Kite Life

The Intercontinental Resort at Abu Soma’s a great place to stay with loads of good nosh and nice rooms. The drinks are a bit excessively priced but apart from that it was a really nice resort. The kitesurfing spot at the edge of Kreasy Bay is good with loads of wind and hardly any coral although there are a few reefs way downwind to watch out for.

My only complaint is that the Mark Warner Kite School had NO KIT. They don’t have much kit to start with and then nearly all of their kites (except for 3 very small training kites) ended up broken and torn. Unfortunately, I managed to trash my 12m kite and was unable to hire anything from them as they had nothing left that wasn’t trashed and a lot of people who’d booked lesions were being turned away as they had no kit to teach with. Mark Warner really need to pull their finger out and sort out this problem or they will end up with a very bad kite surfing reputation which is a shame as the guys (Dan, Ollie and Ewan) are great blokes and its a great spot but without kit its next to useless.

OK there is another kite centre slightly upwind of the resort but they were not interested in hiring out kit to people kiting with Mark Warner and I didn’t fancy kiting at their spot as it was quiet a hike to the shore from the centre and their spot was crowded with windsurfers. Overall though I found the kitesurfing brilliant and had a brilliant time.

Pauline and myself were staying for 3 weeks at hurgarda and staying at the sofitel hotel next door to colana watersports, on one of the few windless days we splashed out and hired a brand new Mitsubishi with a smart as you like driver who was told not to drive over 90 k/ph, we were charged a lot as we asked to be driven all over the place all day,, £28 felt like a lot of money but when he showed us the car we said ok, the main purpose was to visit the intercontinental hotel at the new find location- soma bay, 39 k south of the colana set up, 

The hotel is new and is set on the beach in a massive horse shoe bay (aprox 2 miles across),there is one other hotel on the opposite side of the bay, a quality operation; (Sheraton 5 star hotel) the bay is very shallow in places, coral free but a few muscle beds scattered around, with sand banks way out in the bay, a truly beautiful location, the hotel itself is so ornate, so opulent, so disgustingly posh, the guy who built it has far too much money, his yacht is in it’s own marina next to the hotel, it’s a complex that has had money thrown at it , gold leaf, marble, coy carp, rich furniture, 2 gold lifts in the massive fountain laden reception glide up to the floors in full view of the gob smacked guests, there is a swimming pool that starts at the edge of reception and you swim through well lit caverns with carved rock roofs out into the blinding sun and a gorgeous pool bar, under a massive rope bridge and into a larger ornate pool, it is unbelievable, winding our way through the spaced out sun beds to the soft sand beach we view the luxurious hotel rooms which all look out to sea, all have big patio’s, full length sliding windows and sun beds, we found a water ski / wake board, centre, then a dart catamaran centre, with new 16 ft darts (a top class racing cat) (I had one), then a dingy cte with canoes and laser dinghy’s, then round the bay to the windsurfing centre, further round is the kite surfing cte, we realised by then this was a Mark Warner run water sports beach, and when we asked for a full run down of the deal, it turns out that when you book with mark Warner then all the sports are free, apart from kitesurf tuition, and waterskiing, but then the bombshell. 

Due to kite surfing being a risky sort of sport, they run you out on a boat to a jetty in shallow water half a mile out and it’s there you blow up your kite and set off, shiit, not good, it put a right damper on things, but then what was that big building on the beach 300 yards away?? 

Bingo!! its an independent kitesurf /windsurf/kite buggy, activity centre, and it’s superb, German owned and run, www.surfmotion.com or peter@surfmotion.com the exact spot is called Abu soma-Egypt (the cte has been open for one year) 

Peter speaks perfect English and showed us round his superb set up, café, changing rooms, sun bed rest area, covered bubble pipe rest area, equipment wash off area, private gear storage area with full time 24 hr security guard with a side arm, showers, loos, storage rooms, rigging area with air line, north hire equipment, buggy things, massive windsurf range, and the sailing area, the wind is cross off , but the sailing area is 2 ft deep on average and massive, the wind being off shore leaves the surface flat, speed sailing and boosting heaven, the windsurf area is further out in the deeper water, so kiters get the best conditions, half way across the windsurf area is a sand bar, so if you get blown away you end up on this, windsurfers have to dismount to walk across it to deeper water, it’s a true kiters dream, heaven in the dessert, 

remember this, the Intercontinental hotel next door makes the movinpick at el gouna look like a dusty shoe box, and the Magawish look like a condemned rubbish tip, I have a full memory card with the images of this paradise, 

