Last updated: September 2026. Written by the team who run these trips.
The best kitesurfing holiday depends on when you can travel and what you want under the board. Dakhla in Morocco is the most reliable all-rounder we sell, Soma Bay in Egypt is the easy five-star one that works most of the year, and Cape Verde and Brazil own the winter. Mauritius gives you a flat lagoon and a proper wave in the same week. Below are 15 places we run trips to, ranked, with the months that work for each.
How we ranked them
Every place on this list is somewhere we send people and know well. The order is a rough call on three things: how often the wind actually blows in season, how good the water is for a week’s kiting, and how easy the trip is from the UK. A flat lagoon with wind most days and a four hour flight scores higher than a famous spot that only works two months a year. If you already know your dates, skip to the month-by-month table further down. That will narrow it faster than the ranking will.
1. Dakhla, Morocco
Best months: March to November. Still kiteable December to February.
Dakhla is a big, shallow lagoon a long way down Morocco’s Atlantic coast, and it is the most reliable place we sell. The wind stats are the reason: wind 70 to 80% of the time in season, and even in December and January, the quietest months, it is still around 60%. The lagoon is flat over a big area, so beginners and people working on new tricks both get a lot done in a week. If you want waves there is an ocean side too, and October to April is the best time for that. Getting there means a domestic flight from Casablanca or Marrakech, which is the one thing to plan around. See our Dakhla kitesurfing holidays.
2. Soma Bay, Egypt
Best months: March to October. Good all year.
Soma Bay is a purpose-built resort peninsula on the Red Sea, south of Hurghada, and it is about as easy as a kite holiday gets. Five hours from the UK, under an hour by road from the airport, five-star hotels, and a big, flat, shallow lagoon with warm water most of the year. The wind is the Red Sea’s steady northerly, so it is reliable from spring right through the autumn and still decent in winter. It suits beginners, families and anyone who wants a comfortable week with a good hotel rather than an expedition. See our Soma Bay kitesurfing holidays.
3. Le Morne, Mauritius
Best months: May to November. Good the rest of the year.
Le Morne has both a flat lagoon and a proper wave, which most places don’t. Inside the reef is a big flat lagoon, which is where you learn and where you play. Outside it is One Eye, one of the best kite waves anywhere, and it is only for people who know what they are doing. The trade winds blow through the southern winter, May to November, which is also the dry season. It is a long flight, about twelve hours, and it is a luxury destination, so it suits a proper holiday where the non-kiting half of the family is looked after too. See our Le Morne kitesurfing holidays, or read our guide to kitesurfing Le Morne for the detail on the lagoon and the wave.
4. Sal, Cape Verde
Best months: November to March. April is still good.
Sal is the winter sun kite trip. The trade winds arrive in November and hold through to March, which is exactly when the UK has nothing to offer. The flight is about six hours and there is no jet lag. There is flatter water for learning and a proper wave at Ponta Preta for the riders who want it. It is a small, dry island and the kiting is the point of going, so it suits a kite-first week rather than a sightseeing one. See our Sal kitesurfing holidays.
5. The Ceará coast, Brazil
Best months: July to January. Peak is August to December.
Brazil’s north-east coast has some of the most consistent wind anywhere. The trade wind blows most days from August to December, the water is warm, and the coast is one long run of beaches and lagoons. That is why it is the home of the downwinder: you kite from one place to the next and get driven back. Prea and Ilha do Guajiru give you flat lagoons, and there are waves on the open beaches too. It is a long trip, ten hours plus and usually via Lisbon to Fortaleza, so it suits two weeks. See our Brazil kitesurfing holidays, including Prea and Ilha do Guajiru. Our Brazil kitesurfing guide covers the downwinders.
6. El Gouna, Egypt
Best months: March to November. Good all year.
El Gouna is the livelier Red Sea option: a resort town built around lagoons and a marina, north of Hurghada, with restaurants and some nightlife as well as the kiting. Five hours from the UK, warm water most of the year, and hotels where you kite off the beach in front of your room. The wind is the same steady northerly as Soma Bay and the water inside the reef is flat, so it is very good for learning. If you want the kiting with a town attached, this is the Egyptian one to pick. If you just want the lagoon and a quiet five-star, Soma Bay above is the one. See our El Gouna kitesurfing holidays.
7. Lo Stagnone, Sicily
Best months: May to October. March, April and November are good.
If you are learning, or you want to progress fast, this is the spot. Lo Stagnone is a huge lagoon on the west coast of Sicily and most of it is waist deep, so you can stand up, sort yourself out and try again without swimming after your board. It is about three hours from the UK. The wind is a thermal that builds through the day in summer, so mornings are usually gentler and it is better after lunch. See our Lo Stagnone kitesurfing holidays.
