Best kitesurfing spot in February?

[GrodanBoll]

Hi - I've done two trips like this (and am leaving for my 3rd one in a week). First year, I went to Costa Rica (Bahia Salinas) and spent almost 2 months there. Cheapish accomodation ($15 or so for a shared room, hostel style), windy (ridable about 28 days a month), but gusty, strong wind (I spent most of my time on 5s and 7s - I weigh about 130 lbs). Choppy water for the most part - some flattish parts in front of reefs and sometimes some small, organized wind swells. No night life to speak of - but nice locals who tend to come down and hang out most weekends. And you get to ride with sea-turtles which is fun. Super empty riding spot too - no issue with crowds.

Last year, I went to the Philippines for about 2 months and spent 6 weeks in Boracay kiting. You could get a room for $15-$20/night (nothing fancy, but totally reasonable and nice - may be able to do a bit cheaper if you go down in quality or bargain hard for a long-term stay price). Better wind quality than Costa Rica, but a little less wind - we definitely had some no wind days. The lagoon in Boracay can get crowded for sure and the wind is dead on-shore (so you see a kite in the trees most days). The riding is flat to chop to small waves depending on the tides (there's a reef at the outer edge of the lagoon). Low tide gets you flatter water, but the bottom is coral and sea urchins so they also are closer to the surface. There's tons of nightlife, restaurants, etc. There also are a couple other riding spots nearby that are supposed to be quieter (Union Bay, boat trip out to a different island, etc). I didn't try the kite spots up north (Kingfisher, Daet) which are supposed to be good if you want waves. I also didn't make it to Camsur, but I would if I went back!

This year I'm off to Union Island in the Grenadines (Caribbean) so we'll see how that goes. It seems like the wrong season for Egypt and Brazil. I have friends in Maui this winter but haven't heard yet how that is going. Venezuela may work (its the start of their season), but the cost varies drastically depending on if you get the official or blackmarket exchange rate. Puerto Rico is another option, especially if you like surfing too - not quite so guaranteed wind, but usually good waves too. You kind of need a car in PR though - rentals cost about $20/day. South Africa is in season, but I could never get myself psyched to travel to someplace that requires a wetsuit and dodging sharks. I'd love to go live in Perth in Western Australia - but need to figure out how to do it with a car, I think. Baja, Mexico is another option - free living if you stay in a tent, but not a lot of nightlife, choppy/little waves water.

Hope this helps - Susan

Thanks a lot Susan!

What is the average wind speed in Boracay? I´m thinking of brininging my 12m and perhaps also a 9m kite. My weigth is about 190 Lbs.

[ChickenTikka]

Mui Ne, Vietnam is also pretty good an very inexpensive.

[AmericanRonin]

Check out need2kite.com. I found them on facebook and have been having fun with that site since, you can search for locations based on average number of windy days per month, temperature, time of year, all that. Limited listing of places but still had some cool ideas. They also suggest accommodation based on your price range. It's a neat concept. I haven't traveled using their advice yet but I'm interested to see how accurate they are.

The southern Caribbean will be windy this time of year (Martinique, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Tobago, Margarita, etc). Downside of the southern Caribbean is that it's gorgeous, and therefore expensive. I spent almost a month in St. Lucia in 2010. Rented a cottage for $50/day in a local neighborhood. Spartan, but nice enough for my needs. Like I said though, that was the low end.

If you're really trying to pinch pennies, I'd suggest the Western Caribbean: Caye Caulker, the Corn Islands, Roatan, maybe even San Andres (though that one's a bit more developed). This's the windy time of year for them. Wind won't be half as good as Western Australia or South Africa, but it's a laid back atmosphere where you can get by for next to nothing (especially on Caulker). If there's no wind, go spearfishing or something. Accommodation there's dirt cheap from what I've researched--though I've never been myself, so take all this with a grain of salt.

What's more important to you? Wind, or cost of living? There's usually an inverse corrolation. The better the wind, the most costly the place.

[islandstylen]

http://www.caribbeankitesurfaris.com/Si ... lcome.html

Come join us in the caribbean .......

[A-L]

Hi - I've done two trips like this (and am leaving for my 3rd one in a week). First year, I went to Costa Rica (Bahia Salinas) and spent almost 2 months there. Cheapish accomodation ($15 or so for a shared room, hostel style), windy (ridable about 28 days a month), but gusty, strong wind (I spent most of my time on 5s and 7s - I weigh about 130 lbs). Choppy water for the most part - some flattish parts in front of reefs and sometimes some small, organized wind swells. No night life to speak of - but nice locals who tend to come down and hang out most weekends. And you get to ride with sea-turtles which is fun. Super empty riding spot too - no issue with crowds.

Last year, I went to the Philippines for about 2 months and spent 6 weeks in Boracay kiting. You could get a room for $15-$20/night (nothing fancy, but totally reasonable and nice - may be able to do a bit cheaper if you go down in quality or bargain hard for a long-term stay price). Better wind quality than Costa Rica, but a little less wind - we definitely had some no wind days. The lagoon in Boracay can get crowded for sure and the wind is dead on-shore (so you see a kite in the trees most days). The riding is flat to chop to small waves depending on the tides (there's a reef at the outer edge of the lagoon). Low tide gets you flatter water, but the bottom is coral and sea urchins so they also are closer to the surface. There's tons of nightlife, restaurants, etc. There also are a couple other riding spots nearby that are supposed to be quieter (Union Bay, boat trip out to a different island, etc). I didn't try the kite spots up north (Kingfisher, Daet) which are supposed to be good if you want waves. I also didn't make it to Camsur, but I would if I went back!

This year I'm off to Union Island in the Grenadines (Caribbean) so we'll see how that goes. It seems like the wrong season for Egypt and Brazil. I have friends in Maui this winter but haven't heard yet how that is going. Venezuela may work (its the start of their season), but the cost varies drastically depending on if you get the official or blackmarket exchange rate. Puerto Rico is another option, especially if you like surfing too - not quite so guaranteed wind, but usually good waves too. You kind of need a car in PR though - rentals cost about $20/day. South Africa is in season, but I could never get myself psyched to travel to someplace that requires a wetsuit and dodging sharks. I'd love to go live in Perth in Western Australia - but need to figure out how to do it with a car, I think. Baja, Mexico is another option - free living if you stay in a tent, but not a lot of nightlife, choppy/little waves water.

Hope this helps - Susan

Thanks a lot Susan!

What is the average wind speed in Boracay? I´m thinking of brininging my 12m and perhaps also a 9m kite. My weigth is about 190 Lbs.

I live there, 12m and 9m will be perfect you should be good to ride at least 80% of time in Febraury, you wont find many dull moments in Boracay, if the wind does let you down tonnes of other things to do!! And its more cross-shore winds NE than onshore although you do get some days onshore. Union bay is very easy to get to and kiteshools appearing there now so facilities available.......A must if you are looking for kiting and other activities, and to top it off!!

[susanmg]

I'm about 130 lbs and would have been happiest most of the time on a 7 and 9 in Boracay. I brought a 12 but think I used it a whopping 4 times in 6 weeks - probably could have squeezed out a couple more sessions with it but the wind wasn't enough to really have fun. Boracay definitely does have the advantage that there is lots of other stuff going on - not true at all good kite spots. And it has a nice community of people who end up there for the season. Have a really fun time!