Hi everybody! I'm planning a kite vacation to Kalpitiya in August. The spot seems perfect with stable winds with both flat water lagoons and wave.

I'm a bit concerned by the accomodation options and prices - a very simple hut (without windows!) in a camp (Kite Kuda) costs not less 33 EUR per day per person, a more decent accomodation is like 60-70 EUR per day. Doesn't sound like asian prices...

If I just buy tickets to Colombo and travel to Kalpitiya on my own will I be able to find some nice (relatively cheap and clean) guesthouses in the town or nearby (like I always do in most asian countries) not too far from the kite spots? Can I rent a bike or a scooter in Kalpitiya? What kind of restaurants can I expect to find in the area?

Any other useful information on the spot will be highly appreciated!

Thanks!

If you are looking for style and comfort at reasonable rates....you wont find it there, sorry Accomodation is very basic, and E33 gets you a matress with a mosquito net. Food is ok if you are not to picky about what you eat.

You can find local people that will rent you a room in their house. Again nothing fancy, just a bed. You can rent bicycles in the area, and bike to the camps which will give you a lift to the kite spots. You can also arrange to sleep somewhere with a local and eat at the camps or with the family you are staying at.

It is backpack lifestyle down there, and prices are crazy, doesnt matter where you find a place to sleep.

Wind is on night and day and when I was there for a week, the wind never went under 20kn. So always windy in season. You wont miss a day! Take a 7m and 9m.

Lagoon where you will mostly kite has 2 areas. One section is choppy, and the other is flat water. Most advanced guys throw tricks in the flat area and the rest normally stays in the chop. But its open to kite anywhere and no one will ask you to leave an area. The lagoon does get gusty if the wind reaches close to 30kn.

Be careful in the water because there are spiny seashells, and the spines break off in your feet if you step on them. After a week I could hardly walk with all the spines in my feet. So take shoes or stay on your board.

The downwinder to the islands is an experience - to say the least. Expensive at 70 euro a trip, but a sight to be seen and butter flat water with +25kn winds.
Enjoy

I second these points.

The seafood is amazing (especially the prawns!) but be ready to eat nothing other than prawns and fish for the whole time you're there! I spend a month there and had a pain of a time trying to get my own transport. Ended up renting a beat up old scooter from a local for more money than it was worth. Don't expect it to be like other asian places you've visited. There really aren't any restaurants or shops or bars.. and the only other people you'll come across are the locals and a few bedraggled kitesurfers!

And those shells are KILLER! Especially because the water isn't that clean. Every cut or scratch and nick I got became pretty badly infected even though I washed them and used antiseptic.. I guess with no working sewerage systems in the villages what do you expect..

It is great fun there though! And if you do stay at Kitekuda, be sure to get the local boy who cooks to take you crab catching on the beach at night.

Jess
http://www.thekitesurfingcollective.com

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