Step onto the sands of Newquay’s beaches and enjoy your first surf session in a friendly and supportive environment. These Beginner Surf Lessons are perfect for anyone looking to try surfing for the first time or build basic skills. Our experienced instructors are on hand to guide you through every step, making sure you leave with confidence in the water.
Your lesson begins at the surf school where instructors will fit you with a wetsuit and board, followed by a safety briefing and an assessment of sea conditions. You’ll be introduced to surfing terminology, board handling, and basic techniques before heading to the water.
On the beach, a lively warm-up will get you ready to tackle the waves. Instructors will guide you through practical exercises, including prone riding, popping up, and controlling your board. Throughout the session, you’ll receive personalised tips and support to help you enjoy the waves safely and build confidence in the water.
By the end of the lesson, you’ll have a solid foundation in beginner surfing skills and a clear idea of your next steps for improving on the waves.
Lessons take place on Newquay’s main surfing beaches, including Fistral Beach and Great Western Beach. Both beaches are popular with beginners and offer easy access from the surf school, with gentle waves suitable for learning.
The surrounding area provides convenient facilities such as cafés, shops, and public amenities, making it easy to enjoy the beach before or after your lesson. These locations are ideal for learning to surf in a supportive and accessible setting.
No prior surfing experience is needed to join these lessons. Participants should be comfortable in the water and able to swim.
It’s recommended to wear suitable clothing for getting wet and to bring a positive attitude, as lessons involve active participation and time in the ocean. Instructors will guide you safely through all activities.
The surf school is a certified Surfing England Centre of Excellence, offering expert instruction and modern facilities, including heated changing rooms and lockers.
With experienced instructors and a focus on beginner surfers, the lessons are designed to make learning accessible, enjoyable, and confidence-boosting. You’ll leave with practical skills, knowledge, and the motivation to keep surfing.
Our sessions are catered to you, but you can expect to cover:
Every surfing lesson is two hours long. After arriving at the centre, you’ll be provided with a wetsuit and surfboard. The two hours will begin when you’ve finished changing and are ready to hit the beach!
If you’d like to stay down at the beach after your two-hour lesson for the remainder of the day, you can book one of our Surf Lesson and Hire Days and keep hold of the gear. If you want to book this instead, scroll down to the bottom of this page to book.
All our Instructors are fully qualified Beach and Surf Safety Lifeguards and trailblazing ISA awarded surf instructors. They’ve undertaken extensive First Aid training and we endeavour as an Activity Centre to regularly train our staff so they have experience in all weather and water conditions. Every instructor must have years of personal experience in the water and we also work in close partnership with the RNLI presence on every beach to ensure your safety in and out of the water.
Yes! Surfing is a year round activity, you can even surf your way into New Year!
All our surfing instructors wear exactly the same equipment as you and will also take a First Aid Kit in case of minor injuries on the beach. In the unlikely even of a serious incidents occurring during a surfing lesson, the RNLI beach lifeguards will be on hand to respond and assist your surfing instructor.
If you have your own suit please bring it along but wait until you’ve spoken with our instructors before putting it on. Some wetsuits will be too thin for certain weather and water conditions.
All you need to bring is your swimwear and a towel. We will provide you with everything else!
If you have any medical needs, injuries or special requirements, just give us a ring and we can talk through how best we can cater for your needs during your surfing experience!
Surfing requires a basic level of fitness and it certainly gets the heart pumping, but you don’t have to be an athlete.
We ask that everybody who takes part in our surfing experiences can swim a minimum of 50 metres. However, during a beginner session there is no need to go any deeper than waist depth water as you’ll be practicing in broken waves!
The beach is only a 5 minute walk from our activity centre and easily accessible for those not wishing to take part in the surfing lesson.
We strongly advice against wearing glasses in the surf in case they fall off! However, you will be able to wear them during the instruction part of the lesson on the sand. They can then be stored with our first aid kits on the beach whilst you’re practicing in the water.
Surfing takes a lot of practice to get the hang of, but once you’ve got the basic skills they’re easy to build on.
We both loved it , the instructor was a gentleman . Clear , concise instructions and very helpful . Can’t remember his name sorry , very tall with long hair
Jamie was a good instructor but a bit disappointed with the time snorkeling and not seeing anything. The sighting of the seals and info about the coast was great
Everyone was so friendly. My crew leader Alex was really supportive and encouraging as I am not an avid swimmer and so easing my way into kayaking and coasteering was a breeze. The team back at their headquarters were amazing ... keeping my baggage safe as I toured and even…
We had a really good time with Heath today. He showed us all the safety information and kept checking we were all okay. Instead of just staying out snorkelling he showed us some caves and told us about the history and cool knowledge about the caves and rocks. Had a…
We had an amazing time with heath. He was so lovely and gave us a bit of history as we went along. Very caring and made sure we had a fab time
Fun and exciting. The guide Oleks made it really enjoyable for us
Olek was such a cool instructor…let you get on with enjoying the water whilst keeping you safe and giving lots of detail…dan was super helpful when we got there and having a chat afterwards 10/10 hope to be back next summer
Amazing time coasteering in Cornwall with our instructor James. Great fun and James was very knowledgeable and easy to chat to. Thanks for an amazing time
We partner with Rewilding Britain to help protect our natural spaces for future adventures.
All centres are vetted for safety and quality. Your adventure is in good hands with adventuro.
Operated by Newquay Activity Centre, a partner of adventuro.
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom
From £45
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom
From £50
