes or water booties matter more here than on the mainland. Kahaluʻu Bay and Poʻipū both entail walking across sharp reef flats to reach the break; a lot of kids camps entail walking over lava rock or coral rubble at the water’s edge. Sixteen-dollar water booties on Amazon pay for themselves the first day.

Reef-safe mineral sunscreen is not optional. Hawaiʻi’s Act 104 banned the sale of over-the-counter sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate as of January 1, 2021. Zinc-oxide- or titanium-based sticks work best on faces (won’t run into eyes when your kid gets thrown around by a wave). Amazon search: reef-safe zinc oxide sunscreen sticks.

Everything else is regular beach gear: hat, towel, refillable water bottle, snacks. Add a dry bag if you’re driving 20 minutes back to a hotel with a wet kid.

A kid who’s not comfortable in whitewater — or who tries a lesson and hates it — has options.

Stand-up paddle (SUP) lessons on flat inside water get the same “I stood up on a board!” win without the wave anxiety. Kailua Bay on Oʻahu, Kīhei’s inside reef flats, and Hanalei River on Kauaʻi are all standard-issue kids SUP water.

Body-boarding at a mellow shorebreak is the pre-surf activity most Hawaiʻi kids grow up on. Our Hawaiʻi bodyboarding guide is a good primer, and a $30 foam boogie board is a legitimate whole-vacation entertainment budget.

Snorkeling is the other easy shift. Once a kid is comfortable putting their face in ocean water and breathing through a tube, everything about the sport opens up. See our easiest snorkeling spots for beginners for where to start.

Four rules keep the money and the vacation on track.

Book direct with the school when you already know who you want. The camps profiled above have their own booking calendars and contact channels, and going direct usually gives you the fastest answer on availability and specific scheduling questions.

Use an aggregator when you want to compare with reviews attached. Viator’s per-island surfing-lessons pages carry current price ranges, cancellation windows, and reviews from other traveling families — useful when you’re deciding between three options you haven’t heard of.

Match transportation to the camp. Camps at Kīhei, Poʻipū, Kahaluʻu, and Haleʻiwa are car trips from most hotels. Waikīkī is walkable from most Waikīkī hotels. If you’re renting anyway, our long-standing partner Discount Hawaii Car Rental compares rates across the major island counters without a login. On Oʻahu specifically, if you’re staying in Waikīkī and only need the car for two morning camp days, a two-day rental is usually cheaper than paying resort parking for a full week’s car.

Stack the lodging to the camp. A camp at Kalama Park in Kīhei is a rough commute from Kāʻanapali; a camp in Haleʻiwa is a long morning drive from Waikīkī. If the camp is the centerpiece of the trip, book the room near it. Compare current rates on Oʻahu or Kauaʻi via our Oʻahu hotels and Kauaʻi hotels pages.

Every kid I’ve watched go through a Hawaiʻi surf camp has come off the sand different than they went on. Standing up on a board in front of your family in warm water on the third morning is a big moment for a seven-year-old. It’s worth building the trip around, even if surf isn’t your family’s whole vibe.

Pick the island you’re already planning to be on, pick a school with real reviews and a real coach-to-kid ratio, book two to four weeks out, and let your kid own the mornings. The rest of the vacation gets easier when everyone has already done the hard thing of the day by 11 a.m.