santa barbara surf school

Randy and his fellow instructor were both fantastic. They were not only incredibly kind and patient but also so very upbeat. The clear and precise instructions were so very helpful that it made a difficult sport quite easy. The location could not have been better. The surf was gentle but had just enough waves to have a bit of a challenge. We could not advocate for a better service!!!

This is a great beach to learn to surf, waves are not too intimidating, nice long point break, and Randy was fantastic in getting us up and shredding in a few minutes. After a couple of hours, my daughter and I were catching some quite long rides under Randy's patient and funny instruction. He's basically a guy working out of a van with some boards and wetsuits, so don't expect anything hugely fancy, but what more do you need? Two hours was enough for fairly fit adults/teens to get pretty tired, if you're thinking about doing longer, maybe consider breaking it up. Thanks, Randy, hope we can come back for some more lessons.

We set up a private group lesson for 20 students (grade 8-10) and 4 adults. The entire morning met or exceeded every expectation. The staff were upbeat, encouraging, and kept the kids safe while having a lot of fun. The ratio of instructors to swimmers was just right (about 4:12) and allowed for plenty of individual instruction for those who needed it and freedom for those who were ready to take waves on their own. I would recommend this company to anyone. We will definitely be back.

My husband and I took a lesson with Randy. I get cold easily, so I was nervous about the colder water temps, but they provide wetsuits, so it wasn't cold at all. Randy was there on time and ready for us. He was so easy to learn from and answered all our questions. I had never been surfing before and had a great time. If we're ever in the area again, we'll take another lesson for sure. I would definitely recommend them to anyone wanting a surf lesson. He even took pictures for us and emailed them to us. Awesome!! :)

We booked lessons for our 9 and 5 year old kids. The experience was fantastic. We were assigned Patrick, and he had the perfect temperament for younger kids. We could not have been happier with him. Both of our kids were up in no time and it will prove to be the highlight of our trip. You can't go wrong with Santa Barbara Surf School or with Patrick.

I highly recommend Santa Barbara Surf School to anyone from small child to adult. We had a group of ten kids ranging in age from 8 - 16 years old. (Most were teenagers). Randy and his instructors did a fabulous job teaching the kids to surf. Not only was the instruction great, the logistics and set-up were equally great. We arrived to boards laid out and wet suits to fit each person. They were suited up and on the water in no time. We had such a good time, we scheduled lessons for the following day.

My eight year-old son and I took a lesson with Greg and he made us both feel so comfortable in the water. He broke down the steps and voila, we both stood up and caught waves our first lesson. We had one of the best afternoons we've had in a long time. My son said I looked good, "for a mom." Thanks Greg!

My daughter (6) and I signed up for a 2hour class with Greg and his staff and this was one of the highlight of our trip to Santa Barbara. Not only was the logistics excellent (i.e., great material, great spot), but Greg had one of his associates taking care of my daughter almost full time. We indeed were able to surf a few waves at the end of the course and therefore can only recommend Greg!

We had checked a few other surf schools in the area before deciding on this one. I am confident that we made the right choice. Being 43 and having never surfed, they gave me the perfect board, and an awesome teacher. With Matt's help pushing me into the waves I was up the first time. Such a great experience.Came back a few days later to try SUP. Greg brought us out and it proved to be a bit more challenging, but fun.

Having never surfed before, we phoned Greg hoping for a short notice lesson. Two hours later we were in the water. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and Greg was a fantastic teacher. Very accommodating, knowledgable and a genuinely nice guy!Thoroughly recommend and definitely something to do in Santa Barbara

I registered my boys 12 and 10 for a three hour surf camp with Greg. I was amazed how quickly they learned to surf!! They got up on their first try! My youngest wanted to surf again the next day, and Greg was gracious enough to rent a wet suit and board to us. Great experience all around. Thanks, Greg for making our vacation extra special.

We stayed for two days in Santa Barbara during our USA trip.Though i did not think it would make a lot of sense taking surf lessons in such short period, Greg of the Santabarbarasurfschool organized a two hour surf lesson for me on the next day. I am very tall ( 202 cm) and 32 years old, so i expected that it would not be easy for me to stand on the board only once.Believe it or not, Greg teached me how to surf in just two hours. And I had very much fun on the sunny beach!!!

Greg is an excellent instructor with many years of experience. He took his time to explain in detail what to do and why. Me and a friend had a great time on a beautiful beach south of Santa Barbara. It was a fun and safe way tho learn how to surf. Thank you Greg.

My 7 and 9 year old kids and I took lessons from Greg and Matt. They timed our lesson with the tide and took us to a beach with small waves that had long rides. It was a safe and fun way to learn. After a short ten minute lesson, Greg took us out into chest deep water and launched us into waves. After a few tries we were up and surfing. What a blast!! Everyone had a great time. It was the highlight of our trip to Santa Barbara.

My husband and I spent a few days in Montecito/Santa Barbara and wanted to try everything including surfing. We chose Santa Barbara Surf school based on other trip adviser reviews and we were not disappointed. Greg was a great patient instructor and got us standing up and riding waves on the first day. He took us to a great spot with perfect beginner waves and taught us what to look for and how to be safe in the ocean. We are hooked and look forward to bringing back the whole family.