Surf Lessons

Join The Best Surfing Lesson In Tofino!

Surf lessons with Swell Tofino. We’re excited to share our stoke for catching waves with you. Our focus is making learning to surf fun! We have great gear, experienced and enthusiastic instructors, and we provide a new approach to surfing instruction focused on catering the experience to students individual learning styles.

Group surf lessons and private surf lessons

Choose between a mixed group lesson (Ages 13+) or a private lesson (Ages 5+). Group lesson class ratios are 5 surfers to 1 instructor. Private lessons have their own instructor.

Timing and Logistics

High season schedule (March 15 to October 15) : There are two daily lessons, 10am and 1:30pm surf lesson check in time.

Winter season schedule (Oct 16 to March 14): There is one surf lesson time per day 12:30pm check in time. 

Lessons check in at our surf shop location at Hotel Zed Tofino. Google maps link

The whole surf lesson experience is 3 hours. This includes check in, introductions, a beach talk to cover the basics, and roughly 1.5 hours in the water surfing.

First you will check in at our shop to sign paperwork and put wetsuits on, then make your way to the beach where the surf instructors will meet you in our Swell surf van, they will have the surfboards and any additional gear with them.

Where do we surf?

The surf instructors begin their day by checking the forecast and choosing the best surf spot for the lesson. When you check in at our shop we will let you know the beach you will be surfing at. You do need to provide your own transportation to the beach, we transports the gear for you.

We surf at North Chesterman Beach, Cox Bay, or South Chesterman Beach based on the surf conditions that day.

What to bring

Bathing suit, towel, water, sunscreen and that’s all! We provide all the surf gear.

Surfboard Rentals after the lesson

Rent a board after your lesson. We hope that after your first taste, you get stoked on surfing just like we are and want to keep pursuing more. We offer 10% off our surfboard and paddleboard rentals at either our Mackenzie Beach location or Hotel Zed location for the rest of your lesson.

Please note: Participants for a group lesson must be 13+.  If you wish to book a surf lesson for anyone under the age of 13, please contact us or book a Private lesson below.