But this luxury comes at a cost! Food and drink are outrageous, by Egyptian prices, but still cheaper than an English city cte café, cappichino-£1.50. beer is £2.50 -500cl, 12% service and 2%city tax goes on every thing, the hotel itself is trying to build business, it has over 600 garden rooms and there were only 150 guests in house, so to us it looked like the hotel was empty, the Warner staff said you can book for late deals on the web and get silly deals outside kids holidays, 

you have to try this level of luxury once in your life, you could only afford it in Egypt, a 

It’s a 40 min drive from hurgarda airport, or 12 us dollars one way taxi, a bus to hurgarda town goes twice a day from the hotel but a taxi can be booked at any time for not much money, 

Think of a new Marriott hotel then gold plate it, this would be only good enough to be the beach restaurant, it’s that mind-blowing, 

Anyways back to reality, from there we went to hurgarda for late lunch, picked the best seafood restaurant ordered the dearest seafood grill £3.50, and premium Stella beer 6,4% £1.40, fresh orange juice 70 pence, 

Then we called in at the duty free for 2 bottles of gin and a litre of whisky, total cost £15, Inc city tax, 

A holiday can be made a lot cheaper by mixing what you buy from the hotel with what you can get from the town, your room mini bar is around 4x the cost of town price’s, beach price’s are around twice the price of town price’s 

apart from the taxi fares we spent around £14 a day, compare that to the £120 a day we were spending in south Africa ,we were only b+b there and half board here in Egypt, 

This is a review of a place i spent 2 weeks in May 2006. Thought i’d share the info

Flights:

Flights operate out of Gatwick to Sharm-el-Sheik with Excel Airways or British Airways. It is also possible to fly to Cairo which is a bit closer to the resort but more expensive.

Baggage:

My personal experience with BA Gatwick to Sharm was good (I must have had 30kg +), they didn’t seem to bother much about the size my bag or excess weight. One trick is to phone the airline in advance, they give you a reference number and when you get to check-in is say that you have sorted it out with BA; a friendly attitude and a big smile can’t do any harm.
At sharm airport on the way back they didn’t even bother weighting my bag, they sent it straight to the oversize luggage area.
However experiences seem to vary greatly in that respect, I’ve heard of some people who had to pay extra.

Transfer to resort:

from sharm, it’s about 3-5 hours drive; and about 2 hours from Cairo. Brace yourself for a bumpy ride…
On arrival in Sharm I was met with a great welcome by the holiday rep, he was literally running around the airport sorting everything out for me; I just handed my money for the visa (about £10) and I went straight through immigration overtaking a long queue of tourist, nice one.

The hotel: Paradise hotel

I got there at about 2am and was greeted by about 4 staff offering drinks and carrying my luggage to my room where a plate of sandwiches and various snacks was waiting for me.
The hotel is good, rooms are big with air con and cleaned every day. There is also a fridge which they restock every day with beer, wine and water.
The staff was extremely helpful, the catering manager, a comedian in the making, and his well earned name of “Mr pleasure” is intent on making your stay as pleasant as possible.
There is a bar and shisha hut where you can lounge about on cushion passing around the shisha.
It is possible to access the internet but you must have your own laptop and you have to pay for it, and forget broadband! Going online is definitely a slow process.
The only residents at the hotel were kiters, as this is the only thing to do beside lying on the beach or near the pool.

food:

It’s buffet style in the morning, and if you don’t see it you can ask and they will do their best to satisfy your wishes. Generally the food was good: a mix of Egyptian speciality with European style food.
Once a week they do an egyptian food evening in the shisha hut which is very nice.
Also once a week they do a barbie down on the beach with everybody from the kite center and the hotel, very laid back.
For lunch it is possible to order sandwiches and have them brought to the beach, they have staff who keep going back and forth from the hotel to the kite center. For hot food you’ll need to go to the pool bar which is a good….. 2mn walk.

distance from beach:

the beach is easy to get to, its a 5-10 min walk from the hotel, however they have golf carts going back and forth so only a 2 min drive. If you play your cards right with the driver you might even be able to drive the buggy for a laugh.
Its no problem getting a buggy to get back and forth from the hotel to the beach, any time and very quickly.

