Kiteforum.com

I live in Jamaica and have been kitesurfing for three years now. I have travelled quite a bit, see a lot of Europe and some of the Americas and most of the Caribbean. And have kited mostly here in Jamaica.
It is slightly frustrating knowing that Jamaica has a fairly unknown kitesurfing community but there are some positives, like un-crowded spots.
But I am getting certified to become a kite instructor, and am thinking ways to get kiters (or aspiring kiters) around the world aware of and attracted to the amazing kitesurfing conditions we have here in jamaica.

Pretty much every coast, except the West end, has great wind at some point in the year. There's usually somewhere with great wind on any given day, and the North coast is less than an hour's drive from the south coast.

If you look at the wind during the spring season, we've had 20+ knots of wind every day without fail for the past 8+ weeks on the south coast alone. I live in Kingston so I do most of my kiting around the capital.
You have some great wave spots, great choppy spots with some awesome kickers, some amazing flat water spots behind reefs, and some amazing offshore cays spots you can kite around. all minutes from the local airport. We also have one of the largest natural harbours in the world where I do regular sailing races. It isn't exactly clean but it is getting better slowly, and I can only imagine how amazing it could be to have kitesurfing racing inside the harbour.

Water is always warm, it's always sunny, and there are some amazing flat water undiscovered spots alllll over the north coast. Driving along the north coast you could find another ideal spot every 10 mins.


SOOOO my question is WHAT in your opinion attracts you to a kitesurfing destination? What are the major selling points.

Bless

Reliable consistent wind. Worldwide i guess Maui wins for this - triple effect - tradewinds - sea breeze and squashed between a volcano and mountain. Not the greatest place to ride in terms of slicks / big clean beaches by a long shot etc but I KNOW there will be wind and f*** loads of it, hmm I feel like booking up right now... Hawaiian air just started flying to nz!

Watched a video of Jamaica kiting yesterday - looks awesome, probably takes 3 days to get there and house remortgage unfortunately tho..

wind-wise I think Brazil is the best!

A good destination for me has this:

- wind, not gusty, not too strong (15-25)
- flat water and some waves
- warm air and water (just shorts)
- nice people
- not too many restrictions in any way (free culture)
- good food
- good places to stay
- nightlife for singles
- not overpriced
- quiet good access (not too long to travel to)
- safe for gear and life

I think Jamaica has all of this. But I don't know about prices to get there.

But get the tourism minister to invite me and a camera team, and I will cover all locations for www.splocs.com and do a nice video

HAHA ! yes Jamaica has most of this. People worry about the violence, but it really is located in the inner cities, it's relatively safe all over. Gear however must never be left alone, even in a car ! And yes Jamaica is quite expensive to fly to. And can be hard to get to from certain corners of the globe.

Toby wrote:wind-wise I think Brazil is the best!

A good destination for me has this:

- wind, not gusty, not too strong (15-25)
- flat water and some waves
- warm air and water (just shorts)
- nice people
- not too many restrictions in any way (free culture)
- good food
- good places to stay
- nightlife for singles
- not overpriced
- quiet good access (not too long to travel to)
- safe for gear and life

I think Jamaica has all of this. But I don't know about prices to get there.

But get the tourism minister to invite me and a camera team, and I will cover all locations for www.splocs.com and do a nice video

I need to find myself in NZ within a year ! I have posted a few vids of kiting in jamaica .. youtube name 'matthewefross'

longwhitecloud wrote:Reliable consistent wind. Worldwide i guess Maui wins for this - triple effect - tradewinds - sea breeze and squashed between a volcano and mountain. Not the greatest place to ride in terms of slicks / big clean beaches by a long shot etc but I KNOW there will be wind and f*** loads of it, hmm I feel like booking up right now... Hawaiian air just started flying to nz!

Watched a video of Jamaica kiting yesterday - looks awesome, probably takes 3 days to get there and house remortgage unfortunately tho..

I guess it is the flights then.
Look at Dom Rep...cheap flights and it gets packed...

MattyRossJa wrote: And yes Jamaica is quite expensive to fly to. And can be hard to get to from certain corners of the globe.

You have answered your question as to why many people do not come to Jamaica
1 Expensive
2 Crime
3 Death

Otherwise I'm sure it's a fantastic place to visit

In all seriousness, it is expensive to get to the caribbean from the UK, I'm sure many of us would love to come visit, but when you're looking at £3k + for a holiday for two weeks, that is a sht load of money
You could do Cape Verde three times for that
Turkey 5 times

Jamaica has major human rights issues--I'd actively discourage people from going there until they reform the country.

Metaphor_ wrote:Jamaica has major human rights issues--I'd actively discourage people from going there until they reform the country.

Yes it does. That's a pretty ignorant reason. Every country has huge human rights issues. One of the reasons I chose not to continue living in England is because of that. Like Going to war when your citizens don't want it.

I have been safer living in Jamaica than England. England there is too much random crime. cars being vandalised , houses being grafiti up, random muggings and stabbings. In Jamaica as long as you don't f*** with anyone you're fine. Funny how England has become the lord of human rights, the country that ran the slave trade for centuries, raped and pillaged africa for all it's worth, and the rest of it's commonwealth. so please don't be soo quick to judge, the country is still getting over England raping it. Change takes time. Always helps when foreigners come and express this need to them, gives jamaicans some sort of global perspective, rather than just pointing fingers from afar without experiencing the culture first hand.

I'm a white Englishman living in Jamaica. I'd encourage any and everyone to come visit. But I know you can get excellent package deals to Jamaica for around 1000-1500 pounds. I know quite a few canadians and americans who come once to kite and have come back every year since. the culture, the night life, the friendly people, the sun , warm water, cheap food and drink, amazing beaches etc. etc. etc.

But yeah at the end of the day Cost of flight is a major attraction when choosing a kitesurfing destination.

Pic from a short session today , went to free my mind before a meeting. 22+ knots again.

Toby wrote:I guess it is the flights then.
Look at Dom Rep...cheap flights and it gets packed...

what's the average price to fly to dom rep from say florida?

costs on average $250-$350 to fly to Jamaica from florida