Go Nuts Hawaii

We rented 4 paddle boards for 2 hours at a very affordable price. They were very friendly and helpful! It was our first time paddle boarding and we found out they offered lessons, which we would definitely do next time. Overall a great experience.

I rented 2 paddle boards for the week. They were delivered and picked up from our condo. It was wonderful! Made our relaxing vacation extra relaxing… The staff was super friendly and wonderful to deal with. They reaponded to emails right away and always answered the phone promptly. I would definately recommend using Go Nuts Hawaii for paddle board rentals.

I really enjoyed my surf lessons from Juan. He is a great instructor and can identify improvements in technique which is very important for a beginner! I would definitely recommend Go Nuts Hawaii for surf lessons!

2 of us used the groupon and met the instructor at the north shore. I was running very late bc of traffic from town. I let them know ahead of time and they waited for us. Luckliy they didn’t have another class after! But it was nice of them to wait even though they didn’t have to. I was worried there would be no waves bc the surf report said it was flat but we went to a beautiful spot on the north shore! Beautiful beach, beautiful day, and sea turtles :-) The instructor was attentive and kept an eye on our energy level. Big floaty soft boards were good for beginners and wear a rash guard on those or you will regret it later. No photographer on this trip like some places but not a priority for us. Have fun!

They were great and really encouraging. They made us 3 girls feel comfortable, and I was able to stand up on the surfboard on the first try and every time there after. I was a bit apprehensive showing up to their meeting spot location, but do not judge a book by it’s cover. They were super professional. It’s an hour long lesson plus drive time, because they really do want to give you the best possible experience, so make sure to be flexible with your schedule because they may ask you to drive out with them farther to get optimum conditions for beginning surfing. I just wish the lesson was a bit longer so we could have taken some photos on the water, but I suppose mental memories will have to suffice this time around. All together, I recommend, maybe just make sure to ask for either Cesar or Jose so you don’t fall victim to a bad experience, because they were definitely great.

We used a Groupon for Go Nuts Hawaii in October of 2013 for my almost 9 year old twin girls. We were thrilled with our experience. My girls had never been surfing. We were staying on the NE shore and waves were big (highest so far that season) so they took us to an alternate location near the N/​NE shore where the waves were appropriate. From what I saw, the beaches at Waikiki were crowded overall and the N/​NE shore beaches were way better for space for learning surfers. Each child had an adult from Go Nuts to be with them on the beach for an intro and into the ocean to try out the waves. The guys made sure other surfers kept a safe distance from our girls and both girls go up multiple times. Other adults nearby who were obviously beginner/​new surfers did not do as well as our girls! The beach had bathrooms and smooth sand for us adults watching. We will definitely have the girls take another surf lesson if we get the chance to visit Hawaii again.

I’ve rented surfboards from these guys for three years in a row. They are the best. The owner Cesar is a super nice guy that really cares about your experience in the ocean. He took a lot of time with me to make sure I was going to the right places for my skill level. They have the best selection of good boards of any rental shop I’ve seen in Oahu. I couldn’t ever imagine renting from anywhere else.

We are a family of 4 looking for a surf lesson for our 2 kids, 9 and 12,
We asked for a time and day and they offered the same day an hour later
at the Waikiki location (presumably off the coast near the zoo)
Due to tide conditions, we needed to reschedule to their North Shore office
where they recommended a great location. It was a drive, but we wanted to see
the North Shore anyways, and it is much better than the zoo location.
No problems meeting instructor at office. One hour lesson promised, we had
2 hours in the water + their driving time. great instructor, Kids had a great
time. Got some nice pictures.
Only issue is their web site crashes my windows 7 box. Only web site I’ve ever
hit that does that. I would also like to see a «canned email» once we make the
reservation that asks for participants height/​weight + explains locations are
based on tide predictions and final location is based on conditions, attached
links to maps of the possible locations, bring this, that etc.
Happy Groupon/​Go Nuts customer !

