BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Hi

I'm an outright beginner and have set aside 3 weeks this January to learn how to kite board.

Can anyone recommend a place in the world where one has reliable but relatively benign conditions for a beginner in January? Also, would like good budget accommodation. I've heard of Dominican Republic or Vietnam but am not sure if they have enough flat water.

Ideally, I'd like somewhere like Isla Blanca just north of Cancun, but I think the one kite shop there (Ikarus) has shut down and moved south to Playa del Carmen.

Thanks a bunch,
Raz

I loved Costa Rica and Vietnam that time of year - super beginner friendly setups and cheap kite boys to walk your kite back up the bays. Definitely go somewhere where you can reasonably hire people to deal with you as you're learning - will make all the difference and let you maximize time on the water.

mighty wrote:I loved Costa Rica and Vietnam that time of year - super beginner friendly setups and cheap kite boys to walk your kite back up the bays. Definitely go somewhere where you can reasonably hire people to deal with you as you're learning - will make all the difference and let you maximize time on the water.

Which sites in Costa Rica or Vietnam would you recommend?

Have finally narrowed it down to Baja or Costa Rica. Has anyone been to either place and can recommend which is better for a beginner in January?

Baja kite board baja with Dante at http://www.kiteboardingbajaschool.com/ and staying at Captain Nemo's Landing in Los Barriles http://www.captainnemoslanding.com/

Costa Rica: http://www.kiteboardingcostarica.com/

raztec wrote:Which sites in Costa Rica or Vietnam would you recommend?

Bahia Salinas in Costa Rica and Mui Ne in Vietnam. Lots of good kiting contacts and support in both those places.

Costa Rica, Bahia de Salinas, could be very windy this January, due to a super El Nino.
Check Windguru and add the Blue Dream modification (adds 70% to the forecast) and you get an idea of the windspeed in the bay, for example it looks like this weekend it will be averaging in the 30's and gusting over 40knots. Generally it doesn't get that windy until January. Nothing is certain, but it looks like it's going to be seriously nuking this year, as it did last year.

If you check the Windguru archive from last year, January, 2014
you will see it's mostly purple, mostly 30's and some 40's.
That's probably too windy for learning, and you might spend a lot of time waiting for things to calm down.

Again, there's no certainty of this, but maybe factor this into your decision.

Dante is a great instructor. he got my wife staying upwind after a couple years. he has a few other instructors now but try to get him if you can:)


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Northern Brazil has perfect lagoons for learning and warm water.