Hana Paddle Boards

My wife booked the tour and was very excited to go..I was excited too. We just went kayaking in La Jolla a couple days before and saw some amazing wild life and couldn't wait for our next adventure.

We arrived early and met Rick, the instructor. He seemed nice and gave us a quick lesson before sending us out in the water. My wife is small, only 5'2", 100 lbs. She had no troubles at all with the small paddle boards. I'm 6'5", 250 lbs and the paddle board was far too small for me. He only had 4 boards and they were all the same. Even kneeling on the board it would sink under the surface slightly and standing caused it to sink further. I didn't want to ruin my wife's trip so I just kept quiet and paddled along sitting down with the board barely floating along.

We did see some really cool sea life! The water was REALLY clear and we could see all the way to the ocean floor. Tons of schools of fish, leopard sharks, girbaldi (sp?), manta rays, seals, and countless others.

Rick was a nice guy overall..didn't really know much about the sea life so we didn't gain any insight there. No complaints about his attitude as some other reviews have mentioned.

In comparison to many other similar adventures we have taken, it was far over prices. $180 for 2 people to paddle down the beach and back for ~90 minutes is a little ridiculous.

I feel like 2 stars is generous here..the fact that there were no larger paddle boards is a problem for big guys. If you're over 180 lbs or 6'0 you will most likely need a larger paddle board. Deduct a star for price and another for lack of content on the "tour"...

We signed up for the "Stand UP Paddle Board Lesson and Tour," but there was virtually no lesson, and there was absolutely no tour as I elaborate below.

Here are the facts:

LESSON
We did not practice paddling AT ALL before heading out to the ocean. Ric simply explained basic techniques verbally, and he did so very quickly. He spent NO MORE THAN 5 MINUTES. Maybe because we arrived 5 minutes late, he had to rush. I can give him the benefit of the doubt. Since all of us had done paddle boarding a couple of times before, we were able to paddle ok, but I have to emphasize that a lesson was part of the deal. In fact, as soon as the "5-minute lesson" was over, we had to paddle out on our own to join another group near the tip of the pier. The group turned out to be Ric's sister and her friends.

TOUR
After launching us one by one, Ric finally joined us. We paddled around near the tip of the pier for about 20 minutes. Then a friend of Ric's sister wanted to go back to the beach. Ric told us to wait as he had to go back to the beach to help her "land." So, we were just floating around for 15 minutes, waiting for him to come back. When he finally came back, I thought we were going on a TOUR. After paddling around in the same area (still right by the pier) for about 15 minutes, it was time to go back! I was still thinking we were going to take a break before heading out again for a tour, but it was THE END. NO TOUR (period). By the way, I signed for the 11:00am-1:00pm slot (see my photo), but it was only 12:15pm. Ric AirDropped a bunch of pictures, and that was it! I Among 90 pictures he AirDropped, only 27 of them were our pictures; the rest of the photos (63 of them!) were Ric's sister, her friends, and Ric's brother, who happened to be fishing in the area!

CONCLUSIONS
- There's virtually no lesson; Ric "lectured" us about basic techniques for several minutes. We have used two other companies in LA (e.g., Paddle Method); both of them gave us hands on lesson before heading out on the water. They also gave us feedback as we were actually paddling.
- Absolutely NO TOUR. Please see my photo for a description of a tour that Ric promises and we did not get.
- We signed up for a 2-hour (120 minute) slot (see my photo), but it only lasted for 75 minutes.
- Ric clearly spent way more time with his sister and her friends than us. I'm not sure if they even paid, but we did pay. $200 is steep for tagging along with Ric's sister and her friends for 75 minutes and almost half of the time was just floating and waiting for Ric.
- I'm sure Ric will respond to my review and will give excuses. However, everything I said in this review is a hard fact.
- I'm not sure if our experience is a typical one, but that's what we got. Based on this experience, I will not return to Hana Paddle Boards; I strongly advise against anyone doing business with them.

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Awesome experience with the family at Malibu Beach with Ric!

We had my 7 & 11-year old nephews with us but he was accommodating & they absolutely crushed it out there.

Parking was crazy out there as people definitely weren't social distancing, so we were running late. But Ric made sure we got our money's worth + more! Got to even see pelicans circling around us.

Would absolutely recommend to a friend!

Fantastic day today ! Great instruction with Ric and Rich took me and a friend out . Was able to stand and it was a perfect day . Saw a dolphin and a beautiful topless paddleboarder !! Definitely made my day . I'll definitely be back . 10 stars all the way !!! Thanks guys !!

The shame of this is that someone like this considers himself a top instructor. Not only was I honest about the fact that I was 11 lessons in, and a beginner - but he also knew about the fact that I was coming back from illness.

The waves were far too strong for someone who's a beginner to be going out on their own without an instructor - and yet Ric was unable to have an honest conversation about this and suggest that perhaps we either wait, or launch from a safer point.

There were also rocks very close to where we were launching from - and someone else's dog literally knocked me off my feet and Ric didn't bother to pull the dog away from me or help me to my feet (A gentleman he is not)-

And while the animal wasn't his responsibility - as an instructor you would hope you would have the common sense to make sure I was safe after I got knocked to the sand.

