Somewhere warm, with consistent winds, and things to do for the missus.
And not too expensive….

Thanks.

Tarifa.

Lanzarote

Thanks, any particular company?

definitely tarifa.

I learnt there, cant remember the name of the firm, but theres loads in the area doing this sort of thing.

You need to talk to jimbobrighton about this…!

Tarifa is good because of the cross shore winds and there is sometimes a lagoon. However it gets kite crazy and does not have the peace & quiet you mak need. It’s cheap to get to and cheap to stay. It’s also my fave place anywhere and next time I go (booked for May but might go earlier too) I’m going to buy a small apartamento.

Other places that are good include Cape Verde (sod all to do except holiday prisons) and Cabarete where the Kite Beach has its own lagoon.

Don’t forget to gaffer tape your ears to the side of your head. 😀

essouria in morroco
majorca
kefalonia is very good
any decent windsurfing dest works…

Tarifa, El Tur, Poole Harbour, Lucate, Borocay.

The Solent.

Flag/Glass Beach, Fuerte.

Tarifa is a nice enough town for a couple, and there’s lots to visit nearby. The top budget spot I’ve been to. It is busy but a big beach. I would just turn up and find tuition rather than buying in advance so you can pick a nice teacher; and so you don’t waste money if there’s no wind.

Cape Verde’s waves are a bit too big to begin on. The town is pretty boring and the kiting island is ugly.

I’ve loved St Lucia – which once you’re there is cheap (so good for 2 weeks) and has a beach you can sit on if you’re not kiting; and if you hire a car there’s plenty to do on the island. We rented a house within walking distance of the Reef kitesurf school in Vieux Fort. They had a lovely Czech woman teaching when we went.

Cumbuco in northen Brazil has great kiting (I was there for 5 weeks and kited every day) but is not ideal if your other half is not kiting. The beach is a little bit sandblasted and the town is heavily geared towards western kitesurfers. We went as a couple with my wife doing a little bit of kiting, a bit of work, and a lot of relaxing and had a great time. If you can swing a long holiday to offset the flight costs then accomodation and food is cheap. I think tuition might be pricey though – certainly it was expensive to buy kit there because of the high import taxes.

I had my first ever lesson in Tafira, but glad I didn’t learn there…. deep water!!

Find somewhere that fits your mrs needs and is shallow … it takes away one very dangerous aspect from the learning experience, so that you can concentrate on all the other dangerous things happening

Kite-surfing/boarding is blooming hard to learn but is great once you, your kit, the wind and the tide all come together …. Good luck !!

I’m not sure I’d be recommending Tarifa to be honest. I’ve been there a few times as a pretty competent windsurfer and watched kitesurfers get dragged up the beach rather frequently. Not sure about this lagoon that was mentioned above – if it’s the one I think it is then it isn’t very big. And in any case, the wind can get pretty mental.

Not that it is a viable option, but I learnt in Texas on smooth flat, shallow waters and wind that wasn’t much above a sparrow’s fart. Ideal.

Egypt on a package holiday another suggestion.

If you can, do your IKO 1 through 3 at a recognised instructor through..

Linky:
IKO Website

La Marina Beach in Costa Blanca
Plenty there doing it and its a natural Blue flagged beach 11.6 mile long
and only 25 mins from Alicante Airport

They also do it in next town down called Santa Pola

Here is a clip of the Beach

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=jIFm1CILiy0[/video]

I went with these guys
http://www.tarifamax.net/
Very very impressed.
3 day course with the missus and one instruction.
They sorted a room in the home of one of the instructors.
Just about getting up by the end of it.
I could have stayed for the est of the summer.
Lots of yoga and stuff to do if the girlfriend is not too keen.
Or get a bus to one of the cities in Andalucia..

Tiree?

As a holiday to learn kitesurf then it has to be Borocay. Can’t think of a better place to learn in the world to be honest.

Cheap (once you’re there), consistent onshore trade winds, safe and very large lagoon that is mostly chest deep maximum, flat water, never too crowded, good schools and plenty of other stuff to do. Only downsides are the long flights and transfers but hey no pain, no gain.

I spent 2 weeks there last Nov and had some excellent 1 to 1 tuition from Ocean Republic.

Ocean Republic

On the second day I was up on the board, and at the end of the first week I was riding all over the lagoon and popping small jumps off waves. Best season to go is October to March I think.

Egypt could be another option that’s a bit nearer perhaps?