3 day surf courses for beginners & novices at Ngarunui Beach, Raglan
Our aim is for you to actually feel like a surfer at the end of one of our surf courses – Ready to surf on your own with confidence.
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True Small Groups: Capped at a maximum of 6 people. You will learn, progress, and share the water with the exact same crew each day -
Whitewater to Green Waves: A proven 3-day progressive curriculum with fresh skill lessons each day. We don’t just stand you up in the shallows; we prepare you to get out the back & riding across unbroken waves as soon as possible -
Get Ready to Surf Independently: We build vital surf forecasting, wave reading and ocean safety knowledge into the course so that you leave with the confidence to surf on your own, have fun and improve steadily
Our learn to surf course is designed specifically for motivated beginners who want to avoid the typically busy, introductory surf lesson and learn in a small group setting that fast-tracks them to becoming confident, competent surfers. Whether you have never touched a surfboard or have been at it a while without seeing real progress, our structured multi-day program bridges the gap between feeling overwhelmed by all the variables to understanding the environment, catching your own waves with confidence, and truly enjoying yourself.
Based in New Zealand’s best surf town, Raglan, we combine well-honed in-water coaching, essential ocean theory, biomechanic understanding, and quality equipment, so you can quickly develop your skills in a fun, supportive, and unhurried environment.
Upcoming 2026 and 2027 Learn to Surf Course Dates:
We run regular 3-day courses from October through May, when the conditions are best for learning. The sessions typically run from Friday to Sunday, and you can find all upcoming dates on our booking form.
Because we limit each course to 6 participants, we highly recommend booking well in advance to secure your spot — especially during our peak November to February window and on public holiday weekends.
If our scheduled dates don’t work for you, there is a link on the booking form you can use to email us with your preferred timing. We frequently add custom weekday or weekend dates, especially for group bookings.
3-Day and 4-Day Fast Track Packages from $300 NZD, All surf gear included. Optional accommodation available.
Or read on for more details and photos of the course…
Our Latest Reviews:
We’re not complete beginners — we’ve been surfing for about two years — but we hadn’t made much real progress. We previously took a one-off surf school lesson and then tried to improve on our own, but in hindsight the technique we learned wasn’t the best foundation. It also didn’t help that we were riding boards that were probably too small for our level.
Andrew’s course was exactly what we needed. His focus isn’t just on helping you stand up for the day — it’s about building the correct skills and habits that allow you to progress as a surfer long-term. He breaks things down in a very clear and practical way, and you can immediately see how each concept translates into the water.
During the course I had a real breakthrough. For the first time I started confidently riding across small green waves both left and right, and even caught a pretty big one. It felt like everything finally started to click.
Another great thing was the small group size — there were only four of us — which made it feel almost like private coaching.
I would highly recommend Andrew’s course to anyone who truly wants to understand surfing better and take their progression to the next level.
Andrew chose the perfect day and gave us lots of helpful advice.
I highly recommend him!
Thanks to their local knowledge of the geography, language and surf culture, we got to surf spots that I never would’ve found on my own. As an intermediate surfer I was a bit nervous, but the coaching was tailored, encouraging and super helpful.
It was a humbling but unforgettable experience with a fun and supportive crew. Highly recommend!
I was so wrong. Being in a group, getting expert pointers and video analysis, watching the other in the group on similar waves, and seeing different approaches and outcomes was really enlightening. Humbling too. But I was making some basic mistakes that was killing my wave count – so good to know as that makes for a frustrating session. I can now work on that. And on the wave, I could see what I needed to change to really enjoy the wave.
Can’t wait to get out and hit the surf now. Feeling really positive about surfing again.
Andrew and his mate Johnny were friendly, patient, gave great advice, and really supportive. It felt like we were all in a
team working together. They ran a great trip, everything was good, accom /food/wave hunting. And the whole crew were friendly and fun.
Great experience, lots of fun.
Many thanks Andrew.
Then there was the visit to Aoshima shrine, swimming in the local river and all the delicious restaurants we ate at.
Thanks Andrew and Johnny. It was a pretty amazing experience.
Great surf school🤘
Maya was our coach for the day and did an excellent job giving everyone tips and tricks and keeping them surfing for the entire 2-hour session
So what are you waiting for? 😋
I especially liked the immediate support with any problems, whether surfing or organisation. As I was in Raglan without a car, I needed a pick-up from Raglan to the beach. That always worked out great.
Thanks for the great time!
I would definitely recommend this course to any beginners and novice surfers out there.
Why do you want to Surf?
Over the years we’ve found that people take surf lessons for different reasons.
Some just want a one-off experience, to give surfing a go. In that case we offer one of our standard surf lessons. But many beginners already know they want to become surfers and make surfing a part of their lives.
If that sounds like you, we love helping you get into the sport and lifestyle of surfing and have designed this beginners surf course especially for you.
It includes all the skills, techniques and knowledge you need to progress beyond standing on a whitewater wave to paddling out and riding unbroken waves with confidence.
