Suggestions for Directionals for Noobs?

[mhansman]

ocean rodeo mako duke

[monkielion]

OMG, of course, fins and tails, too! Five fins? I thought it was three or four!? I foresee much Googling in our future.
Thanks for all of the links and advice, everyone. (Above and beyond, Yoda!)
Weather permitting, we'll try to demo locally before our trip, but I'm not sure how informative that will be. I did try a borrowed board in the bay once and liked it, hence wanting to move in that direction.
I'll update after sometime we buy/try/have our trip.
Muchas Gracias!

[NorCalNomad]

Just go and craigslist and get any surfboard under 6' and under $150-100. Then you can see how you like directional strapless riding, and don't have to worry about a new board getting damaged on your trip. Also since you're not going to be wave riding it's not really going to matter that much about board selection right now.

Don't kneecap your skills with putting on straps.

Then get a decent kite surfboard.