This post, based on personal experiences, has been created by KiteGeneration and compare the Kitesurfing and Surfing Dubai with Surfing and Kitesurfing in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy): the post shows the differences on kite and Surf beaches, temperatures, environment, transportations and prices.
Kitesurfing and Surfing in Dubai, EAU
Overview of Dubai
Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, is a global city and business hub of the Middle East. Dubai has become iconic for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.
Tourism is an important part of the Dubai government’s strategy to maintain the flow of foreign cash into the emirate. Dubai’s lure for tourists is based mainly on shopping, but also on its possession of modern attractions.
As of 2012, Dubai was the 22nd most expensive city in the world and the most expensive city in the Middle East.
Summers in Dubai are extremely hot and humid, with an average high around 41 °C in the hottest month, August. Most days are sunny throughout the year. Winters are warm with an average high of 24 °C.
As of January 2017, the population is Dubai is 2,704,278. Only about 15% of the population of Dubai was made up of UAE nationals, with the rest comprising expatriates. Approximately 85% of the expatriate population (and 71% of the emirate’s total population) was Asian, chiefly Indian (51%), Pakistani (16%), Bangladeshis (9%).
Arabic is the national and official language of the United Arab Emirates, English is used as a second language (spoken by almost all population).
The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab culture. Five times every day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques. Since 2006, the weekend has been Friday-Saturday, as a compromise between Friday’s holiness to Muslims and the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday.
The name of the currency in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates is the dirham (AED or Arab Emirate Dirham – also commonly abbreviated to Dhs or DH). at January 2017, 1 EURO is approximatly 3,75 AED.
Kitesurfing Dubai
In this section of the post, you could find all info you need for kitesurfing in dubai:
Wind conditions in Dubai
As a sail sport, wind is required for kitesurfing. The required eind for kitesurfing should be more than 10/12 knots (unnless you are a good kite hydro foiler, in this case you would need moree than 6 knots).
In Dubai the best wind for kitesurfing blows from December to March/April when even strong winds can blows up to 20 knots. The rest of the year could blow a light thermal wind . The best time of the day is between 14.30 h and 17.00 h.
For the above reason, in Dubai is recommended to have a big kite for kitesurfing (size 11-17 m).
During the summer season (between the months of April and September but in particular in April and May) wind conditions are not super in Dubai and for that reason the diminutive island of Al Masirah (eight-nine-hour drive from Dubai) in the south-eastern coast of Oman becomes a kind of wind Mecca for kiteboarders and windsurfers, for taking advantage of the strong winds of Indian monsoon. Here, during this season, the winds are rarely less than 20 knots and the temperature remains cooler while the rest of the country swelters.
Kite Beaches in Dubai
Kitesurfing in Dubai is allowed only in two (2) designated beaches:
- Dubai Kite Beach (Fazza beach)
- Dubai Kitesurf Beach (Nasimi Beach)
Dubai Kite Beach (Fazza Beach) or Kite Beach Jumeira
Fazza beach or Kite beach Dubai or Kite Beach Jumeira is situated just 2 Km away from Burj Al Arab.
Kite Beach Dubai extemds from the Jumeirah Beach Hotel to the nd the old Wollongong University. Kitesurfing is allowed in any part of the sea at this beach, but you can launch and land the kite just in the designated area.
Kite Beach Dubai is very good for windsurfing and kite boarding.
The kite beach Dubai kitesurfing spot is not really recommended for entry level kite surfers due to predominant onshore wind direction.
Anyway, even if you are not a kite surfer, you can go at Kite Beach Dubai and enjoy the kite surf show.
Dubai Kitesurf Beach (Nasimi Beach)
Nessnass beach Dubai known as Dubai Kitesurf beach is located behind Sunset mall.
This Dubai Kitesurf beach has a bay form that fit the spot for all levels, even beginner. Most of our kitesurfing lessons in Dubai are held at the Dubai Kitesurf Beach.
Kite Lessons in Dubai
Kitesurfing is an amazing spectacle and even more incredible to do.
