Every two weeks or so I have to sit down for many hours and craft a story of our most recent adventure. Sometimes they write themselves, other times they are a real grind. Jody (our photographer and my partner) has to spend hours getting all the photos ready. After over a decade of traveling the world by sail seeking out wind and waves we realized we’ve got a lot of information stored away that might be of interest to fellow adventure-seekers. But we don’t really have a place to easily share what we’ve learned. Well, we’re hoping this new blog is the answer. We’re going to try to make the blog informative, interesting, visually stunning, and our ultimate goal- to inspire and motivate people to get out there. Be it on water, in the air, or somewhere in between- it’s a great big wonderful world out there. So here we go, the top 10 places to kite that we’ve found on our world tour. Thus far 40,000 + miles, 40 countries, 131 locations, over 90 of them virgin.
10) Bazaruto, Mozambique. Ranks easily in the top 3 spot on the expedition thus far as the place has it all- incredible paragliding and insane kiting and beauty in reserve. It would be higher on the list if the wind season was longer and more reliable, but we scored some very very nice days. Can’t argue with just flat out beauty. Check out some insane images that Jody shot from her paraglider.
Photo Jody MacDonald
9) Barbuda, Caribbean. We spent nearly a week with Shannon Best, Clinton Bolton, Stacey Fonas and Alex Brown in this remote outpost in an otherwise very busy cruising area. If you like flat water kiting, it doesn’t get much better.
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8) San Blas, Panama. Now that I’m writing this I’m surprised to put another spot in the top ten that was in the Caribbean as the clear overall favorite region is definitely the Pacific, but for wind there is hardly more reliable than the San Blas and the culture was magical. It’s the postcard spot- sand islets, palm trees, aquamarine water- bliss.
The Beautiful San Blas Islands
7) Los Roques, Venezuela. This was our favorite place in the Caribbean by far, and the only place that is similar in some ways to the much larger, much more remote Pacific. We didn’t score a lot of waves, but the sand cays just scream kiting.
Alvaro Onieva rips across lagoon in Los Roques
6) Atolls, French Polynesia. We traveled through this rather remarkable area of French Polynesia (sorry, made an oath to not give the specifics) with Moehau Goold, Mauricio Abreu, Clinton Bolton and Josh Mulcoy and scored some of the best waves of the expedition. Difficult to get to, logistically incredibly challenging, unbelievably remote, insanely beautiful and wicked sharky- it’s an awesome place to have an adventure. Hint- it’s NOT Tahiti, or any of the other well known islands (even though we say “Tahiti” in the film).
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5) Raivavae, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. This one is way up here in the #5 spot for two reasons- there is hardly any other way to get there except by offshore yacht, and the wind CRANKS. Add to that quite possibly the most stunning island in all of the Pacific (yes, even over Bora Bora) and absolute solitude…and a lot of Humpback whales, and there you have Raivavae.
Kiteboarding in Paradise
4) Anakao, Madagascar. This only gets #4 rating for the consistency and quality of the wave. Flameballs is an incredible machine-like left hander. But for much of our visit the winds were too offshore. The anchorage is rolly, and without a yacht it’s a hell of a place to get to. But god, when it’s on- it is SO SO on. Watch out for malaria…
Sky Solbach on Flameballs
3) Micronesia (Pohnpei and Kosrae). This fertile region in the middle of nowhere holds a lot of secrets and we can’t give them all away either. Ranks up there at the number two slot for rainfall- IN THE WORLD. But in the windy season you can expect to score some serious waves, some amazing flatwater, plenty of fish, lots of manta rays, and a heap of jet lag. Another spot on this list that is seriously difficult to get to, but worth the effort.
Cameron Dietrich rips up P Pass
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2) Cargados Shoals. This is the hardest to reach place on the list. Smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the only way to get in is by offshore sailing yacht. There is a small coast guard station and nearly 50 miles of shoals which are a kiters playground. Flatwater galore, blew 20 knots solid day and night for the two weeks we were there, and getting a solid left hand wave pushes Cargados into the #2 position. Amazing.
1) Marshall Islands. This wasn’t a hard one to choose. If it wasn’t such a difficult place to provision and get around we might still be there. Remote is an understatement. It’s also quite an uncomfortable place to sail around- the anchorages are exposed and the wind nukes every December through April, which makes getting back to Majuro, the only place to get anything pretty rough going. But we found our guests, who included Pete Cabrinha, Kristin Boese, Mauricio Abreu, and Moehau Goold very willing to put up with the discomfort in return for easily the best kiting of the expedition. Radical waves, clean wind, enchanting locals, massive fish, pristine untouched coral. The next time around on the Best Odyssey II we may just plant ourselves there for a year!
