Planning a kiteboarding holiday in Asia? Why don’t you come to Thailand this season. Here some facts about this destination for all you hardcore kitesurfers and newbies who want to pick up kitesurfing.
Before all, Thailand is a wonderful, very diverse country with a unique Buddhist culture. The climate is great and the landscapes are spectacular. There is literally something for everybody, whether you are looking for a quiet stay and serenity or you are a party animal and want to hit the nightlife hard: it’s for sure around the corner of your bungalow. As you might have read in the press, Thailand was going through some trouble a while ago. Things have been very exaggerated in the media coverage. Rest assured, to spend your holiday in Thailand is very safe.
Kiteboarding in Thailand has become very popular in the past recent years. Along the coast of Thailand you will find a couple of excellent spots. Important when you plan your trip is to observe the different wind seasons in Thailand. There are various credible sites for this kind of information to be found on the web. A web service with lots of information about kitesurfing in Thailand and all other Asian destinations is KITOONS Asia Kitesurf Spots. The winds in Thailand are thermal so web services like Windfinder and Windguru won’t display them correctly or not at all. The wind range is typically between 12kn and 20kn. So your bigger kites is what you need to pack. The thermal wind starts normally around noon and increases until sunset. So there is lots of time to have several kitesurf sessions a day.
Hua Hin – The Most Important Kiteboarding Spot
The nearest kiteboarding beach from Bangkok is Hua Hin. The town is recognized as one of the best kitesurfing spots in the world. The wind season starts end of October and lasts typically until April. Hua Hin is a developed little city with a wide range of hotels for different budgets. The kitesurfing action takes place along a 5km long wide sandy beach. This is the spot with the biggest kitesurfing crowd in the country. The best wind conditions can be found from February onwards until the start of the raining season in early April.
Pranburi – The New Alternative
Not far from Hua Hin is Pranburi. This is the latest location and not many know of it yet. It is just a 20 minutes drive away from Hua Hin. It’s a rural small town with a Thai feel to it and just a few beach hotels and resorts. The kitesurfing beach is beautiful and offers scenic mountain views. Some reports mention the wind picks up earlier here and is a bit stronger than in Hua Hin. The newly formed KTA (Kiteboard Tour Asia) will hold an international kitesurfing competition in Pranburi from March 25 to March 28, 2010 as part of their tour. If you want to see a competition with Asia’s best pros in action, the beach of Pranburi is the place to be in March.
Chumphon – Thailand’s Windiest Kitesurfing Spot
265km to the south of Hua Hin you will find Chumphon, definitely the windiest beach in Thailand with a couple of extra knots to offer compared to the other destinations. The beaches in Chumphon are wonderful and you can get a beach bungalow right where the kitesurfing action is. The town is large, but is not yet very developed. The nightlife options for westerners are scarce, but you can always hit the Thai places. If you want to kitesurf in best conditions and like it quiet, that’s where you should go.
Phuket – A Major Tourist Hub
Phuket has a different wind season than the spots already discussed: in Phuket the wind blows from April until September. Phuket is one of Thailand’s biggest tourist destinations and you can find a wide range of offers from budget hotels to 5 star resort hotels. The nightlife is as diverse: you can find the whole range from expensive clubs to beer bars in one walking street. The kitesurf action takes place at Chalong Bay and Nai Yang beach. Both spots are half an hour away from the main beaches and you need to arrange for transportation to go there. The best places to stay are the main tourist areas Patong, Kamala and Karon.
Samui and Phangan – Kiteboarding on the Islands
Koh Samui and Koh Panghan might also be mentioned here. These two neighboring islands offer kitesurfing from November until end of February. You will need a little bit of luck, because the winds are usually not too stable. Nevertheless, these islands are beautiful and if you have some time and want to explore other things as well, one of them could be your pick. If you want to party: on Koh Panghan are each month the world famous full moon parties.
Kitesurfing Schools in Thailand
You look for a place to learn kitesurfing? Then Thailand could be perfect. There are a number of Kiteboarding Schools at every kitesurfing spot. You can typically decide between private and semi-private lessons with an experienced IKO teacher. Book before your holiday to make sure you can take the course where and when you like. The course prices include all rental gear. To get you on the board will take about 3 or 4 days and after that you can practice alone. How fast you can make progress, depends on good wind too. Plan at least a week in for the course to give yourself some margin.
Buying Kitesurf Gear in Thailand
To buy your Kitesurf Equipment in Thailand is probably cheaper than in most other markets. For Europeans the exchange rate is very good and you can get great deals. All the schools offer gear and have usually one or two kite brands in their shop section. A word of caution: be aware of grey market products. Some outfits are very aggressive in their selling tactics and claim falsely to be a distributor of certain brands. The products that you will buy are grey imports with no warranty at all. You can reckon with 10-15% lower prices, incredible deals beyond are very likely not regular ones. To find out information about a certain dealer you can always check the website of the kitesurfing brand they sell. In the dealer section you will find all shops listed.
Ride hard and see you in Thailand soon.
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