Once your up and riding fairly comfortably one of the first things you’ll look at is what exotic beach can you visit (and rip on). The choice is pretty mind boggling and it’s pretty difficult to know the pro’s and cons of one spot from another. While we’re not going to make an exhaustive list of all the spots the world has to offer (although we do have a bloomin good go at it), we will highlight some of the considerations you may make and talk about some of the more famous spots.

Before you go anywhere you need to decide what is your outcome and what you are looking for. Whether you’re a freestyler, a wave rider or just like riding up and down throwing the occasional jump will all vastly influence your choice of destination.

There are several things you might want to consider and we have a quick look at all of them here:

Flat Water: Often the benchmark of choice for most people because everything is so much easier on flat water. There are no waves to throw you off the board and and many locations flat water is found in waist deep lagoons which make getting back to your board after you come off as easy as standing up and walking. That said there are several reasons to be wary. Flat water is easy…much easier than even a bit of chop and this can mean frustration when moving back onto waves or even chop from flat water ad many of the tricks that were soooo easy now seem almost impossible. in our Tarifa centre we often find people coming from Egypt or Dakhla telling us they can ride only to find in Tarifa conditions they can’t even get the board on their feet. Conversely learning the other way around people have their heartache during the learning process but can then cope with anything Mother Nature throws at them.

Waves: Are generally sought out by the more experienced riders. Waves are a LOT of fun when you can handle them but try to tackle them too early and you’re setting yourself up for a world of pain. My advise is if you’re looking to get into wave riding start with small waves, a trip to Portugal for the uninitiated (or even a hardened kitesurfer) can be intimidating with its rocky bays, brutal rip currents and powerful waves. That said if you’re a hard core wave rider there are few better places on Earth.

Bump & Jump: Often offering the best of both worlds bump & jump location will often have small wind blown chop or small waves with flatter sections in between. Perfect for the all round rider who wants a bit of everything.

Want It All?

Note many locations will offer 2 or even all 3 of the above conditions depending on which beach you go or what time of year you go. Brazil for example has huge flat water lagoons and great wave riding action to be found within a stone’s throw of each other.

The Most Important Ingredient

There are several other obvious factors which will influence your choice of location the most obvious being wind!

Many locations (in fact most) have a definite season when it is windy. In Europe the more reliable winds are generally to be found in the summer there the thermal properties of the wind make them blow consistently day after day. As soon as it starts getting colder wind tends to brought in by the low pressures sweeping in from the Atlantic and becomes more difficult to predict. There are several exceptions to this Tarifa for example doesn’t really have a windy season…it’s just bloomin windy all year round, it’s wind being due to the unique topography there.

It is obviously of vital importance to know what the wind is expected to do at that time of year before you book your holiday. Many a friend of mine has been sunbathing all week as a result of getting this wrong. Some places are windy all year round and it’s just luck of the draw as to whether there’s wind during the time you’re there. It is important to remember that wind is NEVER guaranteed at any location and if you go with a few no wind plans in place you’ll never come back from you holiday desolate because the wind failed to perform…this for me is crucial.

Wind strength is another obvious factor which you need to consider before you go. A week in Capetown during their season when it’s regularly blowing 35kts requires a very different mindset and very different kites to a week in Kenya where typically the wind is much lighter.

Guaranteed Wind..Pull The Other One

As we mentioned earlier wind is never guaranteed and you might want to check out what other activities are on offer before you commit. If you’re fine chilling on the beach reading a book, great, but if you get hyperactive doing nothing then a few active non wind related past times in the general area are probably crucial.

Ok so having covered the basics where are these places?