We were picked up at the resort we were staying at by he owner of Go Nuts. She brought boards and rash guards for us to use during our lesson. She brought us to our instructor @ the the beach where we took our hour long surf lesson for two. Nicest people ever! Our instructor showed us what to do & got us comfortable with the motions, on the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian. When we went out, our instructor got us set up so well that we were each able to get up 4+ times in the 45 minutes we were in the water. I even had a huge, grandma sea turtle swim with me for a bit. Amazing!!!

Still waiting for my lesson… never showed, never called except to cancel. After multiple calls and multiple excuses from them I believe they just let my calls roll over to their voicemail when they saw my number on their caller ID. Determined to try surfing on my trip to Hawaii, I saw an ad for
on Unilocal.Called, they were great! 5 star!

Don’t go here.
We booked lesson’s through Groupon and it was a pretty poor experience. I could write 5,000 words on how shady it was, but I’ll give the highlights.
First, we walked 45 minutes across Waikiki in order to surf at the spot they had arranged. Not only were they not there, they decided that we should try a different spot that was 30 plus minutes in the other direction. Finally somebody showed up to pick us up, but they didn’t have enough room so five people had to ride in the truck bed. At least the truck bed didn’t reek of weed like the cab of the truck.
Eventually we got to the beach and commenced our shore lesson. Afterwards we went to jump in the water, but surprise!!! They didn’t have enough boards for everyone and some of the ones they had were beat up with broken leashes.
Our group will generally have a good time no matter what, but I really feel bad for the two ladies who showed up halfway through our lesson and waited hours before their GoNuts instructor ad boards showed up.

Horrible service. Unprofessional staff. Avoid at all costs. Carrying boards to the beach is a nightmare.
Rent on the beach, where the boards are better and you can try different equipment.

Bought a Groupon for 3 day board rental and 1 hour group lesson.
Took a day off work for the lesson, which was scheduled at the instructor’s request for 10AM. He rescheduled the same day to 4PM, then cancelled when I showed up at the shop because he was «tired.» Then he said, «Let’s do the lesson right here!» I refused and got pretty annoyed. We rescheduled for two days later. As I was leaving his girlfriend showed up. Thought that was fishy, but no worries, right?
The day of our rescheduled lesson he called and cancelled, saying he was alone and couldn’t leave the shop. I had to return the rental board, so drove down and found him sitting with the owner. He looked really surprised that I was there and tried to schedule me for another lesson a week later. I said, «Sure,» and bailed.
The other reviews of this place echo my thoughts exactly. I live here and feel terrible for anyone who visited the island and had a bad experience. Let me apologize on behalf of locals if your first surfing experience was cruddy because of this lazy, unprofessional surf shop.

I had a GREAT EXPERIENCE with Go Nuts. Great price, friendly service and super accommodating. If you are still skeptical about this company just make sure you ask for Cesar or Katia. They own this place and I had the pleasure of being helped by them. Some employees come and go but the heart of a company comes from the owners and I’m sure they are doing their best to rectify the mistakes of past employees. You should give it a try!

I would give the place NO starts if I could. Horrible experience. My daughter bought the groupon — a surf lesson and 3 days board rental. We couldn’t find the place and drove around busy down town Honolulu trying to find it. It took several phone calls to get the correct address and find the hole in the wall. They said they would call one hour before the lesson if the waves were not good. We arrived late since we couldn’t find the place to learn the instructor wasn’t there and had decided the waves were not high enough. Uggg! frustrating! My daughter hung around for two hours waiting for good waves and the instructor.
With the board rental she was told she could take the board out any 3 days, it did not have to be 3 days in a row. Two days after her lesson she was told that was the last of the 3 days she could take the board. So basically they lied about the 3 days rental and they counted the lesson as one rental day. Don’t waste your money on this bad company!!!
Frommer’s web site has a list of reputable companies for all of the water sports. Thankfully we rented a kayak from one of the companies listed and had a great time.

