Kite Life

The flight with first choice was excellent. Mombasa airport was,nt!!! 

The Nyali Beach Hotel was very good so was the food 

Rob, Chris & Luke from x-isle were really good,pat on the back for them!! I wasn’t able to master the water start,mainly ‘cos I’m crap at learning new things, and also I found the heat to be really fierce(44 degrees on the beach one day),there was no wind in the mornings,when it did arrive it was very light,never more than 12 knots when I checked it,add that to a training area infested with sea urchins at low water,so after having my face burned twice,I kind of lost interest and chilled out instead.  

I,ve been sailing & windsurfing long enough to know that wind can be very variable at any venue,so it would be unfair to whinge about it. 

As a kitesurfing venue I think it’s a great spot,if the wind had been there in the mornings it would have been good for learning,but if you’re staring up into the afternoon sun,watch out!!! 

What a holiday! It is going to take me some time to settle back into the way of life back here! The kite kit was very poor, and there was not enough of it, with exception of the boards. The whole thing for me was to go out and the get more confident at flying the kites and yes water re-launching comes into the whole kitesurfing thing! There were a couple of occasions when we were just left out at sea to float ashore and after 15 minutes of floating and getting stung I was pretty cheesed off!

Anyway it is all part of learning, but there coul have been more of an attempt at helping! On a positive point, Nyali beach is a truely magical place to learn to kitesurf. The water is warm, the air temp is awesome and the staff are great at what they do.

Chris and Luke really were great and have helped me progress and build on my confidence too, and the helpers they have were also an asset to Pro-surf. The set up down on the beach has improved on last year, and is so much better with a bar and food service on offer too. It seems to be quite the social spot on the beach with people floating past to check out the kiting and also to go snorkelling and diving. Also the fact that there are very few locals harassing you and trying to sell you bits and pieces helps with the whole chilled atmosphere.

I know that Pro-surf is getting new kit later on this year and I am sure that we just happened to arrive at the end of a busy season, but it would have been good if the company had options to replace kit or even have spares!

I am still buzzing after a great week down at Nyali and will go back at some point

Kenya, Nyali Beach in January 2006

Booked this holiday through Waveriders in the uk as a kitesurfing package. Waveriders were helpful but a little misleading on the room upgrade they sold me. This was not the hotels fault though and a matter i took up with waveriders on return.

However the hotel was amazing retaining colonial charm with excellent food and service, although a little slow at times (you are on holiday though so chill out). Swimming pools are amazing, clean, big and deep. Nice adult pools! The prosurf kite and windsurf centre attached to the hotel was the jewel though.

Great location and staff so friendly and helpful you felt like a member of a small family. Natalie the owner was great and even spent an hour picking some sea urchin spines out of my foot. Now thats what i call service. Wind conditions were great and you have both flat water and great surf….. but it was the friendly staff combined with a great hotel that made my stay in Kenya the best holiday i have ever had.

Totally recommended. Have kitesurfed all over the world and would rate Nyali beach above the dominican (Cabarete), aruba and Egypt.

Will be returning

Kitesurfing Kenya - March 2006 

Nyali Beach Hotel:          
An old style colonial hotel was looking tired in some areas and needs some tlc to bring it back to standard though this was more than compensated for by the helpful & charming staff. On arrival Chris & Pearce from the Pro Surf centre were there to greet us and even took my kite bag down to the centre for storage. The food was of a good standard with lots of choice and alternative restaurants to choose from which offered a very diverse menu from sweet and sour chicken to lobster!

Beach Hotel facilities:         
2 pools were clean and inviting though not too refreshing in the afternoon when the water had heated to bath temperature in the afternoon sun. Sun beds were abundant with umbrellas which you could have round the pool or the lawn area where you had a fantastic view of the beach & sea.  Howard took advantage of the massage facilities, a full body aromatherapy massage for about £15, just what you need after a hard days kiting! The gardens were well maintained and had several visitors including lizards, bats and monkeys who had a penchant for pizza!
Nyali Beach Kiting:             
I kited for 9 days out of the 14 which wasn’t too bad considering we arrived just before the annual rainy season. I would recommend customers are made aware of the the possible effects of the seasonal changes. Conditions were great for an intermediate kiter and would be ideal for beginners. On a busy day there would be 8 kiters and mostly there would be less than 3.The water was flat and incredibly warm and sea and beach wasn’t busy with other users so you had lots of confidence when you were out there trying new things.  The staff at the kite centre were extremely helpful when launching and landing and though they had a rescue boat on hand it was only needed a couple of times during our stay. Chris was particularly helpful in offering advice & instruction as well as being a great beer buddy & disco diva! Most days ended in the shade watching the sun go down with a beer at the Pro Surf bar.
Wakeboarding:        
During the second week the wind dropped off for a couple of days so we tried the other Pro Surf centre and went wakeboarding for the first time, this was fantastic and a real adrenalin rush especially when I made my first intentional jump. Chris & Pearce showed us how its done with the wakeboard and mono ski and Chris’ boat driving skills provided an extra thrill.
The iffy bits: 
We wouldn’t advise going to town without someone who knows the area though if you know where to go, and there are nice bars & restaurants its absolutely fine. The flight out wasn’t the best, the flight crew were more concerned with selling drinks and goodies rather than letting passengers rest on an overnight flight, they were still selling after midnight, only put the lights down for about two hours and woke everybody up with another drinks service which you had to pay for! On entry to Mombassa you will need great patience getting thru customs and getting your visa. I would recommend these be given out on the plane & an explanation given on the entry procedure. Coming home my kite bag was damaged and covered in diesel, the bureaucracy was unbelievable during check in, you had to show your passport to get in the airport, to check in, to go to departure lounge and    finally to get to the gate where you also had a body & bag search which took hours! Then you had to show your passport again before you went thru to the plane!

Return Visit: Yes definitely.