Say this three times fast: The west coast of Puerto Rico is to the east coast of America what the North Shore of Oahu is to the west coast of America – a tropical island escape. A place to go for waves, waves, waves, from beginners to tow surfers.

The Rincon area of western Puerto Rico is home to some truly world-class waves at Tres Palmas, Marias and Indicator. The hard-charging Puerto Rican surfers wish their spots were always 8 to 10-feet and firing. Unfortunately for them, Puerto Rico does go small from time to time. But that is fortunate for beginning surfers, as the warm waters and long points and gentle beach breaks of Puerto Rico are perfect for beginning surfers.

787 Surf is run by Roger Wagner and Lisa de Bell. Roger is a Brazilian who has been surfing for decades, all around the world. Lisa is English and a graduate of Leith’s School of Food and Wine in London, and also holds certifications in Holistic Nutrition, Pilates and personal training.

Together, they are there for their guests, mind, body and soul. 787 Surf employs a team of experienced, CPR-certified instructors. Their policy is to have no more than four students per instructor. The week-long classes begin by assessing the fitness and experience of the students. From there, students are matched with the right equipment and classes before finding the best beach or point each day for instruction: surf safety, ocean safety, paddling, catching waves, riding waves, proper stance and balance, etiquette. At the end of the day, students can watch video of themselves in action, and fall asleep dreaming of how much better they will be the next day.

Guests are accommodated in the finest sense in the Surf787 Villa,  a brand new, thoroughly modern, three-story property with six, double-occupancy rooms, fresh-water swimming pool, ample parking, barbeque area and a game room/gym if you have any energy left after tussling with Mother Nature.

The rooms are clean with views over the jungle and off to the ocean beckoning beyond. The modern kitchen is ruled – in a nice way – by Lisa de Bell, who is more than qualified to serve up the kind of nutritious, healthy-burning breakfasts, lunches and dinners that surfers crave, before and after burning calories in the ocean.

Lisa also provides Pilates instruction and massage. When guests aren’t surfing, there is swimming and snorkeling in the tropical waters, fishing from shore or out at sea, hiking, and just checking out east coast’s answer to the Polynesian islands.