I completely agree with the other reviewers’ posts, if I could give zero stars I would. This is not a legitimate business and in fact was the worst surfing instruction experience ever. I bought a 2-​hour Living Social surfing lesson for my dad as a retirement gift. I dropped my dad off at the difficult to find shop and asked the instructor where they would be surfing so my husband could paddle out and meet them and photograph my dad during his first lesson. The instructor was vague and simply said out on the water. My dad and the instructor then carried the boards a long ways to the beach while I parked. There was very little dry land instruction before heading out and useless instruction on the water, according to my dad. By the time we parked and headed out to meet my dad, they were both coming in. After only 45 minutes. Not because my dad wanted to be done but because the instructor said time was up. I purchased a 2-​hour lesson, not a 30-​minute lesson with 2 15-​minute walks to/​from the beach to transport boards.

My wife and I took a private two hour beginner surf lesson here and the instructor was not good for beginners. Showed us the basics, but did not attend to us once we were on the water. We were beginners and he expected us to paddle hard and follow him around. We also had to carry our surfboards from the store to the water too, which was quite a trek. The instructor also left after an hour even though we paid for two — very unprofessional. Look for a more reputable operation if you want to take a beginner lesson, The surfboard rental rates are good, but only if you are in excellent shape to lug the surfboard to and from the store.

I got an online discount for a private surf lesson. I booked the time 2 months in advance. I asked them where to meet them. The address they gave matched the address on the receipt. We showed up at the proper time at the given address… nobody around. I called them and they told me I was at the wrong address. They gave me another non-​existant address.
Then they told me the water was too rough and they had cancelled lessons but they had not called me to let me know. They could rebook 5 hours later that day if the water calmed down. We went to Waikiki Beach and looked at the water. It was perfect for surfing for beginners. I called them back and asked if they could please meet us there for the lesson now. They said their instructor was surfing on the north shore and wouldn’t make it back for another hour.
I told them to cancel the lesson and refund my money. The girl I spoke with said she couldn’t do that, her supervisor would have to decide whether they could refund my money.
The supervisor called me back two hours later and told me they could have an instructor there in about 20 minutes, but I would have to walk back to the shop (at the non-​existant address) and sign waiver papers. After several minutes of her making excuses for all the mix-​ups (theirs, not mine), I told her to cancel the lesson and refund my money.
I would never go back to this company and never recommend them to a friend. I would also be wary of the ‘deals’ that Groupon offers. This was one of them.

omg, I had the same experience as fellow Unilocalers. I was using the livingsocial deal as well. We got a bad instructor who really didn’t want to be there and said the deal is only good for 1 hour. On water, he was not encouraging at all and we were yelled at for not keeping up with him. Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable experience. The office was unorganized as well – they are kind of spaced out. Can not keep track of customers’ phone calls. Still kept getting phone calls asking if we still wanted surfing lessons days after we had already taken the lesson.

This is not a legitimate business in Hawaii. They aren’t organized and have no idea what is going. Even making a reservation for a surf lesson was a hassel. It took at least 6 phone calls and multiple conversations with different employees to confirm a set time. It ended up being the
worst surf lesson in Oahu. I paid for a semi private lesson for two and I was stuck in a group of 6. The first hour included waiting for all the other guests to arrive and then a mile walk to Waikiki Beach carrying surfboards through the crowded tourist filled streets. Then the «instructor» teaches us basic techniques including paddling out and standing up. Next we enter the water where he yells at us for not being experts. I guarantee you everyone in my group of 6 was on vacation and just wanted to have a nice beginner surf experience. No one was trying to be Kelly Slater. The instructor was a jerk yelling at us because we were causing danger to other surfers while trying to paddle next to him. Then every 5 minutes when there was a wave approaching he would yell stand up… that’s not exactly my idea of a private surf lesson. It was a horrendous experience and I do not recommend Go Nuts Hawaii.