Once we were out, Ric stayed a huge distance from me - I kept looking back anxiously hoping that he would just launched through the waves so that I wasn't out there by myself - but I was floating out on the ocean for about 10 minutes before he had the common sense to catch up with me.

Well experienced Patiller obviously would've been able to handle this better - ricks way of handling this when I express that I was scared and that it was choppy out was to it first tell me how beautiful it was and to just enjoy the beauty - and then after about three minutes when he realize that I genuinely was scared - did a full 180 and said well then let's just go back in. We paddle back in silence for a good 20 minutes with me nervous - and him being so far away for me that I had to yell asking him where we were going.

Once we got in back to the beach - Ric LITERALLY ran off and HID in his car - this is a person in his 60s who hasn't yet learned how to communicate or feel out how his student might be feeling. Nor CARE.

I'm guessing too much sun and probably too much other have hindered his ability to actually connect - but in all my years by far the worst experience with an instructor.

There's several other instructors out there in Malibu without a liscense to teach - my suggestion is you call any one of them - you're not in for a safe, secure time with this person.

We had a great time paddleboarding with Ric, it was me and my boyfriend's first time paddleboarding in the ocean and Ric gave us clear and concise instructions and we felt very comfortable going in. It was a very windy and wavy day but I still managed to stand on the board! I'm very glad that we decided to take a class with Hana Paddle Boards before attempting to take on paddleboarding ourselves. Gave both of us much more confidence and comfort overall. As a bonus, I loved that the instructors took lots of photos for us and sent them all to us after our lesson. I was worried how we'd get pictures being on the water but they took care of it! Thanks Ric!

Ric was such an amazing teacher. He was such a cool person to be around, cared a lot about the sport and the people he takes out, and made our experience truly fun and memorable.

Would recommend a million times over! Can't wait to paddle board again.

Well, I can solidly attest to how great a surprise birthday present paddle boarding with Ric is!

The only photos I have to prove that I went are ones of me actually standing, so I can categorically deny any accusations that I sat for 80% of the journey. If anybody tells you that, they're a liar, I tells ya, a liar.

*Ahem* That said...

Ric was such a chill instructor and guide. We saw seals and found out interesting tidbits about the area's history and environment, and Ric turned an otherwise overcast day with cold water (I know this not because I fell in twice, no matter what anyone tells you) into an enjoyable and relaxing workout over several hours.

If you're thinking about this for yourself or someone else, stop thinking, do it. You can even sit the whole way (not that I did, don't believe them) if you absolutely have to, but be sure to wear lots of sunscreen because you might just end up with an embarrassing wetsuit sunburn half way down your thighs.

Not that it happened to Me mind you, but I'm guessing it's just possible... :/

I booked a group paddle board experience for myself and 4 friends the day before my wedding. Booking was quick and easy, all I did was call them and talked to the owner Ric. He quoted me the price and immediately sent me a text to confirm the appointment. When we got there, he was already set up on the beach with the paddle board equipment and wet suits for all of us. After a quick lesson, we set off in the ocean and Ric made sure to keep pace with whoever was the slowest in our group so no one was left behind. He also took tons of pictures for us and posted them to his Facebook page the next day for easy download.

Some reviews on here say the paddle boards are too small for taller people, but we didn't have that problem. Three of us are over 6' tall, and over 200 pounds. Every one of us were able to stand up on the boards without a problem. Although, every one of us fell off at least once... but that's part of the fun.

All in all, this was a great experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to try paddle boarding in Malibu.

Had the most amazing time. Took my girlfriend for her birthday and she absolutely loved it. Ric was awesome. We met him at the beach at 9am and spent 2 hours in the water. It was my first time paddle boarding and Ric had me standing up and going within 5 minutes.
Definitely a must!

Paddle boarding is so fun, relaxing, and a nice core work out all at the same damn time. I'm really glad I found this deal on LivingSocial. It's actually sold out now but you can find other sweet deals on either LivingSocial or Groupon.

The deal was $119 for a 2 hour paddleboard experience for 2 people which includes a 30 minute lesson, hour and a 1/2 guided tour, and an optional wetsuit. The location says Agoura Hills but that's actually the instructor's address so the tour is actually in Malibu.

Our SUP instructor Ric was such a laid back, California guy. He made me feel at ease and kept telling everyone to "not overthink" the experience. At first, I regretted going so early (9AM) but Ric assured it's better to go earlier so it won't be so windy. The 3 others that attended were really cool as well! We all wished we drank a shot or two since it was a bit nippy but you'll hardly feel the cold with a wetsuit and/or when you have a steady pace.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous at first to stand and paddle but once you get the hang of it you won't want to go back down. It's important to have your feet planted and to really engage your core. I think most people are scared to fall in the water but it actually feels refreshing once you've continuously paddled. Most importantly, have fun! No one judges you if you fall in (I fell twice).

Another nice touch is that Ric takes a GoPro and will upload all the awesome photos on Facebook. He uploaded our group photos the same day! It was a wonderful experience, hope you get to try it one day :)