drink:

Apart from the hotel bar there is no pub or other place to get drink, but again the staff will bring you whatever you order even to the beach; beer is limited to the local Stella I’m afraid, not the best beer but it’s cheap. Otherwise they are very enthusiastic with experimenting on you with cocktails, with various degrees of success.
Overall food and drink are very cheap, you don’t pay as you go along, whatever you consume is put on your tab and you pay when you check out. And you can pay in euros or British £

kite club:

Stephanie and Sylvain run the place, and as native French speaking, but with perfectly fluent English. They both have been living in Egypt for some years, so they understand the culture and speak the language, very helpful at times. Also Liv a german girl with fluent French and English, can provide you with a yoga session before and after kiting. There is plenty of room and places to crash out after or in between sessions.
The storage facility is great, plenty of space to keep all your kites pumped up for the duration of your stay! Plenty of helpers help you pump your kites and attach your lines. You don’t need to ask, as soon as they see you getting ready to pump your kite, they literally rush to you and grab the pump from your hand and do all the work for you. They also launch you land you (even if you go too far downwind).
They have kite repair facilities with a sewing machine for on-the-spot repairs if necessary.
Officially, the kite centre opens 9 to 6.30-7pm but in reality they stay open until the last kite comes in, or the final beer has been polished off; definitely heaven.
The whole atmosphere at the centre is very laid back friendly and fun but professional, I haven’t had lessons myself but was told they were of a high standard and I have seen beginners progressing very quickly.
They have a rescue boat and every morning everyone helps out to move the boat to the water edge.

summary : top set up.

kitesurfing spot:

There is plenty of room on the sandy beach. There is a launching spot and a landing one so it’s well organised. The water has a sandy bottom for first 50m, then a small sandbar with sharp rocks and shells; so be careful there; I got cut under my foot on the first day there and walking on hot sand was agony for the rest of the 2 weeks I spent there, the cut wouldn’t close as I was in the water all the time. Luckily all pain went away when I was kiting. After the sandbank it’s about 500m of shallow clear warm water and further it’s the big blue…
The water is generally flat, a wee bit choppy on a very windy day but nothing that qualifies as waves, so a great place to learn and progress. If you ditch your kite then the boat comes within a few minutes to either help you to relaunch or give you “the lift of shame” back to the beach… so as far as safety goes you it can’t get better than that.
There is also possibility to go to a day trip to a lagoon next door to the Moon Beach resort…. Very flat and shallow water, total bliss if you like that sort of thing.

wind:

The wind is generally cross, cross on from the North and very steady. I was there for 2 weeks in may 2006 and the first week we had a constant 28-30 knots. Because it’s very hot, the wind is very light so bigger kite than expected are needed (I was using my 9m diesel all the time). Unfortunately the second week we were unlucky and got very light winds, even if they kept telling us that no wind periods never last more than 3 days. I guess it’s part of the sport.
Generally the winds were strongest with the coming tide. It is tidal but the tide direction isn’t an issue at all, it’s kitable all day long, some days we kited with the sun setting on the sea… total bliss.
Investment in some serious waterproof sunscreen is a must!

Social scene:

no clubs or pubs, the entire social scene revolves around the hotel and kite centre, not such a bad thing as so you end up mixing with all the guests from the hotel and kite centre and you get to meet more kiters than you would if you had the opportunity to go out into town with your group. Nonetheless there is always the possibility of a bit of boogying action in the shisha tent or a the centre on the beach. When I was there there was only a handful of guests at the hotel so we tended to have a big table at night and it was very easy to mingle and stay late….. too easy in fact.
Don’t expect to spend much money while you’re there on night outs, because there’s nothing much to spend it on and everything’s so cheap anyway (1 Egptian £ is about about 10p)

Getting around:

