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Hello,

Has anyone done or at least planned out a round the world kiting tour?

Having arrived at retirement age only moderately broken I am considering a kiting tour. Currently I am not that great a kiter (advanced beginner / low intermediate) I can go upwind but no tricks but I assume I will get better with practice.
I'm thinking of a month, maximum two months at each spot for total of a year.

It is with deep regret that I confess my list of must have and don't needs have changed considerably over the years. For instance, night life now means the sound of crickets. If a woman comes on to me in a bar I know she is looking at my wallet and not my incredible physique. (it was never that incredible anyway). So while I appreciate input from anyone if you could keep in mind what you might recommend to your parents or maybe grandparents, it would be helpful.

Most airlines have a round the world fare that generally means going steadily in one direction. So for instance one can go from San Francisco to Turks and Caicos to the Canaries but you can't go San Fran to Canaries to Turks. Since I am on a bit of a budget that is important.

Wish list. This is a WISH list and I know I sound like a pussy and I know it may not all be possible.

1. warm. I hate being cold and I don't want to have to travel with a whole lot of cold weather gear.
2. At least in the beginning relatively flat water, preferably shallow water
3. Accommodation: optimally within walking distance of the the launch. I would really prefer not to have to rent a car. My experience is that car hire is generally a pain and always expensive. Would prefer a small house or bed and breakfast with access to at least a basic kitchen. Eating out every meal every day, gets old in about a week.
4. Would prefer a place where the risk of being beaten, stabbed, shot, robbed, blown up, kidnapped, car-jacked, or similarly inconvenienced is relatively low. I have spent enough time in war zones, both official and unofficial, to know I don't want to do it any more.
5. Goldilocks number of fellow kiters. Enough that we can look out for each other not so many that launching / landing requires Air Traffic Control. My home spot is Sherman island which is an example of the later. If push came to shove I would take no one over a mob.
6. Moderate to cheap. I simply don't have enough money to last a year living in expensive hotels.

I will be leaving from San Francisco and the departure month is not fixed.

Thank you in advance. Any advice re packing, traveling, air lines, things to see at various locations also gratefully received.

Griz

WOW! Good on ya, that's sounds incredibly awesome. I did a 9 month RTW trip nearly 25 years ago. Now also starting to think of travel on the other side of work and career.

Do some googling on RTW fares, I suspect there's lots of online discussion about it. When we did ours, there was a travel agent in san fran who was the expert, posted a lot, then eventually "wrote the book on it" (published a book). At the time, it was cheaper and less restrictive to do a series of one way fares, each bought at a big discount through some kind of brokerage house. May want to look into it.

We started our trip with a "coral tour" fare through Air NZ, which meant a trip from Vancouver to Auckland, with up to 3 stops on South Pacific islands. Highly recommended! We really liked Cook Islands, a windy place, with Aitutaki rated as a top world destination. The surfing was epic in Fiji too, the offshore islands seem to have lots of options for wind and clear water (Namotu being #1 on my bucket list, if you surf also). Western Samoa is a very cool place, like Hawaii 60 years ago. Tonga wasn't my favourite, I think you need to be on a boat to get the good stuff. Maybe start off in Maui to get your legs under you.

New Zealand a super windy place entirely surrounded by beaches. North part can be warm enough to not need a wetsuit. Australia has tons of options too.
Bali is a really interesting place to visit, has a kite community too, though I think it's light-ish wind.
South Africa, Madagascar, never been, sure like to go.
Canary Islands: fuerteventure means strong wind, say no more.
Azores: some day
Med: south france has some of most beautiful beaches I've seen, and it's windy. Spain too.
Portugal and Morocco: currently first on my list!
UK/Ireland: windy, but need wetsuit
Caribbean: haven't explored, but huge potential everywhere. Was briefly in Tobago, plan on going back in season (Pigeon Point).
South America: Brazil downwinders, Peru side off point breaks, rugged Chile exploring, lots there.

That adds up quick, you'll need 2 years or more.

Now, all that being said ... don't know your condition or interests, but if it was me, I'd find flat water lawn mow kiting gets pretty old pretty quick. Will need surf or new locations to mix it up, keep it interesting, or bank on needing somewhere with something else to see and do other than kiting! Take up surfing or stand up paddling to mix it up. Plus, sad to say, I am getting those repetitive strain injuries now, elbows, heels, hips, etc, where I don't think I can actually handle kiting without building in some breaks. Or maybe with day after day of time to fill, I finally take up yoga and cross training to try and regain that 30-something form. Plus in the free time learn to play guitar and speak 2-3 more languages. Oh man, I better buy a lottery ticket, need to start this sooner than later. Super exciting to think about such adventures.

Hi Griz,
I am from SF too. I go to Sherman occasionally, hopefully more this summer
Good on you to plan the adventure.

