Book a lesson or no?

[Buttertoes]

My husband and I have a trip coming up and I'm thinking about booking a lesson. I've been surfing 3 years. Around here lessons are geared toward the brand spanking newbie. In surf destinations am I likely to find a school that can help me in my "advanced beginner/novice intermediate" stage? I'd want someone to point out safe spots, what to avoid, and help me smooth things out, get more confidence on larger waves, improve my pop up, give me some steps towards carving and nose riding

Do you think I'd find what I'm looking for, or likely a waste of money?

[dtc]

Where are you travelling?

Most schools will be able to accommodate you - after all, most surf teachers know how to surf themselves so can do things at a more advanced level than basic beginner.

I had a lesson at roughly the same experience level as you and it was really useful - only picked up a couple of things (pop up, turning) but that was enough to fix up a few key problems that otherwise may have taken a while (assuming I ever realised what I was doing wrong).

But probably they will only be able to look at technical things - stuff like confidence on larger waves is just a matter of experience. But any good teacher can help you improve your wave selection, for example; so being able to pick a good wave and having improved technical ability will obviously help with bigger waves to some extent.

Go for it.

[drowningbitbybit]

In surf destinations am I likely to find a school that can help me in my "advanced beginner/novice intermediate" stage?

Not a problem at many spots, but I'd advise going for one-on-one tuition rather than a class. A more advanced lesson means the instructor should be able to look quite specifically at your technique, which they won't be able to do in a crowded class.

[dtc]

DBB is right - one on one is the way to go for what you want. More expensive, but because you can surf already you may only need one lesson, then you can surf on your own and implement the lessons without needing supervision. Perhaps toward the end of the holidays consider whether you need another one