Town is a 15 mins mad drive by a the local taxis, and they cram up as many people as can possibly fit in the car, I’ll never forget the 15mn drive, 7 of us + the driver in an old Peugeot 505, 2 were sitting on the passenger sit and 5 in the back… a perilous experience not for the faint hearted and I’m still not sure which is the legal side of the road to drive on… But on a positive note it is dead cheap and against all odds we did make it back to the hotel in 1 piece.
There are no shops for miles … so don’t forget that.
The kite centre can organise trips to a local Bedouin market, where you can find local food products and some Bedouin clothing, don’t expect to find curios or any form of souvenir, this market is by local people for local people and at the time a small group of tourist there was an attraction for them. They loved it and were extremely welcoming. They don’t speak any English so communication can be difficult and that is when Stephanie and Sylvain local language skill came extremely useful.
It is also possible to spend the day visiting Cairo and the pyramids (it’s a 2 hours drive by taxi and again can be organised by the centre). I think I remember It came to £50 for the day so a bit pricey perhaps but well worth it. Several other excursions can be organised, some lasting a few days in the Sinai.
In brief a great spot for learning and progressing and if you just intend to focus your holiday onto kiting without being too bothered about the night life.

The only negative thing about the place I can think of if those damn shells and sharp rocks that cut my feet ;-(

We stayed in room 8512 back of the kite beach in a lagoon approx 2 minutes walk to the kite beach, they are mini villas 4 separate rooms + bathroom with a common central area & terrace, we thought it was bit weird at first but we ended up good friends with the couple opposite.

Friends of ours were stuck down at the other end of the hotel, so they asked to move & were put in room 1120, which was on the kite beach ground floor, behind the kite centre, so it would be worth asking for a room around there. I used the kite storage £30 at the centre save carting it back to our room, you also get free water, tea & coffee, Airline etc. But if you get a room on the beach then no need.

Wind Reports & webcam this is at Mangroovy approx 2 miles upwind from Movenpik but same conditions:

http://www.kitepower-elgouna.com/en/…ther_data.html

Beach is tidal:

http://www.kitepower-elgouna.com/en/…_calendar.html

However we found that in our week even at low tide although shallow you could still get out (back in July it dried up I walked out to the deep water first day but I wouldn’t recommend it, how I got across the reef without shredding my feet I don’t know, it’s full of sea urchins as well).

This time we had really good winds for the first 4 days, mainly 12m (bow kites) but one day 9m which was awesome, kited upwind to the Marina & then back twice. The next bay upwind is nice only 1 other kite in there & the water on the corner near the big house was super flat going into some waves on the reef. I got some massive jumps, my biggest ever I reckon heading in on the flat water, as high as the house roof, watch the water depth though. The second half of the week the winds were mainly in the morning & at dusk, so if it looks like this pattern is in then you have to get out of bed or grab a late session as the sun goes down which was pretty amazing scenery as the sun drops behind the mountains.

Seems to be an increasing number of Russians beginners & just getting the hang of it, they don’t seem to have much common sense & drink on the beach so keep well clear.

Used a shorty wetsuit, might have got away without it on the hottest days, temp went from low 20’s to high 20’s toward the end.

At night there are 2 areas to go Down Town which is 10 mins walking distance and the Marina which you need a taxi or a Tuc Tuc, £1 each way. Down Town is cheaper area to eat, we ate in the Oriental Grill which is Egyptian food – good & a fish place begins with H something? up some stairs of the main square excellent serves all type of food super cheap, there is a Supermarket underneath that sells Wine that is ok for £5 to £7.50, Sakara lager is good too.

In the Marina there is a curry house on the right of where the taxi’s stop – excellent & cheap. We found the Captains Inn was good. Good Bar at the end of the Marina, Moods. There is disco at Mangroovy Beach upwind from the Marina on Wed worth a look. We also ate in the Thai in the hotel which is ok.

At night we found you need jumper, jeans + hat if you want to keep warm sitting outside.

‘All the gear but no idea’ is a phrase often used by kitesurfers. It refers to those people who rush out and buy all the kit but have never been trained. It’s also a learning method that inevitably leads to you ending up with a rather long spell in traction. And never having been partial to hospital food, it’s the reason that I’ve come to Egypt to learn how to kitesurf - which in extreme sports circles has become the ubercool alternative to snowboarding.

For, not only are the conditions around Abu Soma ideal for the sport, you can also get tuition here from the experts and then spend a few days topping up the tan on one of the fabulous surrounding beaches. Admittedly, you shouldn’t expect to be able to pull kite loops or jump massive waves after a week in the water but you can master the basics in just a few days. Or at least you can according to my instructor, Dan Story. Harness the beast There’s a quite definite syllabus to follow when learning to kitesurf, Dan tells me. ‘Stick to it properly and I’ll ensure you get the best enjoyment when you are up and riding,’ he says when I tell him I’m bored of watching him show me how to fly a land kite and want to get on a board as soon as possible.

