Koh Phangan Activities - Kitesurfing

Kitesurfing, also known as kiteboarding, and sometimes as flysurfing in Europe, involves using a power kite to pull a small surfboard on water. Kitesurfing is a watersport for real adventure seekers! Safety is of the highest priority with well maintained boards, excellent equipment along with safety helmets and communication systems. A 4 day package consists of about 3 hours a day.

We are lucky enough on Koh Phangan to have the leading western Kiteboarding school in Thailand operating from our island in the Ban Tai area!  The school is very professional and affiliated with the IKO (International Kiteboarding Organisation). The western instructors are some of the most experienced in the world and within four days will have you riding the board and flying the kite!  They also sell full kitesurfing equipment to the newest specifications!  The company has equipment insurance so if any equipment is damaged you will not have to pay for it and they operate in one of the beautiful bays where the water is shallow and safe for learners.  This really is an addictive sport and many experienced kitesurfers travel to Koh Phangan to catch our winds in best season between December and April! 

Backpackers Information Centre in Haadrin, can also arrange rooms through the Kiteboarding school so that you can stay local to the beach to catch the wind when it quicky picks up and also so you can hang out with the instructors and catch a beer and a  BBQ with like-minded boarders in the evenings! This makes it a totally kicked back and cool experience! 

The courses can be run in English or French language and at the end of the course you will be issued with an IKO (International Kiteboarding Organistaion) Identification card which allows you to rent kiteboarding equipment from other schools anywhere in the world.

The costs of the course may sound a little beyond the budget of some travellers, but when you compare it to a 4 day Scuba Dive course it is still very competetive, plus you are actually paying for real learning time, not waiting time and depending on conditions if the weather changes and the hours are reduced then you don't pay for that time! This is an awesome experience and to do it on warm tropical waters on the fringes of coconut white beaches is amazing!

The first step of kite surfing is to fly one's power kite into neutral position, in which the kite is depowered at the edge of the wind window, and therefore not pulling except against one's body weight.

A safe way to launch involves lying down on ones back in shallow water, and strapping the board onto the feet. More experienced kiters can launch from dry sand or beach. Then, in a (hopefully) coordinated movement, the kite is flown toward the water, in the direction that the board points. If the board doesn't dig into the water or a wave, the kite pulls the surfer up into a powerful planing motion similar to wakeboarding.

To get going and to be able to stay upwind you need about 8 - 10 knots (15 to 19 km/h) on a big kite (16 m²). In 8 - 10 knots (15 to 19 km/h) you can have a lot of fun by doing low jumps and freestyle maneuvers. 12 - 13 knots (22 to 24 km/h) on a 16 square meter kite will have you jumping high, while 17 - 20 knots (31 to 37 km/h) will have you flying with the birds on a 12 square meter kite. An experienced rider generally carries a 'quiver' of different sized kites, appropriate for each wind condition.

A beginner can turn by going to the shallows or another stopping place, putting the kite up into neutral, and then turning the kite in the opposite direction. A quicker, more skillful turn moves the kite toward the wind, to swing the surfer's path in a half circle, centered on the kite. As the turn ends, the kite is flown over to be in front of the surfer again. Turns away from the wind steal lift.

This is one of the most exhilarating adventure and thrill seeking sports available and to do it in the beautiful tropical waters of Koh phangan is unmissable!

Do be aware that in high season places are very limited and therefore you should pre-book early to confirm your place at the school.

Book here at BackpackersThailand.com to secure your booking but don’t forget that the best season is between February to April when the winds are the strongest and tidal motion at its best!