Top Maui Surfing Spots

Surfers come to Hawaii to catch some impressive surf breaks. And naturally the pristine beaches of Maui are pretty famous for surf and stand-up paddleboard spots, excellent both for those who want to learn to surf in Maui and others who want to test to the full their surfing skills. So whether you’ve just had your first Maui surf lesson or you’re an experienced surfer, you’ll want to take note of these unforgettable Maui surfing beaches.

At Hawaiian Surf Style, we often take our beginning Maui surf or SUP guests either to Ukuhame Beach Park in West Maui or Kalama Beach Park in South Maui. These beaches both offer dependable, easy peaks of knee high to head high waves that are great for beginners and longboard Maui surfers. These Maui surfing spots are good for morning Maui surf lessons when the winds are generally calmer and the waves are nice and smooth. Kalama Beach Park also has a great well-landscaped park area that’s perfect for having a picnic after finishing your Maui surfing lessons.
 
While you’re in South Maui, you can also check out the great waves at Cove Beach Park. Just off of South Kihei Road, Cove Park is a hotspot for longboard surfers. It’s also a nice surfing beach for beginners and Maui stand-up paddle board enthusiasts with its calm waves rolling in. There’s also a nice park area here too for those who just like to admire the surfers and have a picnic.

Ho’okipa Beach on the North Shore just outside of Paia is recognized as the “windsurfing capital of the world” and is also a popular place for the experienced Maui surfer. This well-known surfing area boasts at times exceptionally large waves and strong winds, (especially in winter) causing it to attract world-class surfers, but due to this fact also, this location is not typically best for those just learning to surf. But you can sure enjoy watching pro surfers battle these commanding waves at a lookout point just above the popular surfing break known as “Pavilions,” which is the break furthest to the east.

Nearby Ho’okipa Beach lies another famous surfing location – Jaws – or Pe’ahi, Maui – about three miles east of Paia. This legendary Maui surfing break is where some of the best surfers in the world come to challenge, maybe not even each other, but some of the largest waves in the world. These massive waves can reach upwards of 4 stories during the winter. Often it becomes too dangerous for Maui surfers to paddle out to the break so they must use the “tow-in” surfing method where pro surfers are towed to the waves by water crafts and dropped off.

Several ‘Big Wave’ surfing competions have been held here including the Red Bull Jaws contest. Of course, these Maui surf waves are only attempted by professional surfers, and they can be very risky even for them. But there are nice lookout areas on the cliffs overlooking Jaws where photographers and other fans gather to watch these spectacular surfing breaks.

If you want a little less demanding surfing experience, Lahaina Harbor in West Maui is another a great spot for beginners and intermediate surfers with its steady waves. You can paddle out from the beach next to the marina and catch both left-handed and right-handed breaks.  After surfing you can shuffle over to historic Front Street in Lahaina and do some sightseeing or eat at one of the town’s tasty restaurants.

So after your Maui surf lesson with Hawaiian Style Surf, check out some of these awesome Maui surfing spots along the beautiful Valley Isle coasts, where novice and pro come out to perfect their Maui surfing techniques.

Delicious Places to Eat After Maui Surf Lessons in Lahaina

Great surfing is what Maui is known for, but many also appreciate Maui for having some great little places to eat. These sometimes hidden, culinary treasures of the islands are often best delighted in after Maui surf lessons. You’ve spent some exciting times in the surf and now may just want to unwind or maybe refuel for your next round of Maui surf or SUP. Whichever the case, you’ll need to know where you can find some tasty and reasonably-priced eateries throughout the island. So here are some delicious places you might try in Lahaina Town.

Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop

If your in the mood for something sweet or want a delicious sandwich, salad, or burger after your Maui surf lesson, swing by Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop. Located before you get into the town of Lahaina, Leoda’s offers great chocolate macadamia nut and apple crumb pies along with delicious seared ahi sandwiches and scrumptious pot pies.

Pizza Paradiso Mediterranean Grill

Sometimes surfing in Maui may leave you wanting a little Mediterranean, (cravings can be a wonderful thing). Try Pizza Paradiso in West Maui. Located north of Lahaina in the Honokowai Marketplace, Pizza Paradiso was voted “Best Pizza in Maui” three times by The Maui News readers. This laid-back dining restaurant offers some delicious Italian, Greek, and Mediterranean dishes including their signature pizzas, Big Fat Greek Gyros, cheesesteak sandwiches, and chicken, beef, and fish kabobs. So if your Maui SUP lessons leave you famished, stop in for a specialty pizza or fresh hummus at Pizza Paradiso.