Dan spends our first morning explaining everything about wind to me: its direction, force and the all-important power zone. ‘You can fly a 13m kite and it’ll pull you along with just your fingertips guiding the bar. But move it ten degrees into the wrong part of the zone and you’ll end up face planting from here to Saudi,’ he deadpans. Thankfully, there are three releases you can use to ditch the kite if this happens. ‘We don’t want you smacking against a cliff,’ Dan says. ‘But the main thing to do is not panic.’ Easier said than done, one imagines, when your arms are being ripped out of their sockets and you’re being involuntarily yanked at 45kph, gasping for air and grating over coral reefs.

The unnerving conversation makes me slightly ambivalent about taking the kite from Dan and hooking it on to my harness while still on land. It’s a feeling close to that of handling a deadly boa constrictor but being told it’s harmless: you want to believe it is, however you know these creatures have instincts and your inner script is flashing up with luminous warnings. The sensation of flying a Flexifoil Strike 2 power kite is intense. Working together with Mother Nature to harness this beast gives an unequalled adrenaline rush and I can soon feel my addictive nature kicking in. Different techniques are required for flying varying sizes of kites and Dan takes me through all these. The bigger the kite, the more stable it feels and the lighter you can be in your movements. It’s a control freak’s dream having all this power at your fingertips. Skimming along Once I’m able to control the kite, it’s time to hit the water where I have a few goes at body dragging.

This is where you allow the kite to drag you over the top of the sea before attempting to water-start with the board. The board has footholds for your feet to ensure it doesn’t slip off and, thanks to my being able to both wake and snowboard, I’m soon up and away. Within minutes, I’m 100 per cent hooked and as I skim along the tips of the waves, I resolve to get some kit when back in England and come back to Egypt as soon as possible. Now I’ve got an idea, it’s time to get the gear. Culture corner Be in the know before you go and learn a little of the lingo. So you’re up on your board and you’re flying along with the wind in your hair just taking in the awesome scenery when suddenly you see a head bobbing in the water a couple of metres from your board. What do you shout? Well, we have two examples: You could try ‘Efsah tareek laakdr wakefa’, which is Arabic for ‘Out the way, I can’t stop this thing’. But you’re more likely to need the German equivalent ‘Steigen sie der Weg aus, den ich dieses Ding nicht aufhalten kann’ thanks to the number of Teutonic tourists here.

Abu Soma is by the Red Sea on Egypt’s east coast. A combination of forceful winds sweeping in from the Eastern Desert and bath-warm, flat lagoon waters make it an ideal place to kitesurf.

Tommy Friedl Pro Center, Jasmin Village, Hurghada – Egypt
The first thing you notice as you circle over the sea with the plane preparing to land, is that the Red Sea is definitively not red. Whoever came up with this idea must have had too much red wine…. The second thing you notice is the whitecaps, plenty of them. The deep blue, green in the shallow areas, expanse of water is covered with these little sheep, all running downwind, but never seemingly getting anywhere. From above, the seas, the desert, even the tiny little people windsurfing seem perfect.As the plane lands and taxies to the terminal, the excitement level rises a notch, only to climb sharply again as we step onto the tarmac and feel the sauna like heat attack us with relentless power, driven by the wind.
As we drive to the hotel, we notice the barbed wire fences of the airport are covered with multi colored plastic bags stuck at different heights, another good sign. On one side, the desert, hot, arid, unfriendly, lifeless, derelict buildings, not at all like the scenery from the plane: no sand dunes in this area, just hard, caked sand. Even the hills (mountains?) in the background are just a darker shade of beige, sometimes almost black, over backed, as if someone had left the oven on for too long. On the other side, green, blue water (definitively not red…), palm trees, grass, cacti, buzzing with activity, a hotel being constructed here, another being renovated there, life, as it is almost everywhere else. We arrive at our hotel, by this time the wind has died down, go through all the check-in procedures and drop our luggage in our “Bungalow” and head for the beach to find the windsurfing center and organize our gear for the next 2 weeks, maybe even get some sailing in, as, arriving at the beach we realize it’s still blowing quite hard, the hotel buildings were just shading us.
It takes us a while to orient ourselves and we finally find the Tommy Friedl Pro Center. Unfortunately it is closed (ok, in our excitement we didn’t realize that it is 19h00, local time (Egypt is 1 hour ahead of Central European time). The area is empty, but there are rows upon rows of boards, and pre rigged sails everywhere, for us never having been on a windsurfing holiday, the place is paradisiacal. Instead of sailing, we just head out to the sea and enjoy the warm, yet refreshing, greenish crystal water, the sun setting over the hills in the background, igniting the sky with different hues of red and orange. The should have called this place the Red Sky, not the red Sea…….
 
