Kitesurf Resources

The world map of kitesurfing spots. Open any spot for wind directions and strength, the best season, water and beach type, level, hazards, how to get there and a live forecast.

Choose a country to see when to go with the season bars, all its spots on a map, travel info, schools and the most asked questions.

The directory of kite schools, with certifications (IKO, VDWS, FFVL, FIV, GKA), services and a form to contact the school directly.

Practical articles on safety, technique and training. Read them together with a proper course, never instead of it.

Kite trips told in first person, with the practical details you need to plan your own.

Honest reviews of kites, boards and accessories, with our disclosure on free products and affiliate links.

Windfinder is a website specialized in measuring and forecasting winds, waves, tides and weather for wind based sports such as kitesurfing, windsurfing, surfing, sailing or paragliding. In my opinion it is one of the most effective websites worldwide. It also benefits from a large network of affiliates in several spots around the world, which provide real-time information through the monitoring of local weather stations. Locally you can still find better forecasts, especially where there are specific local conditions which can hardly be predicted with math models, but this is a great tool to plan your kite trip, thanks also to the great weather statistics on each of the marked spots.

WindGuru is another player in weather forecasts based on numerical models. Like Windfinder it is a great tool to play with and, as its direct competitor, it lacks resolution on spots with particular local geographical and thermal specificities, as they point out: "GFS model has a coarse resolution, as a result of this, local effects like thermal winds on Lake Garda for example, or how the local terrain affects wind flows around your spot are not visible to the model". I have often been involved in debates about which of the two is the best, but I consider them both great basic forecast instruments.

Windy is a newer service than the previous two, with a well designed, endearing interface and a great collection of widgets. The forecast maps you see on the spot pages of this website come from Windy.com. It works as well as the other two, and lately it seems to adopt new forecast models and services more aggressively. A great growing platform, worth a look.

Another cool general weather and sea forecast website, not specifically designed for kitesurfers, but still an interesting tool.

If you live around Australia, Seabreeze turns out to be quite accurate. I used it a lot in my trip on the west coast in 2012: a very reliable source of info.

A classic example of very effective local wind forecast. Where WindGuru cannot make it, specifically the Lake of Garda in North Italy, the numerical wind maps of Arpae can help. I use them a lot when I am in the region: they are very precise in predicting winds on Garda, Como and Iseo lakes, all interesting Italian kite spots.

If you are hanging around the Baltic coasts of Finland, this can be the local reference for the winds you need.

Probably the best known kiteboarding organization in the world: what PADI is for diving, IKO is for kitesurfing. They promote high standards of teaching methods and the network of IKO schools is spread worldwide. If you need a good kite school, visit their website to find one.

The GKA is an alliance of most of kiteboarding’s main brands, so it is naturally in their interest to ensure that a healthy, ambitious, professional competitive scene keeps flourishing in all the disciplines. From 2017 the GKA was entrusted by World Sailing to run World Championships and World Cup events in wave, strapless freestyle, big air and twin-tip freestyle, as well as slider and obstacle events.

The IKA manages the World Sailing kiteboarding classes (Formula Kite, twin tip racing, freestyle, wave, slalom, speed and others), runs the world championships and rankings and writes the class rules. Its Formula Kite class made its Olympic debut in 2024. The purpose of the IKA is to promote kitesurfing on a global level.

British Kitesports is the appointed National Governing Body for kitesurfing and other kitesports in the UK.

The French federation grouping many disciplines of kite and sail sports, including kiteboarding.

The German counterpart of IKO. They promote high standards in kitesurfing training developed by themselves, and they are quite widespread in the world, especially among German speaking kitesurfers.

The Italian kiteboarding class, recognized within the Italian Sailing Federation, manages, regulates and organizes the activity of kiteboarding in all its disciplines throughout the country. It supports the promotion and development of the sport, coordinates youth and senior competitive activity and organizes the Italian National Championships for each discipline: racing foil, formula kite, slalom and boardercross, freestyle and strapless freestyle, wave and speed.

The national governing body for sailing in the United States, which includes the Olympic kiteboarding pathway.

The very well known service for low-cost airline fares. Just give it a try if you never did.

Another option to find cheap flights. Will it become better than the historical Skyscanner?

Airbnb has become the leader of its market niche. People rent their houses around the world and there are plenty close to your favorite kite spot.

Like Airbnb, Booking.com is a leader of its market and very well known. I put it here just to be complete, but I bet you already know it. If you prefer to choose between hotels instead of private rentals, this is one of the websites to visit.

Couchsurfing is an amazing app to help people meet around the world. It takes a bit to know and hang around with a host, but it is definitely worth the experience: you might become the guest of a fellow kitesurfer who lives in a nice spot.

Handpicked accommodation for kitesurfers and windsurfers: the idea of Airbnb, with a kite nuance.

Breeza is a kitesurfing app that uses your gear, weight and skill level to tell you whether the nearest spot is rideable right now, rather than just showing raw wind data.