Best kitefoil destination Jan/Feb near-ish Europe

[Parksie]

I am thinking of foiling there in February so will be interested to hear how you like the spot. Have a great trip.

[Rigodon]

Thx for all the suggestions.
I decided to go to Zanzibar a little while ago and I will be there for 5 weeks.
I will update this post with my experience there at some point.

I fly to Zanzibar on February 28 for three weeks. I will bring twintip with boots, 12, 10 and 8m kites (weight 75kg)... I am considering whether it is worth bringing the surfkite board, I don't know if you can catch waves on the reef (I am not interested in freestyle strapless) .
And I'm also thinking of carrying the foil for light wind days... So I'll be very grateful if you post your first impressions of the spot

[leeuwen]

I arrived yesterday and had my first session today so this is an extremely early first impression.
Foiling is possible from about 2 hours before high tide and 4 hours after (according to a local instructor and seems accurate today).
How deep it actually gets depends on the tide cycle currently my 80cm mast is the right choice (today I could stand until very far out mostly mid to high chest (I am tall though at 1.90m ).
It think high tide is currently on the lowest side of the cycle so it should only improve from here.

Wind was plenty for me but very low teens like 10-12 knots maybe.

I would personally not bother bringing a twintip unless you bring a 18m + foil kite or if you weigh 50kg.
For what it’s worth: according to the locals it’s a very low wind year so might not apply to other years then 2023 for anyone reading this in the future.

I haven’t been to the reef yet. Seems risky with the foil at the moment (being in the lowest part of the tide cycle).
You also really don’t want any cuts and especially from the reef because this is proper tropics with all the nasty infection stuff that come with that.

Other things
* note that there a quite a few boats close to shore with VERY long anker lines so you need to be careful going out.
* It’s not that crowded at the moment because in 10-12 knots the twintips cannot go out so that’s pretty nice if you can foil. February will be even more off season so expect few kiters
* Make sure you bring sunscreen highest you can get. It’s REALLY easy to get sunburn here even in the early morning or late afternoon. Long lycra / hats or other sun block fabric are also highly recommended unless you are used to this kind of sun.

Will add an update in a week or so or if anyone has a question I can answer.

[Havre]

I remember my first days in Paje. Couldn’t stop sweating so the sunscreen got washed out Thankfully after a couple of days the body adapted. 30 was enough. Never got burned after that.

[Slappysan]

While I'm sure Zanzibar will be a great trip it seems a poor choice for a foil-centric getaway.

Did you consider Qatar or the UAE at all? They are all around 24 degree highs and 18 degree lows this time of year and they have thermal winds that are perfect for foiling.

[leeuwen]

No, those where not on my list at least and for me it’s no longer relevant since I already arrived in Zanzibar.
Good to know it’s an option but I personally rather “sponsor” with my money Tanzania than those oil states.

I would expect it to be similar to Egypt in regards to wind and temps (a little bit to cold for this long trip for my taste) and wind statistics according to windguru stations are worse than Zanzibar for January (only checked qatar)

[Slappysan]

Good to know it’s an option but I personally rather “sponsor” with my money Tanzania than those oil states.

Yeah, I think Tanzania is a awesome place to check out, I think I'd have a hard time choosing it over Maruitius though as I've never been there, but certainly a more interesting destination than the middle east as a whole. And I'm with you that 30 degrees is much nicer than 24 degrees. But I still think it's worth mentioning because the conditions there are very well suited to kitefoiling.

Also Qatar is a gas state, not an oil state if that changes your opinion of them at all.

I would expect it to be similar to Egypt in regards to wind and temps (a little bit to cold for this long trip for my taste) and wind statistics according to windguru stations are worse than Zanzibar for January (only checked qatar)

It is a bit warmer in the middle east than Egypt though, especially at night.
As for wind they get a lot more thermal winds there that come up around 11 and last 4-6 hours. In Egypt it's more of a continuous wind that might not blow. With the thermals you can rely on them as long as the sun is shining.

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[leeuwen]

Another update:
I have been here for 10 days now.

* Wind has been challenging for a bit: I was able to foil 7 out of 10 days however some of those where short sessions.
* It looks like by the end of next week a lot of 14-15 knot days are coming which is more “normal”
* Wind tend to pickup when it gets dark which can be quite annoying. If you rent storage make sure you can access your stuff from extremely early to late. eg I did a session at 0700 this morning because there was wind and high tide.
* The beach gets extremely narrow at high tide, can be a bit iffy if you need to launch your (foil) kite.
* Ridden the 103cm mast for quite a few sessions. If you have multiple masts I would tend to suggest to bring your shorter one though. I would guess you lose about half hour or so of riding time for 80 vs 100cm both at the start and at the end of high(er) tide.
* Its certainly not the easiest spot I have ridden. Quite a bit of current and can also get pretty choppy. It’s not super difficult but it’s not the easiest either.
* For absolute beginner on the foil (with a shorter mast) it’s actually quite nice since you can time it so it’s just deep enough that you can still stand but also foil.
* You are unlikely to need a kite for over 20 knots. Maybe pack something for max 25 knot gusts. All days so far have been around 12 kn or less

Some other practical info:
* unlike what some sites say on the internet: ATMs no longer seem to be an issue. There are at least 3 of them in Paje that I have seen (in one spot) and the taxi driver said there are 6
* Haven’t seen much mosquitoes
* It’s hot enough in the evening that you probably will wear shorts even in the evening. No use for long trousers in combination with the point above imho (very few mosquitoes)
* feels very safe, no issues walking alone outside after dark but do make sure you don’t leave stuff unattended, there are also pickpockets so be aware especially if you plan to experience the night life (there is a party somewhere every day of the week if you are into that)

[Havre]

Good thing they fixed the ATM situation. I had to have a ridiculous amount of cash laying around.

A bit sad to hear about the wind. I was kind of hoping to go back to Paje one day, but since I don't foil it doesn't sound like I would risk it.

[leeuwen]

A bit sad to hear about the wind. I was kind of hoping to go back to Paje one day, but since I don't foil it doesn't sound like I would risk it.

It’s been a really crappy wind year here up to now as I understand it. Last year it was mostly 12-15 knots every day for the season. This year December basically no wind and it now seems to slowly pick up. Will be interesting to see if the forecast for more wind next week means a shift to “normal” weather.
We have also seen some weird winds and weather in Europe so would not be surprised it’s indeed “out of the ordinary” year although we seem to get lots of these “weird” years with weather records etc the last decennium.

Probably best to book extremely late if you want to be really sure. Long term forecasts seems reasonably accurate as the forecast do not seem to change a lot.
However if it rains during the day it will totally mess up the forecast.
This part of the season is never going to be super exciting though, June/July season has much higher winds, more suitable to twintip (of course there are a lot more nice weather options closer/in Europe as well in these months)