The surf center in the evening light
We have dinner, enjoy the activities organized by the hotel, and finally go back to our bungalow, anxious about the coming dawn: Will it prove to fulfill the promises of the day just past?
A not so early rise (why not, we’re on vacation….) promised a great day as at around 9h00 the wind was already blowing quite hard. We had breakfast, not hurrying thinking that thermal winds usually get stronger in the afternoon when the temperature is at its maximum, we headed of the surf station and organized everything that needed to be organised and finally got our boards and sails and hopped on the water. The wind had died down, but was still quite good (15kts). I started off going not so far just to check things out, scope the area around, make sure my sail is not too big etc… after a few minutes, I realized that the wind seemed to be calming down and very gusty, it was hard to keep a plane all the way back to the beach on the last straight and I got back to wait around for the wind to pick up again. As it turned out, the wind didn’t pick up again that day, despite the promises of the people working there. At around 17h00 the wind did come back to a decent force, but was very irregular and it didn’t last very long.
So it turns out that in Hurghada, the wind is stronger in the morning where it is side-offshore, and then turns around 11h00 to become side-onshore and lessens down a bit, with a bit of a revival around 17h00. We spent 14 days, of which only 2 were really good (4.1m and 4.7m) a few of them, maybe 4, were good (5.8-6.2) and unfortunately too many of them where it would have been good with a 7.4-8.0m sails. These sails are available at the surf station, but I didn’t bother.
 
Other things to do in the area, when the wind is not blowing:  
Snorkeling: The easiest available snorkeling: right next to the beach, walk to the beginning of the deep waters and swim for 5 meters from there on, you can swim through quite a big number of coral reefs, if there is a bit of wind, make sure, for your own safety, that you do not drift into the windsurfing area.
On windless days, where nobody is on the water, there are some even more interesting reefs in the windsurfing area of the beach. You didn’t bring your equipment? For 15 Egyptian pounds, you can rent for a whole day a mask, snorkel and fins, the later not necessary) at the Jasmine Village (neighbouring hotel) dive center. The snorkeling amazed me, I have never dived outside the freezing gray waters of the lakes in Canada, and the coloured corals, fish of every types and shapes, left me slacked jawed, which is quite dangerous when snorkeling….I will try to make a page of pictures of all the fish I saw and corals, but it might take some time as I took none, and will have to borrow from other websites. This was just the coral reefs near the surf station, everyday, the Jasmine Dive center organises, snorkeling and real diving trips to the outer islands, some of which are famous, and the deeper sea itself, which has a worldwide reputation for being one of the most amazing diving places on earth. I have no problems believing that after having had a beautiful glimpse of it in the bay where we were staying.
Archaeological trips: Of course, you are in Egypt, what else should you do on non-wind days but visit the great sites that history has to offer: Luxor, Cairo, and Aswan.
Visit the town: Go and visit Hurghada and it’s market, the town is approximately 15 km from the surf center, or 2 Egyptian pounds if you use the minivan taxis, do not let them charge you more than 3…..
The Good and the Bad
We spent a total of 2 weeks there, staying in the Aladdin hotel, close 200m from the surf station and all in all, we were disappointed with our vacation, the statistics were not in our favor (normal September shows a 70% of force 4 winds for more than 3 hours), but there is nothing we can do about that.
 
