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A surfer riding a small wave at a beach in Bali.
Water Activities

Canggu Surf Lesson

Standing up on your first morning, on a beach built for it

Duration
5 hours door to door
Group
Private car, 1 instructor per 2
Difficulty
Beginner · no experience needed
Minimum age
8 years

The trip

What You're Signing Up For

Batu Bolong and Berawa are where most people in Bali stand up for the first time. The wave is slow, it breaks over sand rather than reef, and it reforms enough times that a beginner gets ten or fifteen goes in a session instead of three.

Lessons start on the sand: where to lie, where to put your hands, how to get to your feet in one movement rather than three. Then an instructor pushes you into whitewater until it clicks. Most people stand up inside the first hour.

Highlights

Why People Pick This One

  • A sandy-bottom beach break, forgiving in a way reef breaks are not
  • One instructor per two students, so someone watches every wave
  • Soft-top board and rash guard included
  • Two hours in the water, not forty minutes of theory
  • Showers and a change of clothes before the drive home

Full description

The Whole Thing

Batu Bolong breaks over a sand bottom, which is the single most important fact about learning here. A reef break punishes a bad fall; sand does not, and beginners fall constantly.

Itinerary

The Trip, Stop By Stop

Timings are typical, not fixed. Your guide reshapes the day around your pace and the conditions.

  1. Hotel pickup

    Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Jimbaran, Sanur, Ubud

    Your driver confirms the time by message the evening before, once we have the tide.

    Included

  2. Meet your instructor

    Board fitted to your height and weight, rash guard on, briefing on the sand.

  3. Dry-land practice

    Ten minutes learning the pop-up on a stationary board. Worth doing properly.

  4. In the water

    Around two hours, the instructor pushing you into waves and correcting between them.

  5. Shower and a drink

    Rinse off at the surf school and dry out with a coconut before the car.

  6. Back to your hotel

    Same car, same driver.

    Included
Trip stop Pickup area Pickup is from your own accommodation inside these areas. Route is indicative, not the exact road taken.

The price covers

What's Included, And What Isn't

Included

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off across South Bali, Ubud and Canggu
  • Private air-conditioned car with English-speaking driver
  • Fuel, parking, tolls and the driver's day
  • A two-hour lesson, one instructor per two students
  • Soft-top board, leash and rash guard
  • A shower and somewhere to change afterwards
  • A pickup time chosen around the tide

Not included

  • Photos taken by the beach photographers, sold separately
  • Personal spending, tips and anything you buy on the day

Before you book

Who This Trip Isn’t For

We would rather talk you out of the wrong trip than take your money for it. If any of these apply, message us and we’ll suggest something that fits better.

Anyone frightened of the sea

Whitewater is still moving water, and two hours of it is tiring. Confidence matters more than fitness.

Anyone with a shoulder injury

Paddling and popping up load the shoulders repeatedly. Not the week to test it.

Anyone wanting to surf a real wave on day one

You will surf whitewater. Green waves come after several lessons, and anyone promising otherwise is selling.

Come prepared

What To Bring

Swimwear worn from the car

You are in the water within twenty minutes and the changing options on the beach are basic.

A rash vest if you have one

Board rash on your ribs is the thing beginners complain about, and two hours is long enough to get it.

Reef-safe sunscreen

Two hours face up in the water at midday. Put it on before you leave, not on the sand.

A towel and dry clothes

Batu Bolong has showers but no dryer, and salt water in the car is nobody's favourite.

On the trip

What It Looks Like

Tap a photo to enlarge

Before you book

Questions About This Trip

Anything not covered here? Message us. We'd rather answer first than have you book the wrong trip.

Will I actually stand up?

Most people do, inside the first hour. It is a beginner wave and the instructor pushes you in, which removes the hardest part. Nobody will pretend it is guaranteed.

Do I need to be a strong swimmer?

Comfortable in waist-deep moving water is enough for a first lesson. You are never far from your instructor and the board floats you.

Can children learn?

From about eight, depending on confidence rather than size. Younger children sometimes ride tandem with the instructor first.

What if the surf is too big?

Your instructor moves you along the beach, or we move the lesson to another day. Nobody is put in water they should not be in.

Is the gear included?

Board, leash and rash guard, yes. Bring swimwear and a towel; there are showers at the surf school.

Pairs well with

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Ready When You Are

Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. We'll confirm availability, pickup time and the total, usually within the hour.