ABC Surf

I went to check out what the fuss is all about and was truly disappointed by my experience there. I felt that $ 50 for two hours was too much to pay for the experience I got there. On living social, they advertise that this is a $ 149 value wheres I would not even pay $ 50 if I had to do it over again. It made wonder whether I should get anything on these sites like Groupon or Livingsocial. I kind of asked myself, why would a business advertise such a deep discount unless it was either not very well run or, it just inflated the price to make it seem like a good deal.
Anyway, as to the experience… Before I came I expected a serious instructor who would be professional about his/​her job. Instead, we got a couple of college kids who were very nonchalant. They gave «pointers» but they did not really give professional instruction. What is even more they gave conflicting advice on what you should do.
I feel like I could have gotten as much use from a Youtube video as I did from the «instructors.» Don’t waste your money on ABC Surf. Just watch a video and head into the water, at least you will see someone actually riding the boards, that way you can observe what they are doing. The people at ABC never even got on a board themselves.

My first time surfing and I received the best customer service and instructor! The staff is super friendly and got my size so quick. Totally recommend this place as my equipment was super affordable!!! :)

The place was very friendly and laid back… even after I put my wet suit on inside out, fml. All in all if you’re a newbie and want to take up surfing I highly recommend this place… jah!

I bought a coupon from groupon. Called them and made an reservation. Two days earlier, called again to check my rsvp and got confirmation. I was little skeptical because some comments here are not that good. The day of my lesson, I was running late, and I was late, but they were very kind. They found an instructor and gave us (5 late comers) a ground lesson and took us to the beach. They were very helpful. There were several instructors in the water and they were all helping regardless we are his/​her group or not. I learned a lot in a hour. I will definitely repeat.

The instructors were very nice & helpful. Having surfed before they rented me a fiberglass board rather than a a foam board which was much appreciated. HOWEVER, the cracked and poorly repaired board had seen better days. After 45 mins of surfing in your average California waters, the leash snapped off the board — meaning no more surfing for me even though I rented the board for the whole day. Upon return to the surf shop later, I told the older man who seemed to be running the place my dilemma. Because we wouldn’t be in town for another day to rent another (hopefully better) board, he shoves $ 19 at me in response to me kindly asking for my money back. He won’t even look me in the eye as I try to politely part ways, but at that point I’d never give him my business again because he is acting so childish and rude.
So by all means, use this shop if you’re a beginner and don’t have to deal with this guy. But make sure to tip your instructor or just go to an entirely different surf shop! There are at least 3 others in a 2 min walking distance! :)

Surfing has been on my bucket list ever since I’ve made one and I jumped at the chance to take surfing lessons with a living social deal ($ 49) from ABC Surf, which includes two hours of surf lesson for one person plus surfboard, leash, and wet suit, and an additional one-​hour surfboard and wet suit rental. Sweet deal!
+ Appointment: I sent an email over the weekend and when I hadn’t heard back by Monday afternoon I called to confirm my appointment for Wednesday 9am and was immediately booked.
+ Website: Very clear, concise information in a clean layout.
+ Customer service: Just fantastic! I had driven from Lancaster at 6:30am and about 10 minutes out of town the traffic came to a standstill because of a car accident that didn’t even look interesting; then because of that I hit major LA traffic heading down to Newport and arrived 3 hours later, 30 minutes late for my lesson. I had called at 8am letting them know of my GPS ETA and they were so chill, both on the phone and in person when I finally came staggering in.
+ Location: Newport waters are so clean it’s great! My GPS was confused but I figured out that ABC is located in one of the alleyways leading up to beach.
+ Parking: All meters. ($ 1.50/hour, max 2 hours. Takes dollars, quarters, and credit card). ABC kept an eye on my car and fed my meter when we came back a bit late from the lesson. Excellent customer service, I tell you!
+ My instructor’s name is Haylee/​Kaylee/​Cari, a soft spoken Asian chick who is super nice and encouraging. I love encouraging! Letty also came by and helped me surf so I had two instructors — aw yeah!
+ Instruction started inside the joint with quick tips on what to do and what not to do in the water and some practice runs of getting up on the board, which was a little awkward cause I was practicing in the middle of the shop with other surfers just looking on, but then we spent most of our time on the waters!
+ I was kind of a natural during my first few runs — standing on the board and riding the waves like a pro. Then I started falling for some reason; then I gave myself some peptalks («Just get up, get up, get up, stay low, stay low») and improved, then for my final wave I fell off the board.
+ Rentals are cheap! Wetsuit + board = $ 25 for 3 hours
Newport is crowded on a good day and super crowded on a bad day. I fell off my board twice trying to avoid some young whippersnappers who keep running in front of my board to splash some waves and we had the black ball go up on us on 27^th street. Jamie, who I think may be the owner/​part-​owner (?), looked up traffic conditions for me from Newport to Torrance, was super concerned about my knees (I just complain a lot), and gave me a tour around the area because I drove so far and might as well be a tourist. If you’re interested in the living social price, just ask them. ABC was great, and I’ll be back!

