Standing up on a surfboard for the first time: a half-day beginner lesson in Wai'ao, from picking a time slot and checking the weather to drawing a morning walking route

Ray, a photographer living in Xindian, and his girlfriend Nina wanted to learn to surf before summer ended. On HAOTIVA they got a clear picture of the lesson's intensity and requirements, and of what happens if the weather turns bad.

・6 min read

Wanting to surf, but worried about not being fit enough

Ray is a freelance photographer, and Nina is a kindergarten teacher. They can both swim, but neither had ever been on a surfboard. Their biggest worry wasn't failing to learn — it was signing up only to find the class was too intense to keep up with, or getting to the beach and discovering they had to bring a pile of gear themselves.

Ray searched HAOTIVA for "Yilan," chose "Experiences only," and then tapped "Outdoor" under themes. On the left side of the search results there's also a "Max intensity" slider with five levels, from Easy to Intense; if you only want gentler options, just slide it to the left. This time they deliberately left it uncapped to see what level surfing was rated.

Search results page: at the top are partner venues that are already listed, below them "Featured samples" lists demo itineraries, with filters such as type on the left and a map marking each place on the right.
Search results page: at the top are partner venues that are already listed, below them "Featured samples" lists demo itineraries, with filters such as type on the left and a map marking each place on the right.

Three things to understand on the lesson page

They opened "Wai'ao, Yilan | Half-day beginner surf lesson": 30 minutes of instruction on the beach, 90 minutes in the water, one instructor for every three students, and on your first time in the water an instructor is right beside you holding the board. It's NT$1,880 per person for 2.5 hours, with sessions at 07:00, 10:00 and 14:00.

The first thing is the requirements. "Intensity & who it's for" marks it as Challenging, intensity 4/5, with the requirement "Must be able to swim," and classes it as a more cardio-intensive activity. The second is gear: a soft-top board and wetsuit, a 1:3 instructor ratio and a hot shower are included; bring a swimsuit, sunscreen and a change of clothes, since personal sunscreen and spare clothes aren't included. The third is the time slot: the late-summer afternoon sun is fierce, so they chose the 07:00 session.

The "Location" section near the bottom of the page shows the host, "Wai'ao Wave Riders," and its location on the map; the exact address and directions are provided once your booking is complete. When two people book together, the booking card multiplies the per-person price by the number of people and shows the total right there. At the very bottom of the page, "Also on this trip" lists other options in the same city or of the same type, such as the cypress private onsen room bundle, also in Yilan.

Seeing "Must be able to swim" right at the top actually put me at ease. It meant they were seriously screening people, not just taking anyone.

What if the weather's bad? The rules are on the page up front

The biggest variable for an outdoor class is the weather. This lesson's restrictions state that if the weather or surf conditions are poor, the instructor will reschedule or give a full refund. "Cancellation & notes" adds that if bad weather cancels an outdoor activity, the host will contact you to reschedule or refund you in full. Free cancellation for outdoor activities is up to 48 hours before.

"My bookings" was designed with this in mind, too. When the platform cancels a booking, its status changes to Refund in progress, with the reason and the original payment method the money is going back to, and the refund steps listed one by one — platform approval, notifying the card issuer, and the expected window for the money to arrive — along with a note that you don't need to contact the host yourself. When bad weather cancels an activity, the host or HAOTIVA contacts you and you can choose to reschedule or get a full refund; you can also type a question such as "Do I get a refund if a typhoon cancels it?" into the search box in the help centre.

My bookings: each booking shows its status, date, amount and free cancellation deadline, and bookings with a refund in progress are tracked on the same page.
My bookings: each booking shows its status, date, amount and free cancellation deadline, and bookings with a refund in progress are tracked on the same page.

The day before: drawing a morning beach walk on the Routes page

They decided to stay in Yilan the night before and get up early the next day for a warm-up walk along the beach. Ray opened the "Routes" page: on the left you choose running, cycling or walking, tap the map to add waypoints, and the panel works out the waypoint distance and estimated travel time, with "Return to start" and "Out and back" buttons; once it's drawn you give it a name and press "Save route".

The page says it is currently in manual mode, with waypoints joined by straight lines, and that road-following planning is still in preparation. The distance is straight-line, so actual roads will be a little longer, and the time is estimated from an average pace and excludes climbs and rests. For signed-in members, routes are saved to the account; when not signed in they are stored only in this browser, and "Featured routes" at the top left of the map loads ready-made routes.

Routes page: choose running, cycling or walking on the left and tap waypoints on the map to get the waypoint distance and estimated travel time (straight-line, excluding climbs and rests); you can "return to start" or "out and back" and save the route; "Featured routes" at the top left of the map loads ready-made routes.
Routes page: choose running, cycling or walking on the left and tap waypoints on the map to get the waypoint distance and estimated travel time (straight-line, excluding climbs and rests); you can "return to start" or "out and back" and save the route; "Featured routes" at the top left of the map loads ready-made routes.

Rounding out the day

Surfing burns a lot of energy, and after the lesson they wanted hot water and a good bed. They described their own version in one sentence and asked the Smart Planner to draft a plan from partners and hotels that are already listed; the amount is a reference total of each venue's starting price, and each item still has to be booked and paid for separately.

Next time, they want to go to Hualien: with "Hualien | Taroko mountain-view cabin + guided gorge trail walk," you stay in a cabin at the mouth of the gorge and, the next day, hike the first section of the Zhuilu Old Trail with a local guide. It includes 4 hours with a professional guide (insurance included) and trekking pole and headlamp rental. A trip like this depends even more on the weather, so they took a close look at the same cancellation and rescheduling rules.

  • For your first surf, pick an early session — the waves and sun are usually gentler.
  • Wetsuits are provided, but wear your swimsuit underneath so changing on site is quicker.
  • Choose a water-resistant sunscreen and apply it 20 minutes before you go in.
  • After the lesson, rehydrate and eat something before you drive — don't hit the road on an empty stomach.

Someone to reach when things go wrong

Conditions at the beach can change fast. If what you find on site doesn't match the page, the help centre's advice is simple: don't pay anything extra, and in "My bookings" tap "Get help with this booking" and attach photos. Support specialists are on duty 08:00–24:00 every day and commit to replying within 30 minutes, and HAOTIVA takes care of anything that requires contacting the host.

Help centre: pick a booking and most issues are sorted out on the spot, with anything that needs judgement passed to a real specialist. Below are the categories for questions that aren't about a booking, and at the bottom of the page are the four platform promises and common questions.
Help centre: pick a booking and most issues are sorted out on the spot, with anything that needs judgement passed to a real specialist. Below are the categories for questions that aren't about a booking, and at the bottom of the page are the four platform promises and common questions.

What you can do now

HAOTIVA is currently adding partners one by one. Partners that are already listed can take bookings and payments online, while the surf lesson, cabin and prices in this article are items marked "Demo": they are for display only and can't be booked or paid for. Actual partners, time slots and prices are as shown on each venue's own page.

The Routes page is usable right now: routes you draw are saved to your account when you are signed in and to your browser when you are not. If you want to learn to surf, you can browse the lessons already listed on the "Partner venues" page and then use "Ask the host" to check surf conditions and equipment.