Year Round Location List

January

Western Oz

Cape Verde

Cape town-South Africa

La Ventana – Mexico

Boracay – Philipines

Namibia

St. Louis-Senegal

Copal-Costa Rica

Mui Ne Bay-Vietnam

Auckland-NZ

Nashiro-Japan

Baja

Barbados

Kenya-mombasa

BVIs

Carmelo-Uruguay

Buenos Aires – Argentina

Hong Kong

Tarifa

Puclaro-Chile

Yemen-Red Sea

February

Margarita

Western Oz

St. Louis-Senegal

Cape Verde

Melbourne

Hua Hin – Thailand

Cape Town – South Africa

La Ventana – Mexico

Boracay – Philipines

Cap Chevalier-Martinique

Zanzibar-Tanzania

Copal-Costa Rica

Mui Ne Bay-Vietnam

Belize

Florida-USA

Nashiro-Japan

Baja, Barbados

South Padre Island-(TX)USA

Esbjerg-Denmark

Cabarete

Bonaire-Carib

St. Lucia-Carib

Whitehaven-Whitsunday Islands

BVIs

Noordwijk ann Zee-Netherlands

Tarifa

Puclaro-Chile

Yemen-Red Sea

March

El Gouna-Egypt

Cape Verde

St. Louis-Senegal

Cabarete

Margarita

Western Oz

Hua Hin – Thailand

Cape Town – South Africa

La Ventana – Mexico

Esbjerg-Denmark

Antigua

Goa

Cap Chevalier-Martinique

Zanzibar-Tanzania

Copal-Costa Rica

Mui Ne Bay-Vietnam

Belize

Florida-USA

Barbados

South Padre Island-(TX)USA

Bonaire-Carib

St. Lucia-Carib

Negombo-Sri Lanka

BVIs

Ibiza

Ireland

UK

Cape Hatteras-USA

Tarifa

Puclaro-Chile

Yemen-Red Sea

April

Margarita

Western Oz

Hua Hin – Thailand

Antigua

Cap Chevalier-Martinique

Belize

Banff-Canada

Barbados

South Padre Island-(TX)USA

Safaga-Egypt

Bonaire-Carib

St. Lucia-Carib

Whitehaven-Whitsunday Islands

Negombo-Sri Lanka

Ibiza

Ireland

UK

Tarifa

Cape Hatteras-USA

Puclaro-Chile

May

Margarita

Antigua

Cape Hatteras-USA

Leucate-France

Essaouira-Morocco

Iraq

El Vaque-Venezuela

Ras Sudr – Egypt

Rhodes-Greece

Porto Pollo – Sardinia

Fuerteventura

Cabarete

Bonaire-Carib

St. Lucia-Carib

Whitehaven-Whitsunday Islands

Ibiza

Aruba-Carib

Tarifa

UK

Puclaro-Chile

Mancora-Peru

June

Fuerteventura

Tenerife

Cabarete

Raratonga

The Gorge – USA

Bol-Croatia

Foddini-Italy

Ponto de Oura-Mozambique

Seychelles

Maui-USA

Fiji

Essaouira-Morocco

Guincho-Portugal

El yaque – Venezuela

Rhodes – Greece

Levkada – Greece

Dakhla – Morocco

Corsica

Rhodes-Greece

Pirlanta-Turkey

Paramali-Cyprus

Porto pollo-Sardinia

Lanzarote

Bonaire-Carib

St. Lucia-Carib

Sri Lanka

Tarifa

Aruba-Carib

Puclaro-Chile

Mancora-Peru

July

Cabarete

Fuerteventura

Tenerife

Mauritius

Naxos-Greece

Raratonga

Leucate-France

The Gorge – USA

Pirlanta-Turkey

Bol-Croatia

Foddini-Italy

Seychelles

Solomon Islands

Maui-USA

Fiji

Tahiti

Essaouira-Morocco

Guincho-Portugal

El yaque – Venezuela

Rhodes – Greece

Levkada – Greece

Dakhla – Morocco

Corsica

Paros-Greece

Porto pollo-Sardinia

Lanzarote

El Gouna-Egypt

Safaga-Egypt

Sinai

Eilat-Israel

Paramali-Cyprus

Sri Lanka

Maui-USA

Aruba-Carib

Puclaro-Chile

Tarifa

Mancora-Peru

August

Cabarete

El Gouna-Egypt

Fuerteventura

Tenerife

Brazil

Mauritius

Cape Verde

Naxos-Greece

Raratonga

The Gorge – USA

Bol-Croatia

Pirlanta-Turkey

Foddini-Italy

Zanzibar-Tanzania

Guincho-Portugal

Seychelles

Solomon Islands

Polynesia

Maui-USA

Fiji

Tahiti

Essaouira-Morocco

Corsica

Rhodes-Greece

Paramali-Cyprus

Paros-Greece

Lanzarote

Safaga-Egypt

Eilat-Israel

Sinai

Sri Lanka

Maui-USA

Aruba-Carib

Tarifa

Puclaro-Chile

Mancora-Peru

September

El Gouna-Egypt

Tucus-Brazil

Mauritius

Pirlanta-Turkey

Zanzibar-Tanzania

Seychelles

Solomon Islands

Polynesia

Sumbawa – Indonesia

Maui-USA

Madagascar

UK

Corsica

Ireland

Canada

Germany

Israel

Sinai

Noordwijk ann Zee-Netherlands

Puclaro-Chile

Tarifa

Mancora-Peru

Cumbuco Brazil

October

Tucus-Brazil

Western Oz

Sumbawa – Indonesia

Madagascar

New Caledonia

Chile

UK

Esbjerg-Denmark

Ireland

Buenos Aires-Argentina

Carmelo-Uruguay

Noordwijk ann Zee-Netherlands

Cape Hatteras-USA

Tarifa

Puclaro-Chile

Mancora – Peru

Cumbuco – Brazil

November

Melbourne

Cape town-South Africa

Tucus-Brazil

Western Oz

Namibia

Sumbawa – Indonesia

Auckland-NZ

Madagascar

New Caledonia

Buenos aires-Argentina

Carmelo-Uruguay

Hong Kong

Leucate-France

Noordwijk ann Zee-Netherlands

Tarifa

Puclaro-Chile

Cumbuco Brazil

December

Melbourne

Tucus-Brazil

Cape Verde

Western Oz

Cape town-South Africa

La ventana-Mexico

Namibia

Copal-Costa Rica

Mui Ne Bay-Vietnam

Auckland-NZ

Nashiro-Japan

Baja

New Caledonia

Boracay – Philipines

Buenos aires-Argentina

Carmelo-Uruguay

Monastir – Tunisia

Hong Kong

Leucate – France

Cape Hatteras-USA

Tarifa

Puclaro-Chile

Yemen-Red Sea* – means varies depending on the island or side.** – monsoon season this is the dry side of the island

Feel free to add you’re own suggestions in the comments below: