Surf lessons · Edava, Varkala
Ninety minutes, chest-height water, a sand bottom and an instructor in the water beside you. Board, rashguard and beach transfer included.
What a lesson costs
Prices are per person and include everything you need in the water. There is no equipment surcharge and no beach fee, the number below is the number you pay. Group sessions are capped at five surfers per instructor. A private session is one instructor and two surfers at most, so two of you pay ₹4,000.
₹2,000
Up to 90 minutes · max 2 surfers · per person
One instructor and no more than two surfers, so nobody waits their turn. This is the one for fast-tracking. Every wave gets watched, every mistake gets named while you can still feel what caused it. Ideal if you want personalised feedback rather than encouragement shouted from thirty metres away.
₹1,500
Up to 90 minutes · small group · per person
Learn in a fun, social setting with a small group. Great for families or friends who want to experience the thrill of surfing together. Group sizes are capped deliberately, so you still get proper coaching and not a headcount.
Included in both: Surfboard · Rashguard · Beach pick-up & drop-off · Instructor from an SFI-accredited school · Safety briefing on the sand. The pick-up is genuinely free and covers Edava and central Varkala. Tell us where you're staying and we'll come to the door. Prices exclude GST, which is added at the applicable rate.
Just you, or the two of you
₹2,000 per person, up to 90 minutes, with one instructor and no more than two surfers. Two of you pay ₹4,000.
With two surfers at most, the instructor watches every wave you take and tells you what to fix before the next one.
It is the one to book if you want to move faster, or if you would rather not learn in a group.
Board, rashguard, beach pick-up and drop-off and the safety briefing are included, the same as a group session.
To book one, message us on WhatsApp at +91 99953 38248.
Your morning
Lessons run in the morning, when the wind is offshore and the water is at its cleanest. The start follows the tide, so there are slots between 06:30 and 09:30 and we confirm yours for the date you want to surf. The timings below are one morning's shape, not a fixed timetable.
Boards loaded, transfer to the beach. Included in the lesson price.
Warm-up, pop-up technique, paddle technique, and individual corrections. Even the pros warm up on land, the best sessions start before anyone gets wet.
Catching waves, with your instructor in the water beside you the whole time. Max chest-height, sand bottom, nobody watching you fall.
Where the whole Varkala surf community gathers to review the waves of the day. This part is not on the schedule and it is the best part.
Where you'll be learning
Most surf lessons in Varkala happen at Papanasam, below the north cliff, where the beach is narrow, the crowd is thick and you queue for a wave with everyone else's lesson.
Edava is ten minutes north and it is a different beach: wide, sand-bottomed, and long enough that classes spread out instead of stacking up. On a normal morning you will share the water with fishing boats and perhaps one other group.
Practically, that means more waves per hour and fewer collisions, which for a first-timer is the difference between standing up on day one and spending the session dodging people.
Practical
Swimwear you can move in, a towel, water, and sunscreen you put on twenty minutes before rather than at the beach. That is the whole list.
A wetsuit, the water here is warm all year and nobody wears one. A board, unless you own one you love. A GoPro for your first lesson; you'll want both hands.
Anything you'd mind losing. There is nowhere secure on the sand and someone has to sit with the bags, which is usually the person who most wanted to surf.
Surfable waves run most of the year here. The cleanest, most beginner- friendly conditions are through the dry months either side of the monsoon; the monsoon itself brings bigger, messier water and lessons are called on the day if the instructor doesn't like it. That call is theirs, and a called session is refunded or moved in full.
Group or private, every lesson comes with the same things.
Surf lessons in Varkala
No. Lessons run in waist-to-chest-height water over a sand bottom, with your instructor standing beside you the whole time and a board that floats far better than you do. Tell us when you book so the instructor knows.
At Kuma, ₹1,500 per person for a small-group session and ₹2,000 per person for a private session, which takes two surfers at most, so ₹4,000 for two. Both run up to 90 minutes. Board, rashguard and beach pick-up are included in both.
Mornings, with the exact time set by the weather and the tide. Slots run between 06:30 and 09:30, and we confirm yours for the date you want rather than publishing one time that turns out to be wrong. Tell us your date when you message and we'll give you the slot.
Most people get to their feet inside the first session, the waves here are small and forgiving and the boards are big. Standing for three seconds and standing for thirty are different projects, which is what the second lesson is for.
Yes, and it's free. Pick-up and drop-off cover Edava and central Varkala including the north and south cliff. Send us the name of your guesthouse and we'll be outside it.
We teach children from age seven, in calm water with a parent or guardian on the beach. Younger than that we'd rather talk to you first than take a booking we can't do properly.
Anything not covered here, message us on WhatsApp at +91 99953 38248.
Send your dates, headcount and surf level. We'll point you toward the right room, session or week.
Ask Kuma on WhatsApp+91 99953 38248
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