Places I have been to, worth going again:
La Ventana (winter months only)
Cabarete, DR - you stay on the beach and walk out to kite. You can take a short motoconcho (small motorcycle taxi ride) to Encuentro for surf in the morning
Tarifa, Southern tip of Spain - incredible wind, water a little cold. Could rent a wet suit. Great local culture and food
Prasonisi, Rhodes, Greece - Small beach separates waves and on-shore wind, from flat off-shore wind.
Gokova, Turkey - Thermal winds, cool location. Great food
Bali - good surf, crappy wind. had 1 day of 17m kite, otherwise not the best for kiting
Maui - reliable wind, great weather and vibe, but crowded and pricey


Places I would like to try:
Portugal: Although I visited, I did'nt have time
Morocco - good food, interesting culture and great kiting
Egypt - same as morocco
Cabo Verde or Fuerteventura
Brazil North coast - hosted by Toby!
Peru Mancora or Chicama for waves
Mauritius - although I may get killed by the waves or the sharks
As juandesooka said, Australia, NZ, Cook islands, Aitutaki.....etc
Kiting off a catamaran boat trip in Caribbean

Some of the places are cheap, such as Cabarete, Turkey, Greece - but flights may cost you more.

Keep us updated on your final plan and as you go through them - so I can plan such a trip.
And, don't say no to that girl at the bar -

in january, go to new zealand, rent a camper van and explore for 2 months. chase the wind using windguru 3-4 days out as direction flicks around a lot. east to west coast can be as little as 45 mins drive ( in auckland fir example).. ie tasman sea to pacific.

Melbourne Australia in December was pretty awesome.

Great idea, Griz. But you are not a fart, please, you sound decent!
If you are starting in SF I‘d do Cook Islands first (I think the outbound is still on Sundays) and end in Baja California before flying back home ONE YEAR LATER. Sounds epic! Skip Europe! So much to see besides Europe. Europe is great for a culture trip, but that‘s not what you are doing. You can follow the Magellanic Route or any of the great old explorers to give it some flair & identity. And please start a blog documenting your journey. I‘d definitely do the Indian Ocean, it‘s magical & South America, both Atlantic & Pacific.

The north of Brasil? That would be hard! But you can do the Northeast of Brasil (some advice here was given to show off, not really to help & inspire you. Oh and the Northeast of Brasil is YUUUUGE, definitely not all of it „hosted by Toby“ — I guess brownnosing is a sport for some here since they can‘t kite, I guess.) Plus Cumbuco is nightlife/hungry girls heavy, so it dorsn‘t sound like your cup of tea.

Looking forward to your reports!!! Hang loose & have a blast

thanks everyone for the suggestions so far pls keep 'em coming.

The trick with this little project is going to be planning out a route that will continue in one direction and hit these very cool spots at the optimum time of year. I am currently putting together a spread sheet based on a list started by Guest and expanded by Cheddaz in 2005. It is a tedious process

If anyone has specific beach / site recommendations within the suggested locations that is always useful as are tips for accommodation, transportation, people and places to avoid etc.

Longwhitecloud - I lived in NZ for a year and love the place. I may end up back there to retire. Unfortunately it is not my idea of tropical. Personally I am all for global warming. Growing grapes in England, swimming in the sea in Canada. Makes me want to go out and buy a great big SUV. Before anyone flames me that was meant to be humor (humour)

If there are any infectious disease docs out there pls send me a PM. I would like to pick your brain re vaccinations

Thanks again for your suggestions.

Whatever you do, please learn to hydrofoil before you leave!

This will DRASTICALLY change your trip for the better, I would estimate opening up ~50% more kite days/spots and you will be obsessed with it especially if you are old and want to sail around having a blast and it's quite challenging so that's fun too.

Foiling allows you to have a blast from 10-15knots, previously the torture windspeed for kiting since it's ALMOST enough, additionally it's not hard to find 10-15knot wind whereas 15+knots is much more rare

Hej Griz,
Go for it.
Some spots and times of year I enjoyed, but not in right order:
Naxos-paros in Greece in mid June to mid July are wind for sure. Avoid later in July and August due to continental euro crowd. I've spent 60+ days there over 3 year period.
NE Brazil, Ive been to Parajuru 2 years in a row, going again in late October. Epic spot, there's many others. Season lasts until November. There's a wind break Dec -March.
Dahkla is THE flat water spot. Off the beaten track...
Barbados - not so good, expensive ( skip it)
Mexico - Holbox and Playa Maroma - nice but expensive ( skip it).

If I was dreaming, I would go to Brazil 2-3 months and move along the NE coast to 3-4 spots. start in East part and move towards Jeri as you approach December. NE Brazil is fantastic and various spots and cheap if you are not picky.
Then New Zealand / Australia for 3-4 months, then Asia and/or south Pacific + Baja rest if time.

Can think of one place that meets all your criteria quite close by.
San Andres Isla Colombia, specifically Chamey's.