8. Porto Pollo, Sardinia
Best months: May to October.
Two hours from the UK, which is the shortest flight on this list, and a proper kite spot at the end of it. Porto Pollo is a sheltered bay in the north of Sardinia with flat water on one side and more chop on the other, and it gets the mistral, the strong north-westerly that comes down from France. That makes it good for a mixed group: beginners on the flat side, better riders out where it is livelier. See our Sardinia kitesurfing holidays, and our Porto Pollo guide for how the bay works.
9. Zanzibar, Tanzania
Best months: December to March, and July to November.
Two windy seasons, split by a rainy gap in April, May and June. The Kaskazi blows from the north-east from December to March and the Kusi comes up from the south from July onwards. The kiting is on the east coast around Paje: a shallow, turquoise lagoon inside a reef, warm water, and a beach that goes on for miles. It is a long trip with a stop on the way, so it works best as two weeks, or as the kite half of a safari trip. See our Zanzibar kitesurfing holidays.
10. Essaouira, Morocco
Best months: March to November.
Essaouira is the windy one. It sits on the Atlantic coast north of Agadir and the summer wind is strong and steady, which suits people who like a small kite and a bit of swell. It is not a flat-water spot. There is a big beach with waves and chop, so it is better for riders who can already handle themselves than for a first week. The town is the other reason to go: an old walled port with proper food and some life in the evening, which Dakhla does not have. About three and a half hours to Marrakech then a drive, or fly into Agadir. See our Essaouira kitesurfing holidays.
11. South Fuerteventura, Canary Islands
Best months: March to November. Good all year.
Four hours from the UK and kiteable all year, which puts it alongside Egypt for an easy trip. The south of the island has a long beach and, at low tide, a huge shallow lagoon at Sotavento that fills and empties with the tide, so you plan your sessions around the tide table. Summer is the windiest, when the trade winds are in. Beginners go on the lagoon and everyone else uses the open beach. See our Fuerteventura kitesurfing holidays.
12. Rhodes, Greece
Best months: June to October. May is good.
The Meltemi, the summer northerly that blows through the Greek islands, is what makes Rhodes work, and it blows hardest from June to September. The north-west coast gets it strong and reliable, and Prasonisi at the southern tip is the famous one, where a strip of sand joins a small island and you get flat water on one side and waves on the other from the same beach. Four hours from the UK and plenty of hotels, so it is an easy family or mixed-group trip. See our Rhodes kitesurfing holidays.
13. Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka
Best months: May to September. Strongest June to September.
Kalpitiya is a big, flat, shallow lagoon on the north-west coast of Sri Lanka, and the south-west monsoon gives it a steady wind from May to September. The water is warm, there are downwinders and flat-water spots up the coast, and the rest of Sri Lanka is on the doorstep. It is a long haul, about eleven hours plus a drive, so it is best combined with seeing the island. See our Kalpitiya kitesurfing holidays.
14. Holbox, Mexico
Best months: November to April.
Holbox is a small island off the top of the Yucatán with shallow, flat, warm water and a winter wind that runs from November to April, so it lines up with the UK winter. It is quiet, there are hardly any cars, and there are flamingos. It is a long trip, around ten hours to Cancún then a couple of hours by road and ferry, so think two weeks and add the rest of the Yucatán. Suits beginners and intermediates who want easy, warm water rather than big wind. See our Holbox kitesurfing holidays.
15. Alaçatı, Turkey
Best months: July to September. May, June and October are good.
Alaçatı is a shallow, sheltered bay on Turkey’s Aegean coast and it is one of the best places in Europe to learn. The water is flat and you can stand up in a lot of it, the wind is a thermal that comes in most afternoons in summer, and the town has become a destination in its own right, with good restaurants. Fly to Izmir, about four hours, then it is under an hour by road. See our Alaçatı kitesurfing holidays.