I had such a great time. Everyone is very nice and knowledgeable. Hayley was our instructor and she is awesome. I got up about 10 x. I can’t wait to buy a surfboard and start practicing my skills. Thank you everyone at abc surf. You rock!!!

Awesome experience! Had a Living Social deal to try out surfing with a group of friends. We made a 10 a.m. appointment and had a blast. Everything was provided: wetsuit, booties, board, water and instructor. The actual instruction was a brief 10 minutes in the shop and then it was straight into the water. I was so glad we got to spend all the time in the water with the instructors. The area they took us to on 27^th Street was a little crowded, but other than that a perfect first-​time surf experience. My friends and I plan to go back in a few weeks.
One tip, the shop isn’t right on Balboa Blvd., you have to look for it down one of the streets.

I’ve been wanting to try Stand-​up Paddleboarding for about 5 years.
We both randomly had the beautiful Friday of her birthday weekend off work, so when I wasn’t sure what to get my mom for her birthday, I decided to be a little selfish and book us a deal to try something new!
I went on Groupon but they had no SUP deals in OC.
I went on LivingSocial — BAM! Jackpot!
Insert ABC Surf and their 2-​hr lesson/​rental combo for $ 39!
(FIY — I also used code «LSLOVE» for an extra 20% off! EVEN BETTER DEAL!)
I called ahead to make sure the lesson would be in the calm waters of the harbor (we wanted to avoid the big ocean waves for our first time) and they could fit us in today (because I’ve bought deals in the past that I’ve let expire so I NEVER buy them if I can’t use them right away) and the receptionist was really cool and welcoming saying they finish surf lessons about 12PM so she could fit our SUP in around 1PM — PERFECT!
We arrive into the area at around 12:45 — and spent the next 25 minutes looking for parking! YIKES! If its a beautiful day, please give yourself like 30 minutes to find parking — yes, even on a weekday. Although we were about 20 minutes late, the shopgirl/​receptionist/​instructor «Lettie» was really understanding and relaxed about it (something I LOVE about the beach culture because I’m almost always «a little behind schedule»! lol).
We signed our waivers, took our diamond rings off, sun screened-​up, and had our first bit of instruction right in the shop (which was great because we didn’t have half a beach staring at us or anything and could be as goofy as we wanted).
The SUP boards are HUGE (10 & 12 ft) so I had a mini heart attack when I realized I wasn’t sure how they would get to the harbor… My thoughts: «would we have to carry them? My mom drives a scion we could probably put them on top??? But then we’d have to move the car and we ARE NOT moving the car! …but I really can’t imagine carrying them the 100 yds to the harbor! ahhhhh where’s my muscly husband when I need him?!»
ANYWAY, Lettie showed me the light when she pulled out a little board trailer build for 3. PHEW! She got the boards down out of the shop and placed them on the trailer for a cute, VERY TAN veteran surfer dude (who I presume is the owner) to tow over on his beach cruiser… how cool is that? Genius.
We took the short walk to the calm harbor beach where we were able to simply slide the boards into knee deep water, mount them and stand up! OUR FIRST TRY!
It was a little unsettling at first but you get the hang of it and Lettie showed us a few moves to make paddling easier and more efficient as well. We took a warm up around the quiet part of the harbor and it was so beautifully peaceful. I loved looking at all the sweet old boats and the names & cities from which they came. We did our best to get out of the way of other boats and everyone was SUPER understanding and nice. It seems like everyone is near the ocean, doesn’t it? ;)
The ocean breeze was perfect and although we were encouraged to bring/​rent spring wetsuits, we thought against it because it was such a warm beautiful day and BOY are we glad we did because we didn’t fall in once and it would have been wayyy to hot in a wetsuit!
Did I mention we saw a sealion?! Yeah! He came right up to my mom’s board and then dipped down again only to come up right by mine! COOL RIGHT?! Definite highlight of the ride! hehe
All in all, great experience!
I loved SUPing around the harbor, Lettie was friendly and personable and the cost/​ease of redeeming the LivingSocial deal adds 10x more allure over any other place you’d be able to take your business to.
If you’re a beginner, like we were, definitely start in the calm harbor!
We both agreed that was the best place to learn and get your balance — next time, we might be ready to take on the waves but we are really glad we started here!

