Choosing a Spot in an Unfamiliar Country: Eight Questions Before You Book

Wind statistics look convincing on a website and say nothing about what riding there is like. Here is what to check before you buy tickets.

1. Depth and tides

We start away from wind, because this is what ruins trips first.

Waist-deep shallows are heaven for learning and a problem for foiling. If you are going to fly, the mast needs a metre, and at many famous spots low tide leaves knee-deep water.

What to check: tidal range and how the spot changes between tides. Where the range is two or three metres, your riding schedule is set by water rather than wind.

2. What is on the bottom

The second question, and it concerns your health.

Sand is ideal. Safe to fall on, easy to launch from.

Coral and rock mean shoes and caution. Coral cuts heal slowly and often get infected in the tropics.

Mud and mangroves are sticky at launch.

The reliable check is photos and video from the water rather than the spot's own description, where it is always sand.

3. Current

The most underestimated factor, and more dangerous than wind.

Along-shore current carries you while you deal with a problem on the water. Drop the kite and fifteen minutes later you are a kilometre from your car.

A rip carries you offshore, and you cannot fight it head-on.

What to do: ask a local school directly — "is there current and which way does it set". A decent school answers honestly, because it is their daily work.

4. Wind: not average speed but steadiness

Now the wind, and the key thing is not the number.

A steady twenty knots and a gusty twenty ranging 12 to 30 are two different spots with identical statistics.

Direction matters more than speed. Side-shore is ideal. Side-off works. Offshore is dangerous: it carries you out to sea, and without a rescue boat you should not go out.

Thermal wind is predictable: it blows from midday to sunset. On where it comes from, see our article on sea breeze and thermal wind.

5. Season — and what it means beyond wind

A kite season is two to four months a year, and arriving a month early means not riding.

Check more than the wind:

• Rain. Wind season and rainy season sometimes coincide.
• Water temperature. It decides whether you need a wetsuit and which one.
• Jellyfish and marine life. Some spots have their own jellyfish season.

6. Infrastructure: school, repairs, rescue

The point that decides what happens when something goes wrong.

Is there a school. Even if you ride independently, a school means people who can pull you out of the water.

Is there a repair service. A canopy tear two thousand kilometres from the nearest repairer ends the trip.

Is there rental. Insurance against lost luggage or breakages.

Is there a hospital nearby, and what kind. An unpleasant question, best asked before rather than after.

7. Water access and rules

Formalities that suddenly turn out to be central.

You cannot launch anywhere at every spot. There are paid zones, closed stretches, bans in swimming areas and hours when kiting is prohibited.

There may be insurance and licence requirements. Some countries will ask for a certificate — we covered levels in our IKO levels explained.

Check in advance: a ban is discovered on the beach, once the tickets are bought.

8. How crowded it is

Last on the list, not in importance.

A crowded spot is more dangerous than strong wind. Crossed lines, other people's kites at launch, swimmers in the run-up zone.

What to look at: video from the water in high season. The empty beach on the hotel website was photographed in May.

How to check all of this in one evening

Write to a local school. The fastest route: they will answer on current, bottom and rules more accurately than any website.

Watch video from the water, not the beach. From the beach everything looks the same.

Ask people who have been. Personal experience from last season beats any description.

Check wind statistics year by year, not averaged. A ten-year average hides the two years that failed.

Common questions

What should I check first — the wind?

No. Depth, bottom and current first: they decide whether it is safe. Wind only decides how much you ride.

Why is offshore wind dangerous?

It carries you away from shore. Without a rescue boat, such a spot is not worth going out on.

Why does average wind speed say so little?

A steady twenty knots and a gusty 12 to 30 produce the same statistic and a completely different experience.

Why check repairs in advance?

A canopy tear far from a repairer ends the trip. Rental and repair are your insurance.

What is the fastest way to vet a spot?

Write to a local school. On current, bottom and rules they answer more accurately than any website.

What to read next

Sea breeze and thermal wind, our seven steps to safe kitesurfing, and flying with a foil. About our own spot: the Mui Ne school page.