Even it could seem easy to kitesurf once you have had a few lessons, dealing with the wind is not easy and real hazards involved (both for yourself and for others innocent swimmer, sunbather or kiters). Kite lessons are highly recommended everywhere (even n Dubai and Cagliari 😉 )! To learn Kitesurfing usually takes around eigh-nine hours, and lessons average in Dubai is 350 AED per hour. KiteGeneration reccommends the kiteschool Kite n’ Surf and Kite Zone Dubai Kiteschool , that has very high standards, very good material and very professional teaching methodologies.
Note: it is very important to get a lesson from a qualified instructor; you can have a look on internet to find a school or you could go to the Kite Beach and find an instructor there.
Kite rental in Dubai
Once you have set yourself up with kite lessons and a licence, buying gear should be next step. Because to by a new kite equipment (kite, bar, harness and board) in EAU could cost around 8000 AED to get a complete kit, you could rent the kite equipment.
To rent kite equipment in Dubai, the municipality requires all kiteboarders to obtain a licence, which is as simple as becoming a member Kite School of Dubai (this membership must not be confused with an international licence) that could provide you also a third-party liability insurance.
To rent kite equipment in Dubai, it costs around 300 AED per hour.
Surfing in Dubai
Surfing is a fantastic sport, easy to learn. You will fell like a better person after surfing. You will love it from the first wave 😉
If you like to Surf in Dubai, you need to go to the allowed surf beaches and you need waves. In Dubai waves are coming with the wind from North: if there will be a windy day, for sure there will be waves the day after (in particular in the morning).
In Dubai there are two (2) beaches for surfing:
- Sunset Beach (next to the Burj Al Arab)
- Mamzar Beach
If you are in Dubai and you like to surf, you can go to one of the above beaches and rent a surf board (rent a surf board for one hour is approximatly 75AED). Anyway, we recommend calling one of the surf schools in Dubai and take a surf lesson (surf Lesson is around 250 AED per hour) so you can learn the tides, how to stand up and how be safe in the water.
Kitesurfing and Surfing in Sardinia (Italy)
Kitesurfing in Cagliari
Cagliari has about 150,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city (including Cagliari and 16 other nearby municipalities) has more than 431,000 inhabitants.
An ancient city with a long history, Cagliari has seen the rule of several civilisations. Under the buildings of the modern city there is a continuous stratification attesting to human settlement over the course of some five thousand years, from the Neolithic to today.
Cagliari has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild winters.
The native language of Cagliari, declared official along with Italian, is Sardinian (sardu), a Romance language, specifically the Campidanese dialect (campidanesu) in its local variant (casteddaju).
Cagliari, becasuse its position in the south-center of island and its attractions, can be considered an ideal place for a Saling / kitesurfing holiday with culture, fun and relax:
- Cagliari and Sardinia are famous for their beautiful beaches, clean water, and weather conditions;
- Position of Cagliari permits to easily reach Villasimius, Costa Rei, Chia, Pula, Porto Botte, Punta Trettu, Sant’Antioco and Masua;
- Cagliari and Sardinia offer a unique cultural, artistic and natural context;
- Nightlife of Cagliari guarantees a lot of fun with other people in a friendly and beautiful environment.
For the above reasons Sardinia and Cagliari can be considered the perfect location to have a fantastic cultural, gastronomic and sport Holiday.
A must for any Holidays in Southern Sardinia is Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia. Cagliari, in fact, is one of the centers of Sardinia with more services and it is the basis of several low cost airlines, including Ryanair and Easyjet: for those reasons Cagliari is easily reacheble in by flying from many European cities (eg London , Edinburgh , Paris, Brussels, Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Geneva, Basel, Zurich, Berlin, Basen, Dussendorf, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Kaunas, Oslo, Krakow, Moscow , Milan, Rome).