Rented a surfboard and wetsuit. $ 25 for three hours. Opens at 9am. sweet! most other places open at 10am.

Purchased a LivingSocial deal for 2hr surf lessons for two including gear. A friend and I were visiting LA from NYC in September and decided to try something new. The attendant at the shop wasn’t the warmest person in the world but we didn’t feel unwelcome or out of place.
The instructors were very down to earth and patient with us Yankees, giving step by step instructions on technique but also safety. Although it was a little difficult they were very hands on and encouraging with our small group of four. We had such a great time out in the water! At the end we even received certificates for course completion.
Would definitely recommend and return to ABC.

not a good experience! bought a living social voucher, called 5 times, never got a call back, emailed a total of 3 times responded one time but never actually booked waited until the voucher was going to expire to return the email correspondence.
Do NOT recommend! :(

I took my first surfing class at ABC Surf 22 days ago and it was a great experience. Since I live only 3 blocks away, I signed up for their club program, which is an outstanding deal. I’ve gone back to rent a board and a wetsuit 8 times in the since and was really pleased with everything until today.
I showed up early and was the first person there. Over the next 30 minutes, the place filled up with people who were doing the LivingSocial deal (buying their wetsuits). When I finally recognized someone from their staff (a long blond-​haired man), I asked him if I could get my suit and board before the group did their thing. He told me to wait for Letty and walked off.
Letty showed up a minute later and helped me right away. As she was putting my club card into the folder (and I was literally standing 3 feet away), I heard the blonde-​man ask her what she is charging me. She said 15 $. He responded with «I don’t like that guy». I finished getting changed and as I’m walking outside, the blond-​haired man asks to speak with me. He tells me that the last few times I’ve been there, I didn’t «show [him] enough respect». He then asks me, «Do you know who I am?». I said no. He told me that he’s the owner of the shop and if I wanted to come back again, I would «need to pay 25 $ as a penalty or don’t come back». I felt really uncomfortable… some random guy just spoke to me like I was trash and he is the OWNER???
Their website advertises that «no one will ever leave feeling disrespected». That is a lie. Even though I really like the rest of the staff, especially Letty and Sive, I cannot knowingly support a business where the owner is that disrespectful to customers, especially their regulars. Today was my last day at ABC Surf.

I also did the LivingSocial deal and had my lesson this Saturday. After reading the reviews I was a little apprehensive, but my experience turned out to be awesome!
We were running way late from a late night out so I figured we were in trouble. But they were totally accommodating, saying it was fine but that the lesson couldn’t be extended beyond the two hour allotted time. Totally understandable.
We showed up, got in our wet suits in 2 minutes flat, did a brief lesson in the shop, and were in the water within 20 minutes of arriving.
Our group was very small, only 3 of us total, so it was the perfect experience with lots of attention. I can’t remember the instructor’s name, but he was a total surfer guy who was very nice. To top it all off, we were on the water for a solid two hours! That was a pleasant surprise as I couldn’t get enough. All in all, I’d say it was a great experience.

It was a great experience. Had a class Saturday morning. The class was a good size, there was a good student to instructor ratio. The instructors were thoughtful and fun. They gave good instructions and tips.
The class was about 10 individuals, mix of men and women, younger and older.
I’m hooked… surfing is in my future… and ABC’s given me a great start.

I also received a living social for $ 45 for 2 hours of surf lessons. again, like everyone said it was a group lesson, which was actually fine for me since I’ve surfed before. However, I actually felt like the instructors were really attentive, and were always ready to help. I had an instructor named Nam, who I thought was really instructive and helpful.
When I first called to schedule an appointment at 10am, a man barked at me that you could only make appointments after 12pm. ok, so I decided I’d rather make the appointment through email lol.
Someone named Letty replied, and unlike some of the other reviews, I actually found the response time to be very prompt. She basically told me the times available on my preferred dates, and asked for my height and weight in order to size the wetsuits.
I didn’t have trouble with parking, although make sure you have enough change (or a credit card) for the meters.
However, something that I did notice is that there tends to be a lot of negative energy between some of the staff… I was witness to a yelling match, and people seemed to be pretty angry. yikes! I don’t know if this was just an isolated incident, but it was pretty awkward lol
The waves in the beginning were essentially white water and baby waves… as the time went on (and I think maybe closer to high tide?) the waves got slightly better.
Instructors mainly stayed with the group they started off with. but sometimes trading off if they were free to help others. however, I felt like there were definitely 1 or 2 instructors that looked like they didn’t want to be there, could not gave a shit, or were generally really fake and obnoxious. Take the attitude elsewhere please, we’re here to learn how to surf! :)
The thing that got me annoyed however, is that they only gave me an hour to surf, and since I didn’t have a watch, by the time they took off my leash and gave it to someone else, by the time I noticed the time. it was too late.
So only 3 stars because I only received half of the time I should have gotten, and some staff seemed to have an attitude problem… LIke others said, it really depends on the instructor that you receive. I really did have a great time though, and I would do it again.

