The LineUp at Wai Kai

The LineUp at Wai Kai opened on 25 March 2023 in Ewa Beach on Oahu, inside Hoakalei Resort, as Hawaii's first deep-water standing wave. The Citywave-powered Wai Kai Wave is 100 feet wide and runs in up to three lanes, so it is sold as 30-foot, 65-foot and 100-foot sessions. It sits beside the 52-acre Wai Kai Lagoon, with paddling, an obstacle course, restaurants and bars, about 23 miles from Waikiki.

This is a standing wave, not a traveling one: a deep-water flow that simulates a river wave, which you ride in place. The wave runs in three formats, with height and shape adjusted per channel on demand: the 30-foot channel suits novice to intermediate surfers, while the 65-foot and 100-foot channels are for intermediate to advanced riders, with dedicated advanced sessions on the bigger channels. Every session is a one-hour slot with a 15-minute safety orientation and 45 minutes on the wave, shared with other guests. Learn-to-surf sessions need no paddling or pop-up, and helmets and soft-top boards are mandatory for them. Surf sessions are for ages 10 and up.

Oahu visitors on flat days, families with mixed abilities who can split across the channels, and surfers who want high-repetition turn practice on a standing wave. The lagoon activities give non-surfers plenty to do while others ride.

Sessions are one hour, of which 45 minutes are on the wave. The booking system shows $65 for a 30-foot channel session and $75 for a 65-foot channel session; 100-foot sessions had no public slots in the three weeks after 26 September 2026. A surf lesson is $125, or $149 with VIP perks, and a private lesson for up to 12 is $950 (booking system, 11 October 2026). Add-ons include coaching for $50 on top of a session and an all-day high-performance board rental for $35. Small cabanas (up to six people) are $150 and large (up to eight) $200, each for three hours. Surf packs and an unlimited surf membership are also sold, and a round-trip shuttle runs from Waikiki and Ko Olina. Read from the booking system and waikai.com on 26 September 2026.

Book online ahead of weekends. Wai Kai is about 23 miles and 40 minutes from Waikiki by car and about 11 miles from Ko Olina, and the venue runs a round-trip shuttle from both, which fills up, so reserve a seat. First-timers should book the 30-foot channel or a lesson.