When the wind is blowing, the area is nice and fun, the chop gets high enough to get some good jumps on the way out from the beach, mainly, but the way back is nice as well. I have never been in a tropical windsurfing area, and the blue-green waters are very attractive and fun to sail on: the colour of the water changes from deep blue to green to a slightly darker shade of green, to go back to a light blue and so on.
The surf station is well equipped, plenty of boards, and sails, all pre rigged, a good variety of the same sizes, so they don’t run out when everybody is going with 5.0. It is easily possible to change boards as the wind conditions vary; they even have a few young very friendly locals to help you carrying the sails to and from the beach (not that the distance is very long, 25m, but the sand does get really hot).
When the wind is blowing, the instructors from the surf station in the afternoon are often on the water demonstrating a variety of freestyle moves.
The surf station organizes some activities, in case you get sick of the ones from your hotel: Movie nights right on the beach on Mondays, on Saturdays there seems to always be a voodoo party somewhere in town.
 The wind is irregular, due to the presence of other hotels in the bay (either there or being built).
The area for total beginners is pretty good, behind the surf station, a little artificial lagoon, but it is very small. The beginner’s area on the sea itself is very small, maybe 25 meters long, and for someone who is not comfortable water starting or would like to learn, there isn’t much room for doing so, without being in the deep water where you cannot stand, or being bothered by other people that use the flat water area to practice free style maneuvers and jybes.
Lessons seemed expensive (but I wouldn’t have anything to compare with)
 

Just returned from El Gouna and thought I would share a few thoughts with you.

Have been to Colona at Hurghada twice and although the wind wasn’t all I had hoped the guys at Colona are excellent and very friendly, the beach is spot on and it has been a great couple of kiting trips. This year having the girly in tow meant somewhere not quite so kite orientated and so chose El Gouna and the Movenpick. The Movenpick… wow, what a great place to stay. The staff were helpful beyond expectations – just couldn’t do enough for us. The room was lovely, with a great view. In fact my only real criticism of the accommodation was the price of food and drink - £5 GBP for a burger! I wouldn’t pay that here, let alone in a country where that’s probably equivalent to a week’s wages! Easily avoided though, we just went into town every evening and bought rolls which we filled with meat and cheese taken from the breakfast bar every morning and made lunch from that! 

Unfortunately my impression of the kiting isn’t quite so positive. Although generally the kiting was great, the wind blew just about all week and I kited 5 out of 7 days, I found the staff at the kite centre really poor. My “briefing” consisted of about 60 seconds during which I was told not to kite over the string of buoys marking the swimming area, not to kite at low tide because there is a reef 100m or so off the beach and the water gets too shallow and not to jump over the coral. No questions about my ability, which surprised me a little. But all fairly self explanatory stuff really and obvious to anyone with any common sense. 

Imagine my surprise and shock as I watched a member of the team at the kite centre blatantly popping over the line of buoys into the swim area, carving around people swimming (my girlfriend at one point), jumping and landing (most of the time) in the swim area and generally where he felt the need. On several occasions while people were having lessons in the shallow area the same lad was carving around the learners and passing them just feet away. I remember what it’s like to be handling a kite for the first time, the last thing you want is some hotshot buzzing passed you all the time. Watching from the beach while a lesson was taking place the tutors were so inattentive it bordered on negligence allowing beginners to body drag into the swimming area where people are prone to be snorkling and unaware of what’s going on above the water. I oleft with the impression that this was a really poor teaching centre. 

Generally I found the staff really unapproachable, totally unenthused by their job and got the impression that they would be much happier if everyone went away and left them to sleep in the shade of their hut. Speaking of which, it is all they seemed interested in doing, rather than watching out for anyone who might need rescuing. I witnessed a guy trying to body drag back to his board for more than 20 minutes and was perhaps as long as half an hour with absolutely not response from the centre or rescue boat. Once the guy did get to his board it took him ages to get back up wind to be able to land his kite and was clearly exhausted by the ordeal.  

Luckily for me I didn’t need to use the staff or the centre much and so was not affected, however if I had gone to learn to kitesurf I would be rather annoyed. 

One thing that did affect me however was the tide. When discussing with you where to go and we talked about el gouna there was never any mention of the fact that you could only kite 2-3hours each side of high tide. I found this really irritating as it meant planning day around when the tide was, and as high tide was late afternoon for most of the week it meant only a few hours in the afternoon rather than the whole day kiting that I had hoped I would get. Of course if you get the tides right then you can do 6 hours kiting a day, but get it wrong and you could be potentially looking at no kiting on some days. 

So in summary, a great location for a holiday, not so good as a kite location. I was lucky and the tides were fairly kind to me but your staff really should make people aware of the tidal situation before they book the movenpick. I would go there again but take the shuttle bus down to Mangroovy rather than have to deal with the unhelpful, unfriendly, unenthusiastic and unattentive crew at the Movenpick Kite centre. And certainly if a beginner asked me I would point them firmly to Colona instead.

