What are the lesson times?

Lesson times are based on the tide times which change daily. Generally we don’t do lessons or rentals over the high tide period due to limited access to the beach.
Click here for: Lesson Times

What do I need to bring?

Swimwear
Towel
Warm clothes for after the lesson
Suncream
Change for parking on the prom, €2 for 3 hours, €4 for the full day

Do I need to be a good swimmer?

You need to be able to tread water to take a surf lesson. Beginner lessons are held in waist deep water. Wetsuits do assist floatation and you are always close by to an instructor and you have an 8 foot floatation device (your surfboard) beside you. If you are a weak swimmer please let your instructor know so He/She can keep a special eye on you. The instructor is a Qualified Beach LIfeguard so you are in safe hands.

Is there a ladies Changing Room?

Just 30 seconds away from our beach hut we have a ladies changing room. This is for over 18 years. Please don’t leave your clothes there, you can leave your clothes in our beach hut and be careful there can be glass on the path there (passing the bottle bank)! Bring flip-flops or put the surf boots provided on:)

Can I show up alone?

Whether you are a group, a small group (of 2 or 3) or an individual you can join one of our group lesson times. If no one has booked in for a particular day (this happens in winter mid week) your option is to take a private lesson, see ‘Private Lesson’ page.

What is the maximum instructor to student ratio?

The British Surfing Association instructor to student ratio is 1 to 10. In Ireland the Irish Surfing Association is 1 to 8. We use 1 to 8 but there is anywhere between 3 and 6 on average in your typical lesson.

Are lessons held in winter?

Lahinch Surf School remains open all year except for December and January.  We usually have only one or two lesson times available each weekend day in Nov and Feb. Contact us to check availability or check here. If you have your own group contact us to organise a lesson any time and date that suits you.

Can I bring my own board and wetsuit?

You can certainly bring your own wetsuit. In winter, our suits will most likely be warmer if you only have a summer wetsuit. It is safer if you use our surfboards as they are all made of foam and are more suitable for a group of people surfing together. Most privately owned boards are hard which would be dangerous in the group.

Where are the lessons held?

All our lessons are held on Lahinch beach, we are located at the Lahinch School Beach Hut, 50 Metres past the lifeguard tower on the Lahinch Promenade. Check the ‘Location’ page. Eircode: V95 K7F2

What equipment is provided?

Winter & Summer Billabong Foil and Alder wetsuits, surfboards (variety of 1 fin and 3 fin hard and soft board) and in colder months boots, gloves and hoods (and of course expert tuition).

What happens if the surf is small?

If the waves are small we use MONSTER surf boards that are 10ft long, so you catch ripples on these boards. If it’s a really still summer day with not much surf the adults can learn to do SUP (stand up paddle boarding). We have a fleet of those. Lifejackets are required and provided for this option. The waves rarely go flat flat. We have giant surfboards that are great fun even if the waves are knee high.

Can I organise my own group?

If you have your own group for a surf lesson or course, contact us to organise a lesson at a time and date that suits you.

Sample lesson:

This is how our standard surfing lesson works:

Let’s say for example we have an adult lesson at 10 am (lesson times change every day with the tides). Students come maybe ten minutes in advance to the beach hut to check-in. There may be 5 minutes of waiting around, waiting for the other people in your class to show up. Ideally everyone is checked in before the lesson time. Then you’ll be introduced to your instructor(s).
For a standard group lesson there will be a group of min 2 to max 8 persons in your group or if there are two instructors working together, the group may be of min 9 to max 16 persons. When everyone is changed and in your gear (this takes a bit longer in winter with the boots/gloves/hoods), you do a quick safety speech for a few things to watch out for while in the water. Then you pick up your boards in pairs, march down the beach and the instructor brings you through proper surfing technique and discusses the wave conditions, this takes less than 5 minutes. This is where you learn to stand up or get some encouragement to perfect your surf technique (it’s all about style and grace, on and off the board)!

Then your instructor picks the best and safest part of the beach to enter the surf and you would surf until 11.45 (that is for the e.g. of the 10 am lesson). While you’re in the surf you can stay along-side your instructor. The most keen people will continually ask the instructor to please “Get me another wave” they are there to help you catch waves and give you tips as you go but also to keep you safe.. others prefer to work away at it themselves.

If conditions aren’t perfect… the instructor can spend most of his time keeping the group together. If conditions are very nice, they’ll get more time to do more teaching and working on technique. The instructor stays with you in the water until the lesson ends. At that time you exit the water, get back to the surf hut and get changed out of your wetsuits, 100% of people are completely STOKED. The wetsuits are incredibly good at keeping you warm even in mid-winter AND the instructors are the best in the country. 2 hours after your lesson started you’ll be ready to leave.

Any more questions? Just send us an email!