Lahainaluna Café 

Going out to check out Old Lahaina Town after your Maui SUP or surfing lesson with Hawaiian Style? A great place to stop at along Lahaina’s famous Front Street is Lahainaluna Café. This local dining spot has delicious Hawaiian and Asian fusion cuisine amid a low-key outdoor atmosphere. Dine outside in a lovely Hawaiian courtyard while you savor their delicious fish tacos, grilled mahi mahi, Korean barbecue tacos, and crazy fries. Everything is delightful at this delicious Front Street café, voted second best restaurant in Lahaina just after the shaved ice.


 Ono Tacos

Another nice place with local flare is Ono Tacos. This little Mexican eatery serves delicious fish, chicken, pork, and beef tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and other tasty authentic food. This small walk-up stand on the Lower Honoapiilani Road may not have much seating, but it’s well-known for having some of the best tacos on the whole island. So take a break from surfing or stand-up paddle board, and try Ono Tacos. But remember to bring cash.

Aloha Mixed Plate

Winning multiple awards for “Best Plate Lunch” in The Maui News, this little restaurant is known for its great Hawaiian platters, jumbo portions, and beachside setting. Aloha Mixed Plate offers tasty poke, coconut prawns, hoaloha poi, and kalua pork in an open-air patio dining setting with an ocean view. So, if you want to try another great eatery on Front Street, stop by Aloha Mixed Plate

So if you venture over to Lahaina after your Maui surf lessons, stop in at one of these great restaurants and let us know what you think!

Maui Ocean Sports Top Gear - Surfboards and GoPro Cameras

Surfing and stand-up paddle claims some of the coolest gear of all the Maui ocean sports. Carrying these colorful and artistically-designed boards across Maui’s shorelines can immediately create a feeling of excitement and thrill as to what the day in the Maui surf might bring. They are the instrument of a surfer’s symphony on the water. They can enrich the skill of the surfer. Over the years, surfboards have stood out as a symbol of this cherished Maui ocean sport.

You might be interested to learn you may want to know what kinds of surf and SUP boards Maui surfers use most to develop their surf skills…Well, Hawaiian Style began their Maui surf lessons using a type of surfboard called a softop, made by Surftech, an innovative surfboard manufacturer 25 years. These surfboards are great for beginner surfers. Over the years, they’ve proven to be durable, very stable, as well as forgiving to new surfers. Surftech softop boards feature a soft EVA deck and rails for easy use and safety.

For our Maui surf lessons, we often recommend using 9 to 10 ft. boards for children and petite adults and 11 to 12 ft. boards for other surfers. This year we’re also using surfboards from the Maunalua board company for our Maui surf lessons. These surfboards that feature wide-bodied designs are also well-constructed, stable boards that are excellent for beginner surfers and those progressing to more difficult breaks.

For our Maui SUP lessons, we use paddleboards from Naish, which makes a good diversity of stand-up paddleboards for cruising, racing, wide-style waves, touring, and fitness as well as SUP paddles and gear. Naish also makes kiteboarding and windsurfing gear as well. Naish’s softop Mana series SUP boards have an excellent design and stability about them that works well both for beginners and experienced Maui stand-up paddleboarding enthusiasts.

Along with these amazing surfboards and SUP boards, we also offer GoPro cameras for our customers to record all of their Maui surfing adventures up close and personal. We use the GoPro HERO3+ Silver edition camera for both videos and still photography of our surfing lessons. The waterproof GoPro HERO3+ Silver features video resolutions up to 1080p60 and 10MP photos up to 10 frames per second with enhanced low-light performance and built-in WiFi.

These unbelievably handy video cameras can either be mounted on the surfboards or handheld. The quality of video these cameras take is really awesome, and our clients love the awesome footage this cameras takes of their personal Maui surf lesson. See how the GoPro camera captures the Hawaiian Style Surf adventure!


Those taking our Maui surf or SUP lessons can also use Hawaiian Style rash guards and booties o ensure they have a safe and fun surfing experience.

Our surfboards and surfing gear are all part of a tradition of Maui ocean sports that deliver an unforgettable experience to island explorers.

While we can say that learning to surf in Maui is epic and exhilarating, you’ll need to experience it first-hand to really see what makes Maui surfing so unforgettable.