I have mixed feelings about this place. I purchased the livingsocial deal for $ 79 and went with my boyfriend. Firstly, the woman I was in contact with for scheduling a lesson was not very good about getting back to me in a timely fashion. When we actually went there, nobody really paid attention to us or asked if we needed help so we had to try and track down somebody who worked there. For their service I give 2 stars.
As far the surf lesson goes, they started out with a land lesson with a few tips but the instructor (a young asian guy) wasn’t very clear which made it a bit hard to understand him.
Note: The surf lesson was a group lesson, which was a bit of false advertising if you look at what the livingsocial deal said. I think there were about 8 people in our group.
Out in the water, it really depended on which of the instructors you went you. It was a bit disorganized and crowded so we were just going to whichever instructor was open at the time. There was an older Asian guy whose family is from Australia who was a really good instructor-​very helpful and encouraging. There was another young asian guy who was also good and a young blonde guy who didn’t talk much but was also good. One of the instructors (a young asian girl) was pretty horrible though. She talked non-​stop and gave me such vague instructions, none of which were very helpful. Another one of the girls was not very helpful either.
My three stars if for a few of the instructors who were very good. Many of the instructors, however, seemed too young and unprofessional. If I would have paid full price for this lesson i would have been very disappointed. However, with a livingsocial deal my tolerance for mediocrity is higher. It really depends on which instructors you get I suppose so if you have the livingsocial deal just hope for some good ones! Overall, we still managed to have a good time (i mean surfing is fun!) but I feel like the experience could have been much better.

The instructors in the water are very nice, friendly, and knowledgeable. On the morning I went, there was a ratio of about 1:2 of teachers to students. So I got a good deal of attention, even though it was a group lesson.
However, I must say that the long blonde-​haired individual in charge at the shop was rude and sarcastic towards me. True, I was a bit late, but he yelled at me more than once, and had this really sneering tone in his voice. Their website advertises that «no one will ever leave feeling disrespected,» and I came in expecting great service. Well, I did feel disrespected by him. Aside from him, though, everyone else was nice.
I recommend these surfing lessons to anyone not really because of any exceptional service on the part of ABC Surf, but because having the opportunity to surf is an experience some people don’t get too often.
Few things compare with the joy of catching a wave and having it launch you toward shore. I caught 5 or 6 waves and stood up 2 or 3 times, for all of about 2 seconds each time :)

This is my second time in the past month attempting a surf lesson. I was very determined to stand up on the board.
I purchased a living social deal for $ 45 and drove down early on a Friday morning.
Everyone who worked here was very friendly and helpful! They even fed my meter because I parked at a one hour meter across the street (I was out for 2 hours). Very thoughtful.
It was a GROUP lesson– not private, my group consisted of myself and 3 boys/​men in their early twenties. Cece was the primary instructor for us. The group before us were all little kids.
Two other instructors saw me in the water and took me under their wing. A young girl instructor saw me with the group of boys and swam up to me and gave me some pretty good advice. I stood up for the first time with her! It was great to also have the people working there cheered loudly when they see you stand on your board (even if it was a baby wave). A 19 year old instructor name Jack also swam up to me and was very helpful, somehow he was able to predict which waves were «my waves» and with him I was able to stand up the most on my board and rode a few waves.
It was a great time, I would highly recommend this, the Living Social Deal is very affordable and great for beginners.

All of the staff are extremely friendly and encouraging. I took a private lesson with my middle school daughter yesterday. We had a Living Social deal for an hour lesson and an hour rental for board and wetsuit on another day. Great special.
They were well organized and well staffed. We learned a lot and practiced with patient surfers who were good cheerleaders, as well. I definately recommend them to locals who are just starting to surf, or want to improve… as well as tourists spending a day at the beach. Great experience, and lots of fun.