Safaga: 

Brilliant place to learn and the only place I’ve been with constant wind. Going out on a boat together every day meant that we got to know the others on the course really well. My instructor, Dave was  fantastic . I was really impressed by how safety conscious he was, how he realised that kiting can be a bit scary for some (not just girls!) and that although he speaks like a girl, he shouts like a man (his words!) He was really helpful, every evening after the other instructors had gone he would still be there fixing kit, helping people etc.  General consensus was that he was a top bloke. Gareth had Phil and said he was really good too. 

Really liked the accommodation (menaville)- very handy - good food, nice shisha bar and very conducive to group dining with the others. Dave orgainsed a meal out to a local restaurant and Julius led an alcohol fueled night out (I will send photos!….) 

Only slight criticism is that on arriving in hurghada, Dave did not have us on his list and we could either wait 2 hours or so for the next flight to arrive and get a lift back with him or get a taxi. we got a taxi meaning that we paid for our transfer twice (to waveriders and to the taxi). (oh, and there weren’t any small/ medium waverider rash vests and large is too big so if you have any smaller ones I could swap it with……….):-) 

El Gouna: 

Too expensive!! We were paying 70p for a beer in safaga and they were charging £2.40 in the movenpick. I supposed that it to be expected for a resort but it was a shock to the system non the less! It also meant that kiting was more expensive. We did a couple of hours at the movenpick which ended up costing £100 for 2 (supervision, equipment etc) (we’d paid about 25 euros for an extra hour lesson in safaga). we then looked at mangroovey beach - very crowded as Julius said it would be, before moving on to Red Kite Zone. They were by far the most friendly of the el gouna places. All the kit was really new (which after having a bit a rope as my board leash in the movenpick and getting rope burns and a helmet that was too big and obscured my vision) was a relief.

There were only about 5 people on the water, which was amazing and it was cheaper than both movenpick and mangroovey. the guys picked us up in the morning and took us back if needed and will organise lunch if requested. A good find! We had a bit of tuition but must admit it wasn’t up to safaga standards…

I wrote a huge letter to you yesterday and for some reason when i sent it, it deleted itself. So, I’m gonna give you a shortened version and will have to forward you a few photo’s soon. I had a wicked time, loads of wind ( 25-30 knots from Friday to Thursday) & Friday No wind- so i’m lookin for a one day refund….!! (JoKE) The Captains Inn was alot nicier than i was expecting, very cumfy bed and clean room and Hotel. Breakfast was a bit samie but did the job. 

The only thing i would say that would put me off going back was the amount of Kraut’s and how BLOODY naff they are. I would have thought being Kitesurfers they would be a bit more down to earth. Its obvious they can’t help being the most boring, miserable and down rite anal European’s around and they can’t kitesurf for toffee. The Marina is very peachy ( as Jules discribed !!) But i did spend too much time there as i did leave the kite beach most nights till 10ish as i chilled with the Aswani dudes who were very cool. I was knicked names Shamss meaning Sun, which nice of them. At least i think thats what they were calling me……. 

Cheers Guy’s & Girls, I’m one stoked Muther F**ker !!! 

Please see the attached photos showing what an awesome time we had.  It was my first go kite-surfing and I’m now officially hooked - you will be hearing from me again for sure!!  The wind was perhaps a little too strong for us beginners at times, but at least by the end of the week we were getting up on the board (if only for a few seconds).  The whole week was fantastic, the hotel was better than I expected (loved the shisha bar), it was great to meet the other waverider nuts (and instructors!) and also the locals who cooked lunch, organised the boat, and very importantly rescued me on numerous occasions, for which I am extremely grateful. 

 
The only downside to it all was that at the start of the week we (2 beginners) were put in the same class as 2 water starters.  Naturally they were getting bored repeating the stuff they already knew, and we were being rushed with stuff we’d never done.  Luckily we brought this up after two days and we were then put with different instructors which made all the difference. 

 
One of my buddies had a book called Kiteboarding Vision which we all had a look at, and we thought it might be a great idea to tell beginners to have a look at it before they go, as it would have certainly helped us out with some of the theory.  Also, I spent hours scouring London for ‘lock tight’ only to discover on arrival that it was something I would never have needed - perhaps this should be taken off the list of things to take? 
Otherwise it was all spot on!