Waikīkī surf school
Meet the SFC crew at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, review the fundamentals, practice your pop-up on the sand, and paddle out prepared — with an instructor beside you.
Stand up on your first lesson, or it’s free.
Choose your lesson
Meet other travelers in an open class, keep the instructor close in a private lesson, or bring your own friends and family.
Join a small open class on Waikīkī's beginner-friendly waves. You'll share the lineup with other travelers while your SFC instructor keeps it to four students max — so every ride gets watched and every surfer gets coached. Board, leash, and rash guard included.
One instructor, one surfer. Every minute of coaching goes to your pop-up, your balance, your waves — the fastest path to standing up, and the right pick if you're nervous about the ocean. Have your own crew? Private group lessons run the same way — nobody joins your lesson but your people. Board, leash, and rash guard included.
Three 90-minute coached surf sessions across three days — build confidence through repetition on Waikīkī's gentle south-shore waves. Your first booked date is session one, and SFC schedules the remaining two with you as one package. Board, leash, and rash guard included.
The SFC promise
Every first-time lesson starts on the sand: you learn where your hands and feet go, drill the pop-up until it feels natural, and lock in the simple signals your instructor uses once you're in the water. Then you paddle out — and your instructor stays close, wave after wave, reading the ocean for you and calling you into the right ones. It works, and Scott stands behind it with a simple owner-backed promise for first-time surfers: stand up on your first lesson, or it's free.
Meet Lilikoi
Yes, the dog surfs. Lilikoi rides the same gentle south-shore waves where SFC teaches. Keep the sound on and watch the local crew member guests remember first.
Meet the owner
Scott “Uncle Savage” Minkler leads SFC with decades in the water and the kind of first-lesson coaching that starts simple: where your hands go, when to paddle and which wave is yours.
That is the difference guests feel. The lesson is not only a booking slot; it is Scott and the SFC crew watching conditions, keeping the group calm and calling out the small cues that make the first ride possible.
The SFC approach
SFC starts with the board on sand. You feel where your hands and feet belong, practice the pop-up slowly, and hear the short signals your instructor will use once the board is moving.
Out in the water, your instructor keeps the lesson simple: one board, one wave, one useful cue at a time.
Meeting location
SFC lessons meet at the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, on the edge of Waikīkī. You can't miss us — look for the big SFC shuttle bus with the yellow "Need a Surf Lesson" sign. Arrive 15 minutes before your lesson so there's time to get your board and rash guard sorted before sand practice starts.
The gallery
Swipe through a few favorites, then open the full gallery — and follow SFC on Instagram for the newest photos from the water.
Large Groups and Events
Planning something bigger? For groups of more than eight — birthday parties, bachelor and bachelorette parties, corporate retreats, church groups, family reunions — contact SFC and we'll shape a session around your crew. Be sure to ask about pairing your surf day with other local experiences, like a beach picnic, kayaking, or paddle boarding, to make the whole celebration easy.
Questions before you book? Call or text +1 808-490-8674, email sfcsurfschool@gmail.com, or use the contact page. Your booking confirmation has the exact arrival instructions and policies.