The 15 at a glance
| Destination | Best months | Water | Suits | Flight from UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dakhla, Morocco | Mar–Nov | Flat lagoon, waves Oct–Apr | All levels | Via Casablanca or Marrakech |
| Soma Bay, Egypt | Mar–Oct | Flat shallow lagoon | Beginners and families | About 5 hrs |
| Le Morne, Mauritius | May–Nov | Flat lagoon plus One Eye wave | All levels; wave for experts | About 12 hrs |
| Sal, Cape Verde | Nov–Mar | Flatter water and a wave | Intermediate and up | About 6 hrs |
| Ceará coast, Brazil | Jul–Jan | Flat lagoons, downwinders | All levels | 10 hrs plus, via Lisbon |
| El Gouna, Egypt | Mar–Nov | Flat inside the reef | Beginners and families | About 5 hrs |
| Lo Stagnone, Sicily | May–Oct | Waist-deep flat lagoon | Beginners, progression | About 3 hrs |
| Porto Pollo, Sardinia | May–Oct | Flat one side, chop the other | Mixed groups | About 2 hrs |
| Zanzibar, Tanzania | Dec–Mar, Jul–Nov | Shallow reef lagoon | All levels | Long haul, one stop |
| Essaouira, Morocco | Mar–Nov | Waves and chop | Intermediate and up | About 3.5 hrs |
| South Fuerteventura | Mar–Nov | Tidal lagoon, open beach | All levels | About 4 hrs |
| Rhodes, Greece | Jun–Oct | Flat and waves at Prasonisi | All levels | About 4 hrs |
| Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka | May–Sep | Flat shallow lagoon | All levels | About 11 hrs |
| Holbox, Mexico | Nov–Apr | Shallow, flat, warm | Beginners, intermediates | About 10 hrs to Cancún |
| Alaçatı, Turkey | Jul–Sep | Shallow flat bay | Beginners | About 4 hrs |
Where to go kitesurfing, month by month
This is the table to use if your dates are fixed. It only lists places where that month falls in the best part of their season. Months that are possible but quieter are left out.
| Month | Best bets |
|---|---|
| January | Sal, Zanzibar, Brazil, Holbox |
| February | Sal, Zanzibar, Holbox |
| March | Dakhla, Soma Bay, Sal, Essaouira, El Gouna, Fuerteventura, Holbox |
| April | Dakhla, Soma Bay, Essaouira, El Gouna, Fuerteventura, Holbox |
| May | Dakhla, Soma Bay, Le Morne, Lo Stagnone, Sardinia, Essaouira, El Gouna, Fuerteventura |
| June | All of May plus Rhodes and Kalpitiya |
| July | All of June plus Alaçatı and Brazil |
| August | All of July plus Zanzibar |
| September | Everywhere except Sal and Holbox. The busiest month for good reason. |
| October | Dakhla, Soma Bay, Le Morne, Lo Stagnone, Sardinia, Essaouira, El Gouna, Fuerteventura, Rhodes, Brazil, Zanzibar |
| November | Dakhla, Le Morne, Essaouira, El Gouna, Fuerteventura, Sal, Brazil, Zanzibar, Holbox |
| December | Sal, Brazil, Zanzibar, Holbox |
Who a kitesurfing holiday isn’t for
If you have never kited and you book a wave spot first, you will spend the week watching. Essaouira, One Eye and Ponta Preta are for people who already ride. For a first week pick a lagoon, Lo Stagnone, Alaçatı, Dakhla or El Gouna, and book a learn to kitesurf holiday with lessons built in. If you can’t face a long flight, that rules out Brazil, Mauritius, Zanzibar, Sri Lanka and Mexico, and you are choosing between Europe, Egypt, Morocco and the Canaries, which is still plenty. And if you are travelling with people who don’t kite, Mauritius, Soma Bay, El Gouna, Rhodes and Alaçatı look after them well. Dakhla, which is a long way from anything, does not.
Common questions
Where are the best kitesurfing holidays?
For reliability, Dakhla in Morocco. For an easy five-star week, Soma Bay in Egypt. For a short flight in summer, Sardinia or Sicily. For winter, Cape Verde, Brazil, Zanzibar or Holbox. For flat water and a proper wave in one trip, Le Morne in Mauritius. There isn’t one best. It depends on your month and your level.
When is the best time of year for a kitesurfing holiday?
May to October is the European season and the easiest time to go. From November to March the wind moves to Cape Verde, Brazil, Zanzibar and Mexico, and the Red Sea, Dakhla and Fuerteventura have wind all year. There is somewhere with good wind every month of the year.
Which kitesurfing destination is best for beginners?
A shallow, flat lagoon with steady wind and a good school. Lo Stagnone in Sicily, Alaçatı in Turkey, Dakhla, El Gouna and the Sotavento lagoon in Fuerteventura are the ones we send first-timers to. If you are wondering what a first week actually involves, our guide to how long kitesurfing takes to learn is the place to start.
What is the closest good kitesurfing to the UK?
Sardinia is about two hours. Sicily is about three. Fuerteventura, Rhodes and Alaçatı are about four. All of them have proper wind in season.
Can I go kitesurfing in the winter?
Yes. Cape Verde, Brazil, Zanzibar and Holbox are in season from November through the winter, and Egypt, Dakhla and Fuerteventura keep going all year. Winter is when a lot of our regulars go, because the UK is not offering much.
If you know roughly which of these fits, we can put the week together: flights, the right hotel for your level, and a school or storage on the beach. See all our kitesurfing holidays, or if you are travelling on your own or with children, our singles kitesurf holidays and family kitesurf holidays pages cover the places that work best for each. Tell us your dates and your level and we will point you at the right one.