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Please leave comments- love to hear what you think!
you are definitely living the dream. what an incredible experience. beautiful videos, keep them coming.
Will do and thanks for the comments Chris. Thank you!
Great to know the San Blas made the top ten since we live in Bocas, not too far away!!
Denise
Squamish, BC, Canada.
Wow…amazing! Truely some inspiring spots to add to the bucket list. Have you guys hit Palau yet?
Yes we hit Palau in 2009. Check out our videos page- we made a short movie of our nearly 2 months there. Awesome place!
That is the clearest and bluest water I ever seen. i need to go!!!
Heaven on earth! Is this the top ten list for rich people? : )
You would be surprised how cheaply you can do it for…and ummm I don’t have any money and I went to them all!
There isn’t Brazil ?
For me is one of the best !
Would love to, but we had very little demand. Had planned on exploring the Florianopolis region, but as much of the great kiting in Brazil can be accessed via land, it is cheaper for folks to stay in hotels, use dune buggies, etc than do it by boat. But hopefully near the end of The Cabrinha Quest, we will return!
Near of Fortaleza,, Ceará, Braszil, there’s a beach calls Cumbuco…you must see it…40 minutes from international airport and lots of people “flying”…
Any asian countries you guys can recommend?
Great vids.
For wind, the best we found was Sumbawa, Sumba in Indonesia in August and September. The problem is the equator- most of the countries are so close the wind just isn’t great. Vietnam has some great sites (but we didn’t got there). We also traveled through Thailand, Burma, Andaman Islands, Maldives- but the North Indian Ocean is cursed with very light winds, not great for kiting.
Cheers!
Don’t forget Okinawa Japan. I think it has some of the best kiting places I have ever been to.
Last year I kited Japan, Vietnam, Australia, and the Philippines. Japan sucks. I would be lucky to get 2 days a month kiting. Vietnam had great winds in season at Mui Ne, but the primary beach is eroded and overcrowded and full of beginners so you have to go to the other side of the fishing village for breathing room; not thrilled with the trash on the beach and in the water and the waves were generally around 2 meters but they had poor formation and resembled oversized chop. I found a fantastic remote place in the Philippines; the best kiting location I have found personally. 200 meters of flat onshore, 200 meters of flat sideshore, 50 meters of completely flat offshore and max during season average 20 kiters or less, so no crowds. 20 to 25 knots everyday during season; and, no, I’m not talking about Boracay.
Hi Jim,
Is that spot in Philippines also good for paragliding – some hills, cliffs etc.
Thank you.
Hi hope you can help where in the phillipines was it heaven to kite need a place to go in december 2015 any tips would be good
cuyo is awesome
Hey Jim
Is it pagudpud…. Or Coron…… Or carinie il Norte?
Looking to go to phillipines in a few months, you spot sounds amazing
Huff,
If you want to find a spot, scope it out. Boracay is a zoo and people work hard to keep pristine spots under wraps. If you head to Pagudpud, you might score some waves and if you head to Coron, you can work on scuba diving. As for kiting, try elsewhere.
Two warranty stories
So I bought a brand new 2013 cabrinha 12 vector from Silent Sports in Toronto, flew it 12 times and it split up the middle on the cannopy by the center strut. I could understand not warranting a year old kite but this kite is brand new. As far as Im concerned the vector is not built with quality ripstop. I just dont want anyone else to make the same mistake i did by purchasing a Cabrinha vector.
Next I bought a brand new 2013 12m NRG LF from REALwatersports, which i had to take a loan out from my boss at the shop I work at because I WORK AT A SURFSHOP!!! I’m addicted to KITING. got it two days ago. Pumped it up very gently, which is odd because i never pump kites up as gently as i did this one. might have something to do with splitting a brand new cabrinha. hooked up the lines put on my harness and then i heard a weezing sound. left wingtip leading edge blow out. Now this should be pretty cut and dry. shitty bladder send kite back u send new one. Nope still no response. both Cabrinha, LF, Silent Sports and REAL are showing they do not care about the consumers, us, just their wallets.
What the F does the Warranty cover?????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hear that in Europe returns and warranty are no problem why then are we getting f’d in th A?
