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Kuma Surf
A surf class lying on boards on the dark sand practising paddling while an instructor watches, thatched houses behind
Wave height
1.3 m
Period
9.7 s
Sea temp
29.6°C
Swell from
SSW

Surf school · Edava, Varkala

A small surf school with a house attached.

Not a franchise and not a beach kiosk. Kuma is a surf house at Edava, run by people from this coast and teaching on the beach it stands on.

Lessons & pricesThe people behind it

Choosing one

Five questions worth asking any surf school.

Varkala has plenty of places that will put you on a board. They are not all the same, and the differences are hard to see from a listing page. Ask these before you pay anyone, including us.

  1. 01

    How many students per instructor?

    The single number that decides whether you get taught or supervised. Ours are capped small enough that the instructor is in the water with you, not counting heads from the sand. A private session is one instructor and no more than two surfers.

  2. 02

    Is the school accredited, and is it current?

    India's national federation, the Surfing Federation of India, accredits surf schools and renews that accreditation every year. Ask to see the certificate and check the date on it. Ours is further down this page.

  3. 03

    Where exactly do you teach?

    Not "Varkala", the beach. A crowded, narrow beach means you spend the session avoiding other people's boards. We teach at Edava, north of the cliff, where classes have room to spread out.

  4. 04

    Who is the instructor, and are they local?

    Seasonal instructors on a three-month contract learn a beach from a forecast app. People who grew up on it know what the sandbank does after a week of swell, which is the knowledge that keeps a beginner in the right place.

  5. 05

    What happens if the sea isn't safe?

    The honest answer is "we cancel and you get your money back". A school that never cancels is either lucky or taking you out in conditions it shouldn't.

How we run it

What's in every session, without asking.

Pick-up & drop-off

Complimentary. We collect you from your accommodation and drop you back after the session, so joining is genuinely hassle-free.

Boards & rash vests

Soft-tops sized to you, vests that fit, all in the session price.

Coaches who know this beach

Not a franchise on a season contract. A school run from the beach it teaches on, by people who read it every morning.

Safety, in practice

Every session starts with a briefing on the sand: where the lesson zone is, what to do if you come off, and how to fall away from the board rather than onto it. Boards are soft-topped with flexible fins, the two things that cause most beginner injuries, removed.

Instructors are in the water alongside beginners rather than watching from the beach, and the call to end a session early belongs to them. Nobody at Kuma is incentivised to keep a class out in water that has turned.

When we cancel

Rain does not cancel a surf lesson. You are already wet, and grey mornings are often the best ones. Unsafe surf does, and that decision is the instructor's.

A session we call off is refunded or rescheduled in full, with nothing deducted. The full cancellation policy is written out rather than buried.

Accreditation

Accredited by the Surfing Federation of India.

SFI is India's national surfing federation, recognised by the International Surfing Association, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Sports Authority of India. Its accreditation looks at instruction, safety and first aid, equipment, and how many students each instructor takes, and it is renewed every year.

Both certificates are published below rather than described. Open them, check the numbers and the dates, and ask any other school in Varkala for the same.

Surfing Federation of IndiaThe school
Surfing Federation of India Certificate of Accreditation for running a surf and SUP school, valid to 31 December 2026.
Certificate SFI-KL-26-SS-009
View the certificate (PDF)
International Surfing AssociationThe founder
Hareesh, the Kuma in the name, has completed the ISA/ILS Surf and SUP Instructor Aquatic Rescue and Safety course, registered with the International Surfing Association and the International Life Saving Federation. Valid to April 2028.
View the certificate (PDF)

Recognised by, and working with

Surfing Federation of IndiaInternational Surfing AssociationMindset MinglePaddle CultKovalam Surf Club

Who's teaching

People from this coast.

Patient instructors who know how to read the ocean, and their students. Calm, encouraging, and genuinely happy to be out there. On a good day, Kuma himself joins in.

The practical consequence is knowledge you cannot get from a forecast: which end of the beach the sandbank has moved to, when the fishing boats go out, and which mornings are worth waking a beginner up for.

Read the whole story
A Kuma instructor on the beach at Edava with a boardAn instructor carrying boards down to the water before a classAn instructor taking a student through a warm-up stretch on the sand

The difference

Most surf schools close at noon.

A school that only owns a rack of boards hands you back to your hotel at eleven in the morning, and whatever you learned sits unused until the next lesson.

Kuma is a house first. Guests come back from the water to breakfast on the roof, sleep it off, and go again the next morning with the same instructor who watched them yesterday. The learning curve from consecutive mornings is not slightly better than scattered lessons. It is a different curve.

You do not have to stay here to learn with us, and plenty of people don't. But it is why the two things exist under one roof.

How surf & stay works

Surf school in Varkala

What people check before booking.

Where is the surf school based?

At Edava beach, about ten minutes north of Varkala cliff, in Edava, Varkala. We teach on the beach directly in front of the house and collect guests staying elsewhere in Varkala for free.

How big are the groups?

Group sessions are capped small enough that the instructor is in the water with the class rather than watching from the sand. If you want the numbers guaranteed, book a private session: one instructor and no more than two surfers, at ₹2,000 per person.

Is Kuma Surf an accredited surf school?

Yes. The Surfing Federation of India accredits the school, certificate SFI-KL-26-SS-009, valid to 31 December 2026. Hareesh, who founded Kuma, has also completed the ISA/ILS Surf and SUP Instructor Aquatic Rescue and Safety course with the International Surfing Association and the International Life Saving Federation.

Do you teach year-round?

We teach when the sea is right for learners, and the instructor makes that call each morning. June to September is the monsoon, when Kerala Tourism rates surfing as high risk, so check with us on WhatsApp at +91 99953 38248 before you plan lessons in those months. A session we call off is refunded or rescheduled in full.

Do I have to stay at Kuma to take lessons?

No. Lessons are open to anyone in Varkala and the beach pick-up is included whether you're staying with us or not. Staying here mainly buys you consecutive mornings and a shorter walk.

Can you teach a group of us?

Yes. Friends, families and teams all work. Beyond a handful of people it's usually worth talking about a retreat instead, which is the same coaching arranged around your dates.

Anything not covered here, message us on WhatsApp at +91 99953 38248.

More about learning here

Not sure which fits?

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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