Stand-up paddleboarding grants people an experience akin to walking on water, just as skiing grants people an experience akin to being tossed down Mount Olympus after stealing Zeus's flip-flops. Serenely skim across nature with today's Groupon: for $32, you get a semi-private stand-up paddleboarding lesson at SurfSUPnj, LLC. This Groupon is valid at locations in Manasquan or Belmar (a $65 value).
SurfSUPnj's CPR-certified instructors anoint wave-ready riders with stand-up paddleboarding lessons amid the area's majestic maritime vistas. Populated by intimate groups of two to four, each one- to two-hour tutorial spans the basics of standing, paddling, and maneuvering, imparting the foundational skills needed to propel pupils across the water and into the hearts of sea otters river-wide. Depending on location and climate conditions, students hone paddling prowess gliding atop the idyllic Manasquan River's placid waterways or squaring off against the frothy spumes of Shark River in Belmar. A set of complimentary photos accompanies each session and lets paddlers remember the way their muscles bulged and their hair caught fire during stand-up paddleboarding's rigorous upper-body workout.
SurfSUPnj, LLC
Forgotten until the 1960s, standup paddleboarding resurfaced when Hawaiian long boarders started using paddles to better see students and monitor incoming swells. The sport has spread like wildfire due to its easy learning curve, low-impact, full-body workout, and suitability for most ages and abilities. SurfSUPnj, LLC, has ridden that wave both literally and metaphorically by inducting new riders in private, semiprivate, and telepathic lessons. SurfSUPnj's instructors are certified in water rescue, CPR, and first aid with an AED, and they possess level 2 PaddleFit certification earned through double-elimination paddleboarding games of chicken.