Dude- no idea why you are posting this here? We have nothing to do with Cabrinha Operations or their warranties. Please contact your dealer. Sorry for the frustration, but we can’t help you. If you don’t have any luck with your dealer, please contact Chris Levins:
Chris Levins
Vice President/General Manager
Neil Pryde Maui
400 Hana Hwy
Kahului, HI 96732
808.877.7443
800.321.7443
Thanks, Gavin
Who puts together a list of top 10 places to kiteboarding on earth, and then after a mouthwatering description says “sorry took an oath not to share” on 2 of the top 6? Weak sauce.
Well if we gave it all away, they wouldn’t be that special right? It took us a lot of work to find these places, don’t really feel like spilling the beans!
The internet is seriously ruining all the good spots. You seriously have to get off the grid to find any decent spots these days. I really respect Cabrinha Quest’s wish to keep hush on the list. The only reason you’re even getting some hints is because these places are way too remote.
There is so much beauty in this world that lays undiscovered, and you guys are doing a pretty good job on discovering it.
I hope that one day I can travel the world with a group of dreamers like you , but for now I’m only 15 and I’m quite far away from that $20 000 mark. Are you thinking of opening a separate expedition, focused solely on cleaning up our oceans? I think it could benefit your organisation and our planet. It also seems like it might share your ideals.
Looking forward to the day we meet,
Michael
Thanks for your comment and stoke Michael. It is indeed our passion to help protect our ever-overburdened planet and we are actively working on solutions to the current environmental crisis. It’s very thrilling to know the younger generation is paying attention and are passionate about steering humans in a different direction. Charge on!
I want to ask you about living, permanent
In one of these places.i need beauty. Blue water.
Safety. Cool temps.affordable to rent for
6 months and then buy. Oh yeah.nice easy kiting. Nothing radical needed.i like to explore.
Camp and eat fresh seafood.
hello,
can i find a nice flat blue water to kite somewhere in Australia/Tasmania or New Zealand in December/January?
Thank you very much,
Ioana
There are many, though December January are not your best months. Summer has a lot less wind. Good luck!
are you kidding? this is the main season!!
Western australia (especially the north west) is full of perfect flatwater lagoons ins summer an the wind is during this season is one of the most consistent on earth… just ask google 😉
Hey mate…so good…I dream with traveli g arround the world sailing. I am in australia and seeking for a place to kite August/ Sept. ..need to find a cheap place so I can stay longer. Any recommendations in Indonesia? ?? Or Asia? Tx
I am have just come from Vilanculos/Mozambik and kitet around Bazaruto Island … I can only confirm, it’s s must-Kute-spot, just beautiful, awesome and inspiring!! The wind could be more reliable true, but when it’s there it’s just unique!! Had an unforgetable session today just before take-Off. There is a wonderful kitestation named VilanCool … I might be taking care of the place soon so if you require any Info, just let me know :-)!! Very special place for couples, for people needing to recharge and awesome for girls 😉 … See you soon, happy winds to all!!
I have a Kitesurf business on cuyo Island Palawan Philippines. From nov to March have wind between 15 and 25 knots. We also do a lot of kite safaris as we have so many islands that are windy. It’s the opposite of boracay so no crowds. We have onshore, side shore and off shore. Facebook page is uprising kitesurfing centre and web is kitecuyo .com. I personally have travelled to 79 countries worldwide and as kite destination it’s awesome. Personally when I travel I prefer Micronesia and Melanesia as you can take a surfboard and have guaranteed waves and also flat. I found places in PNG which were awesome as well as outer islands of countries like Tonga.
Thanks Trevinho!
I have been to Los Roques in Venezuela and I can say it was unbelievable. White snds, shallow water for hundreds of meters and crystal clear water. If you add up that the archipelago is not a very well known destination and the warmth of their people you get the perfect combination. In a few occasions we had a whole island just for us, nobody else came. There are not many places like this on earth
In Dominican Republic we have some good places like Buen Hombre in Monte Cristi it has a beautiful flat water beach. They have a little kite school running there, perfect place to practice Kitesurfing, not much people know of this place, is still a hidden paradise and a really good spot to relax too
Google for Buen Hombre or take a look at their website: http://www.kitebuenhombre.net
Years ago now I went on the trip to Micronesia (Cameron joined us). Totally insane, a once in a lifetime thing to do ? Erik
Yes! Good to hear from you Erik! Hope all is well.
The best time of visiting Andamans would be the month from October to March when the weather is incredibly pleasant. Even the months of April, might, and September sees tourists though a touch hot. it’s recommended to avoid the monsoon months of a Gregorian calendar month, July and August. please visit: http://spotandaman.com/