Since starting these surfing courses in 2012 we’re absolutely stoked that we often see past customers continuing to enjoy their surfing and progress nicely on their own. Many of them keep in touch with others they did the course with, become friends and several have even progressed on to our international surf trips, surfing tropical reef breaks in Indonesia and Taiwan.
Why Learn to Surf With Us?
We assume you are a beginner who wants to keep surfing on your own, or are already a novice surfer, therefore we provide a surf coaching service rather than a tourism experience. No two lessons are the same, we assess where you’re at and coach based on your level, total beginner or someone with a little experience already.
There are a lot of skills you’ll need to be a surfer and many of them aren’t physical. If you want to continue learning to surf on your own you need to know how to find suitable waves, read weather patterns, understand the tides, purchase the right equipment, wax your board, learn the rules of a surf spot, know how to tie boards on your roof and so on. You could learn all those things the slow way and the hard way but if you’re not 13 years old with endless amounts of free-time, why not speed up the learning process?
We teach technique thoroughly
The stance and pop-up are so important and can limit your progress if technique is poor. We offer clear instructions, feedback, and ensure you put a quality movement in your muscle memory.
You’ll improve fast
Our group size is capped at 6 so that we can give you constant feedback during the course, after every few waves to be precise. This individual attention also allows you to ask us all your questions.
We’ll let you charge!
We don’t want to confine you to the whitewater, and if you’re up for it and conditions are suitable, we’ll take you out to catch unbroken waves asap. But only if you’re keen, we won’t force you if you’re not ready.
Surf Course Outline
What we do day to day will vary based on the surf conditions and your surfing level, but there is an underlying structure so that skills can be layered upon each other. Here is a guide of what we cover, courses will vary slightly depending on the conditions you get:
Day 1: Master the Whitewater
- We’ll explain your equipment and show you how how to confidently handle your surfboard in the whitewater waves
- You will get 100% clarity on the same pop up technique that good surfers use and then we will chip away until it becomes 2nd nature for you. This is vital for continued progression in green waves later on. If you’ve found the pop-up difficult in the past, it’s possible that your technique needs review.
- Your stance will be fine tuned until you can ride each wave all the way to the beach, maintaining speed and control.
- At this stage you will be in the whitewater waves, close to shore because it allows for maximum repetitions – vital for developing these basic skills. You could easily catch 50 waves per session.
Day 2: Using Your Rails and Intro to Green Waves
- Today it’s all about using our rails (sides of the board) to surf across waves rather than straight to the beach. Once you learn the ‘angled takeoff’ you will almost never go straight on a wave again. This will prepare you for green wave riding on the open face.
- You will experience more speed because once ‘on rail’ there is less drag in the water.
- The basics of turning will also be explained
- We will start catching small unbroken waves and teach you how to make ‘the drop’, it’s all about timing, where you look, and body position while paddling.
Day 3: Learn to Surf Out the Back
- Once you’re ready we’ll take those rail skills up a level and paddle out the back if conditions allow us to
- You will learn about the lineup (area where the waves break) – rips, dangers, safe zones, take off spots etc, how to paddle out the back the easy way, and how to position yourself for a successful takeoff on the wave
- Learn several techniques to get over and under waves to where you need to be to catch unbroken waves with success
- Learn etiquette for surfing with others – rules about riding waves, rules for paddling in lineup, avoid hassles with experienced surfers
- How to select the right unbroken waves by understanding the peeling direction and steepness
- Get used to picking a good line across the wave and begin working on direction changes, simple bottom and top turns which set up all the future moves you will learn
- Understand what you need to work on to keep progressing, the logical order to increase your skills, when to go to a smaller board if that’s your goal, and get tips on things you can do to speed up your progress.
- On day 3 we’ll also have a theory session and teach you all about finding suitable surf conditions for beginners – understanding variables like swell, wind, tides, geography and how they affect the waves. We’ll look at nz surf forecasting websites and also discuss suitable equipment to purchase.
- This is also your chance to bring up any other questions you have, things like the practical skills of being a surfer – waxing, setting up fins and legropes, fixing your board, wetsuit types, buying gear.
How You’ll Learn to Surf With Us
The surf course is delivered in 2.5 hour sessions, there is one session each day. Most beginners are pretty tired out after this, it’s quite physical.
Our teaching method involves explaining and demonstrating the techniques in detail, then getting you to focus on just one skill at a time when we hit the water. Once you have that skill down, we then focus on the next one, layering the skills. Here are our methods:
Beach Explanations & Practice
All the basic techniques like the pop-up and stance are explained and practiced using simulations on the beach, in a quiet corner so that you know what to do and expect when you hit the water. We also break down the conditions and point out safety factors.
In Water Coaching & Support
On the first few days we’ll be without a board but assisting you in the whitewater, providing feedback after every wave you ride. Then if we venture further out, we’ll grab a board and paddle out with you to provide advice and encouragement. You can follow us into the sweet spot and we’ll talk through the incoming sets of waves to fast track your ocean knowledge and turn you into a wave magnet.
