Zanzibar offers an ideal place to learn kiteboarding, due to its consistent—yet mellow—winds, clear skies, calm shallow waters, and sandy ocean bottom, not to mention all the organized lessons available.

The winds in Zanzibar are usually onshore, so they (thankfully) blow you back on to the beach. Winds blowing from the southeast (The Kusi winds) prevail in the summer (June through September) and from the northeast (The Kaskazi winds) during winter (December through March).

From April to November, the wind blows between 12 and 20 knots, generally picking up at 14:00 and getting stronger as the afternoon progresses.

From mid-December to late March the wind blows from the north. This wind is called the Kazkazi. It is a strong wind that blows through out the day at an average of 20 knots.

KiteCentre runs a kiteboarding school in the center of Paje village on Zanzibar's southeastern coast, on the beach of Kinasi Upepo, one of the best beaches on the isle.
They also offer lessons on the northeast located on pristine stretches of kiteboarding coastline. These locations have been carefully chosen due to the many desirable qualities these stretches of coastline have to offer, this includes not only great, consistent winds for 9 months of the year but also pristine beaches and ideal conditions all-round!

The lagoon, being sheltered by the reef, is ideal for kite surfing, with relatively calm water to learn in or perform power moves. Big swells are common from July to September, and with the steady south-eastern trade winds (kuzi) blowing, these conditions make Ras Nungwi one of the top kiting locations in East Africa.


Different Winds

Zanzibar has 2 different trade winds. The “Kusi” which blow's from the South East, starts in April and blows through out our winter till the End of December. This wind is quite consistent, and blows at an average speed of 18 knots. The wind is quite calm in the mornings and picks up later on in the day at around 14:00.

By late afternoon it can be blowing 25 knots and is very consistent. This allows the kite surfer to go between the beach and the reef as the wind blows side shore along Ras Nungwi’s beach. This side shore wind is Ideal for wave ridding and heading out the reef.

The “KaziKazi” wind starts to blow around the 20th December and continues till the beginning of April. It’s a much stronger wind than that of the Kuzi and it blows from the North. It’s referred to as the Northern Monsoon wind.

The wind speed is between 15 to 30 knots. Its most strongest in the morning and tends to get a bit lighter as the afternoon approaches. At Ras Nungwi it blows slightly on shore, which allows the kite surfer to kite pretty much parallel to the beach and in case of any trouble at least the wind will blow you back to the beach.

HOTELS / RESORTS / CHARTERS

Ocean Blue View Come and enjoy the hospitality of Melanie and Dim in their cosy guesthouse, 2 km north from Bwejuu, on the south-east coast of Zanzibar. - VIEW - From $US From EURO 35

Dhow Beach Lodge Dhow Beach Lodge is a small but enchanting little hotel with 6 rooms. A perfect place to celebrate life. - VIEW - From $US From US 45 p/p/n