Kitesurfing Cagliari
In this section of the post, you could find all info you need for kitesurfing in Cagliari, Sardinia:
- Wind Conditions in Cagliari
- Kite Beaches in Cagliari
- Kite Lessons in Cagliari
- Kite Rental in Cagliari
Wind conditions in Cagliari
In Sardinia and Cagliari, two are the prevailing winds: Mistral (blowing from the North-West, intensity from 15 to 35 knots depending on the day) and Sirocco (blowing from South-East, usually with an intensity between 10 and 25 knots, depending on the day and period). In addition, in Cagliari, in the warm and sunny days (usually from April to October), a local thermal wind (sea breeze) is blowing reaching often an intensity of more than 15 knots. Finally Cagliari has a very high percentage of days with winds over 10 knots.
So in Cagliari (lik ein whole Sardinia, if you like to cover all the winds you need a small kite (size 7 / 9) and a big kite (size 11/ 13).
Kite Beaches in Cagliari
In Cagliari there are 2 main kite beaches:
- Poetto Beach Cagliari
- Giorgino, Kite Beach Cagliari.
Anyway, because her central position, from Cagliari it is easy to move in all south of Sardinia. The South of Sardinia is probably one of the windiest coast of the Mediterranean and therefore rich in many spots for kite surfing: Poetto of Cagliari, Capoterra (Petrol Beach), Quartu Sant’Elena, Chia, Villasimius, Santa Margherita, Funtanamare, Porto Botte, Punta Trettu.
Poetto Beach Cagliari
Poetto beach is the beach of Cagliari and home spot of KiteGeneration.
Poetto, wide about 9 km from la Sella del Diavolo (Devil’s Saddle) tii Margine Rosso, is generally divided in several “fermate” (bus stops) to identy the various stretches of the beach. Poetto beach is easy and funny both for beginners and expert riders.
The most frequent winds are the sea breeze, Scirocco, Levante (onshore winds) and the Mistral (off-shore).
Kitesurfing Cagliari Sardinia | Kite Lessons 2014
Sometimes, when the wind blows more than 30 knots, the spot becomes extreme and it is recommended to expert only.
During the summer season, because of high number of bathers, Kite surfing lessons for:
- intermediate and advance riders,
- beginners that are at the water start level,
take place to different kite spots.
Cagliari and Poetto beach are among the best spots, at the European level, for sailing and Kitesurfin. To realize the sail potential of Cagliari, we can simply recall that, in the recent past, Cagliari has been home of the 2012 Kiteboard Race World Championship , home of the 2013 Hobie Cat16 European Championship, home of the 2014 Kiteboard Race World Championship for Masters and Young.
Giorgino, Kite Beach Cagliari
Giorgino is a kite spot very close to the historic center Cagliari where Kitesurfing is perfect with the thermal wind (sea breeze) blowing side shore with an intensity of about 10-20 knots during warm and sunny days (usually from May to September).
To the right (10 minuteas by car) of Giorgino, there are other beaches like Petrol Beach sea breeze works well anyway.
During the summer, with no other perturbations, there are just one place for kitesurfing without fail: Giorgino, the Kite Beach of Cagliari.
Kite Lessons in Cagliari
Kitesurfing is an amazing spectacle and even more incredible to do.
Even it could seem easy to kitesurf once you have had a few lessons, dealing with the wind is not easy and real hazards involved (both for yourself and for others innocent swimmer, sunbather or kiters). Kite lessons are highly recommended everywhere (even n Dubai and Cagliari 😉 )! To learn Kitesurfing usually takes around eigh-nine hours, and lessons average in Cagliari is 50 euro per hour.
Note: it is very important to get a lesson from a qualified instructor; you can have a look on internet to find a school or you could go to the Kite Beach and find an instructor there.
Kite rental in Cagliari
Once you have set yourself up with kite lessons and a licence, buying gear should be next step. Because to by a new kite equipment (kite, bar, harness and board) in Cagliari could cost around 2000 euro for a complete kit (Kite, Bar, Board, Harness), you could rent the kite equipment.
If you like to rent kite equipment in Cagliari, we suggest to contact an official school and get an insurance, you have not onw.
To rent kite equipment in Cagliari, it costs around 75 euro every 3 hours.