Theory and Q & A Sessions
For many, this is the best part of the course as they can fire away with all those questions – what size board should I buy? what wetsuit? How often do I wax my board? We can talk about your local surf spots and make sure you understand how to predict when they have good waves for your level.
Why Learn to Surf in Raglan?
Raglan is one of the best surf spots in New Zealand. It is 2 hours drive from Auckland and lies on the west coast. It is one of the most consistent places to surf anywhere in the world because it gets constant swell and the shape of the coast here provides shelter from the south-west winds that ruin surfing conditions on other parts of the west coast.
The local beach has gentle breaking waves over a forgiving sand bottom most days of summer and autumn. There are always waves – we’ve only seen it too small for beginners on one or two occasions. That’s the main advantage Raglan has over other New Zealand surf locations.
Many people who take this course are from Auckland and they often comment that the waves are much friendlier and longer than those on Auckland’s more exposed west coast beaches. So in general, Raglan is an awesome place to learn to surf – safer and cleaner waves than most of our west coast, yet there’s always a wave and no flat spells like the east coast.
Plus, it’s one of the most famous surf towns in the world and has a great vibe – a must visit if you’re travelling from overseas.
What You’ll Come Away From The Course With
- An understanding of the path from beginner to competent surfer and how you progress steadily along it
- Weather and surf spot knowledge (we’ll give you a list of the best beginner spots throughout nz) so you can always find suitable surf conditions for your level
- The confidence to surf on your own and amongst more experienced surfers
- A solid foundation of skills that can be built upon – correct stance, correct popup technique, turning skills, speed control etc
- The techniques to handle your board safely in the whitewater waves close to shore, as well as in the green waves out from the shore. This is really important and will give you confidence for getting to the next level
- The technique you need to glide across unbroken green waves with speed, hopefully by the end of your course if conditions are right
- Someone to stay in touch with after your course if any questions come up, and if you keep practicing and progressing you can come on one of our group surf trips to the tropics!
Book Your Surf Course
3 Day ‘Become a Surfer’ Course
“master the whitewater + learn to surf across green waves”
Inclusions:
- three 2.5 hour surf lessons held on the best tide times each day
- surfboard and wetsuit hire for duration of each lesson
- skill sessions on mastering the whitewater waves, developing a good stance that makes turning and speed control easier, dropping in to the steeper green waves plus how to surf across green waves with speed and control
- in-depth theory discussions on equipment, understanding weather and forecasts to know when and where conditions will be good for learning, how to read waves and assess a beach for safety, understanding the rules of surfing
- follow up email that outlines what to do for your future progression, info on surf spots and what kind of board to buy
4 Day ‘Become a Surfer’ Fast Track
“progress as fast as you possibly can”
Inclusions:
- 3 day surf course as above
- additional private lesson that can be taken immediately after your 3 day course or at a later date when conditions are good for getting out the back further
- Chance to try different boards so you can buy something suitable afterwards
- Land Based Training Advice on what you can do on land to improve your mobility and speed up devlopment of surfing skills
Optional Accommodation: Relax at Our Raglan Studio
“Beautifully crafted cedar studio with Harbour Views”
We have a self contained studio available for people taking our courses, suitable for solo travelers, couples or friends, sleeping a maximum of 3 people. A private space, really close to the water.
- Fully equipped kitchen
- Mezzanine floor upstairs with Queen bed, Long Single bed downstairs in the lounge area
- Bathroom with deep Japanese style cedar bath tub as well as Shower
- Outdoor dining area, BBQ and off street parking
- Wifi, TV, Washing Machine, Espresso Machine
- 2 min walk to wharf and high tide swim spots, 10 min walk to town centre and shops
Rates: $180 per night for 1 or 2 guests | $210 per night for 3 guests.
How to book: Simply hit either of the booking buttons above, complete the booking form and note your preferred accommodation dates in the optional add-on box.
FAQ
Do these learn to surf courses have a minimum booking age? Can I book my child on a course?
We don’t have a strict age limit for the course. Participants are mostly adults but we have had quite a few 12-16 years join courses and really enjoy them. There is quite a bit of technique work and we sometimes talk in depth about surf forecasting etc, so up to you to decide if your child would be suitable for that. Many are, but some are better suited to a private lesson, especially if younger than 12.
What time of day do surf lessons happen?
We let you know the lesson start times a few days before your course begins, based on the surf and weather forecast. This way we get the best possible waves for you. It is usually in the morning, but not always. If you need an estimate of lesson times for a particular date let us know because we can look up the tides and give a pretty good indication in advance. We can also be flexible and work with your schedule as much as possible.
What happens if the weather is really bad on the dates I booked?
We don’t mind whether it’s sunny or raining but we will cancel lessons if the surf conditions are terrible or dangerous. It doesn’t happen often, but when we do have to cancel a lesson, we either postpone the lesson to a later date or offer you a refund for the day you missed out on.
