Want to know a secret - Turkey is the place to kite surf
Posted: Thu Jul 01, 2010 8:30 pm
I almost don’t want to tell you about this place, as it is so good.
After a disappointing holiday in Egypt last year my partner and I were looking for somewhere with guaranteed wind. After a lot of searching we came across a place in Turkey called Gökova Bay. The kite surfing school there is called Always Windy and what can I say it was always windy. If you visit here you will ask yourself is there such a thing as too much kitesurfing, so much so we had to have a break by the middle of the week due to wearing ourselves out!
From the moment we got there to the moment we left the conditions were perfect. We were down at the beach setting up by about 11.30am and when we had tired ourselves out and gone home we could still see from our balcony, kites up until 9pm on several evenings! We are absolutely gutted we only went for a week and we are totally going back.
The whole week I was on a 7m Naish and my partner was on a 9m Waroo. We are still learning but the conditions were perfect. The waves were tiny and the water is a lot less salty than other places. Important when you do a few superman moves! However when we were there, there were also a couple of professionals warming up for a competition and they were able to do some awesome jumps.
Mark and Sarah run Always Windy; they met in Tarifa where they had both been working for many years before they moved to Turkey. After deciding Tarifa was getting a little too busy they decided to look for another spot and found Gökova Bay. Mark and Sarah are both great teachers and they were very patient, especially with me! They also attached radios to us to give us feedback and advice when we were actually on the water. When we got back from the beach we watched videos of us to see how we could improve which really helped us the next day.
Mark and Sarah will help you sort out everything. We actually stayed with them in their house which is an option and at a very reasonable price. They made us traditional Turkish breakfasts every morning and amazing doorstop sandwiches for lunch. We went out for dinner every night but when you can get a meal and alcoholic drink for £7 each it doesn’t break the bank! Other options include hotels, b&bs or apartments.
Gökova Bay is in Akyaka which is still quite a traditional Turkish Village and the people are so friendly. We flew to Dalaman with Monarch Air which was fairly cheap but they only give you 13kg for kite gear so probably best to go with Easy Jet. The guys gave us a lift but you can also get a taxi or the Havas bus (Hava?: Home Page) which we got on the way back and took about an hour at £24 each.
Gökova Bay is gorgeous; there is a separate beach for tourists so the whole beach is for the kite surfers. The winds here are thermal and are directed by the mountains. Whatever, it’s always windy and that’s what counts!
There are other things to do there, if you want, like boat rides and trips to Dalyan for the mud baths. We were too busy kite surfing to do any of this. On our day of rest, Sarah and Mark lent us their bikes to go off and explore. They also have a swimming pool which we had all to ourselves on our visit. If you want to go clubbing then you would probably have to travel to Marmaris which is about 30 minutes away but we found the friendly bars and restaurants in Akyaka lovely enough, we didn’t bother with Marmaris.
I think before long this spot will be very popular as it is so perfect for kite surfing, so get there quick. Visit www.alwayswindy.com for photos and more information.
Let them know Robin and Nicky recommended you.
After a disappointing holiday in Egypt last year my partner and I were looking for somewhere with guaranteed wind. After a lot of searching we came across a place in Turkey called Gökova Bay. The kite surfing school there is called Always Windy and what can I say it was always windy. If you visit here you will ask yourself is there such a thing as too much kitesurfing, so much so we had to have a break by the middle of the week due to wearing ourselves out!
From the moment we got there to the moment we left the conditions were perfect. We were down at the beach setting up by about 11.30am and when we had tired ourselves out and gone home we could still see from our balcony, kites up until 9pm on several evenings! We are absolutely gutted we only went for a week and we are totally going back.
The whole week I was on a 7m Naish and my partner was on a 9m Waroo. We are still learning but the conditions were perfect. The waves were tiny and the water is a lot less salty than other places. Important when you do a few superman moves! However when we were there, there were also a couple of professionals warming up for a competition and they were able to do some awesome jumps.
Mark and Sarah run Always Windy; they met in Tarifa where they had both been working for many years before they moved to Turkey. After deciding Tarifa was getting a little too busy they decided to look for another spot and found Gökova Bay. Mark and Sarah are both great teachers and they were very patient, especially with me! They also attached radios to us to give us feedback and advice when we were actually on the water. When we got back from the beach we watched videos of us to see how we could improve which really helped us the next day.
Mark and Sarah will help you sort out everything. We actually stayed with them in their house which is an option and at a very reasonable price. They made us traditional Turkish breakfasts every morning and amazing doorstop sandwiches for lunch. We went out for dinner every night but when you can get a meal and alcoholic drink for £7 each it doesn’t break the bank! Other options include hotels, b&bs or apartments.
Gökova Bay is in Akyaka which is still quite a traditional Turkish Village and the people are so friendly. We flew to Dalaman with Monarch Air which was fairly cheap but they only give you 13kg for kite gear so probably best to go with Easy Jet. The guys gave us a lift but you can also get a taxi or the Havas bus (Hava?: Home Page) which we got on the way back and took about an hour at £24 each.
Gökova Bay is gorgeous; there is a separate beach for tourists so the whole beach is for the kite surfers. The winds here are thermal and are directed by the mountains. Whatever, it’s always windy and that’s what counts!
There are other things to do there, if you want, like boat rides and trips to Dalyan for the mud baths. We were too busy kite surfing to do any of this. On our day of rest, Sarah and Mark lent us their bikes to go off and explore. They also have a swimming pool which we had all to ourselves on our visit. If you want to go clubbing then you would probably have to travel to Marmaris which is about 30 minutes away but we found the friendly bars and restaurants in Akyaka lovely enough, we didn’t bother with Marmaris.
I think before long this spot will be very popular as it is so perfect for kite surfing, so get there quick. Visit www.alwayswindy.com for photos and more information.
Let them know Robin and Nicky recommended you.
