Learning to surf on Gran Canaria: which lesson in Maspalomas or Playa del Inglés?
Updated October 3, 2026 · 8 min read
The short answer: for a first lesson take the High Quality Surf Classes in Playa del Inglés at €60 — four hours, a maximum of five students per instructor, photos of you surfing included, and 4.9 stars from 400 reviews, more than any other surf school on the island. If you have no transport, the lesson at €49 that collects you from your hotel is the practical choice. If you are counting euros, the lesson at La Laja beach in Las Palmas costs €40.
See availability and prices for the Playa del Inglés surf course
Almost every surf lesson sold in the south of Gran Canaria says Maspalomas or Playa del Inglés in its title, and almost none of them promises to take place there. The schools are mobile: they choose the beach on the morning according to the conditions. That is the right way to teach beginners, and it means the place name in the title is a meeting point, not a destination.
The five compared
| Lesson | Duration | From | Rating | best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Quality Surf Classes, Playa del Inglés | 4 hours | €60 | 4.9 (400) | a first lesson, five students per instructor |
| Surf lessons for all levels, Maspalomas | 2.5 hours | €50 | 4.9 (243) | two solid hours in the water, taught in three languages |
| Playa del Inglés surf lessons | 3 hours | €49 | 4.8 (156) | hotel transfer included anywhere in the south |
| Maspalomas Surf Lessons | 2 hours | €49 | 4.7 (117) | the shortest session, same school |
| Group Surfing Lesson on La Laja Beach | 2.5 hours | €40 | 4.9 (55) | the lowest price, and the only one in the north |
Four hours that are not four hours of surfing
Surf Canaries runs the most-reviewed course here, and its four hours break down into parts that are worth knowing before you compare it with a two-hour lesson. It starts with a theory session at the school beside the Maspalomas dunes, video included. Then comes the beach: the school describes itself as mobile, so if the waves are better elsewhere, transport to that beach is included, and if the home break at Playa del Inglés is working, the group walks there with the boards.
Included are all the equipment — board, leash, rash vest and a long or short wetsuit — the instruction, water and a piece of fruit after the first session, free photographs of you surfing, and ten per cent off in the shop. The school guarantees a maximum of five students per instructor, which is the single most useful number in this entire comparison; nobody else here publishes a ratio that low.
It also publishes the clearest limits. The course is not suitable for children under eight, pregnant women, people with back problems, wheelchair users or non-swimmers, and the school recommends being in reasonable to good physical condition. That last line is not boilerplate: paddling for two hours is harder work than it looks from the beach.
See availability and prices for the four-hour surf course
The shorter lessons, and what they trade away
South Coast Surf School, €50 for two and a half hours, is the second most reviewed and matches the 4.9 rating. The structure is a theory class on the sand and then a two-hour practice session in the sea — which means more water time than the four-hour course spends in the water, at a lower price. Lessons are offered in English, German and Spanish, and the school says its instructors have over 30 years in the ocean. Included are the board, the wetsuit, mineral water and fruit, and accident and liability insurance. Hotel pickup is not included. Its review summary notes that travellers would have liked clearer information in advance about timing and what to bring, sun protection included — so ask when you book.
See availability and prices for the all-levels lesson in Maspalomas
Canary Wave Surf School by Nixon sells two lessons, three hours at €49 and two hours at €49, and the three-hour one is the better deal of the pair. You meet at the school in the Centro Comercial Oasis by the Maspalomas lighthouse; the transfer to and from your hotel is included if you are staying in the south. Groups go up to eight people, the class itself runs two and a half hours, and the school states that the lesson usually takes place on Playa del Inglés or Maspalomas beach next to the lighthouse and can move depending on conditions. Included are the transfer, equipment, instructor and water.
See availability and prices for the lesson with hotel transfer
Wavelovers, at €40, is the outlier: it teaches at Playa de La Laja, which it places ten minutes from the centre of Las Palmas, on a volcanic sand bottom. That is the north of the island, at the opposite end from the southern resorts, so it is a lesson for people already up there rather than a cheaper version of the same morning. For the price you get a certified instructor, board, wetsuit and full gear, accident and civil liability insurance and individual feedback, in English or Spanish, with private or small-group formats available.
With children: the minimum age is eight
Two schools state an age, and both set it at eight. Surf Canaries excludes children under eight from its adult course. Pro Surfing Company sells a dedicated Kids & Teens lesson for ages 8 to 16 at €65 for four hours, with soft boards sized for children, instructors certified by the Spanish Surfing Federation, a warm-up and safety briefing, a written progress summary at the end, and liability and accident insurance. It also publishes the limits nobody else does: minimum height 100 cm, maximum weight 115 kg, and not suitable for people over 70.
The honest caveat is its evidence base. That lesson carries 4.9 stars from five reviews, against 400 for the adult course — a rating that young cannot tell you much. Book it for the format, which is genuinely built for children, not because of the stars.
The other schools do not publish an age limit at all. That does not mean there is none; it means the limit is a question for the operator before you pay, not an assumption. The same applies to anyone with a back or shoulder problem: only Surf Canaries names it, and the activity is the same everywhere. More of what works with children on the island is in Gran Canaria with kids.
When a surf lesson is the wrong booking
If you cannot swim, every school here should turn you away and one says so outright. If you want a guaranteed stand-up moment, no school can sell you that honestly — the sea decides, and the schools that are candid about it are the ones to trust. If you have half a day and want to be certain of being on the water, a boat trip with a swim stop delivers that; surfing does not.
And if your holiday is in the north, do not book a Maspalomas lesson for the price: the drive across the island costs you the morning you came to surf. All the schools of both coasts sit together under surf lessons.
Our recommendation
For most people and for a first lesson: the High Quality Surf Classes at Playa del Inglés at €60. A maximum of five students per instructor, full equipment, photos included, 4.9 stars from 400 reviews. It is the most expensive adult lesson in this group by ten euros and the only one that publishes its group ratio.
If you have no car: the three-hour lesson from Canary Wave at €49, with hotel transfer included anywhere in the south. Groups of up to eight, two and a half hours of class.
If you want maximum water time for the money: the all-levels lesson from South Coast Surf School at €50 — two full hours in the sea after the beach theory, taught in English, German or Spanish, 4.9 stars from 243 reviews.
With children aged 8 to 16: the Kids & Teens lesson at €65, for the soft boards, the small groups and the federation-certified instructors — with the five-review caveat in plain sight.
If you are in Las Palmas: the lesson at La Laja at €40, the cheapest here, ten minutes from the city centre. Not worth the drive from the south — worth it if you are already there.
