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Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

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runner1
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Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby runner1 » Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:16 am

Hi All,

While there is lots of great advice on here about great places to kite, there is not such about places which are also interesting for non-kiters. My wife and all are planning on going to stay somewhere for 2-3 months, probably in Central America or the top of South America, and I would like some suggestions on where to go.

It needs to be:
Interesting, ideally next to a town that is not 100% tourists and reasonably close to other interesting spots,
Warm,
Reasonably cheap,
A bit of nightlife,
Good flattish water kiting (20 knots plus 4 or more days per week) that is easy to access (no boat required),
Spanish or English speaking,
Warm water would be nice, but not essential.

I know this might be optimistic, but any suggestions gratefully received.

Cheers

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby mede » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:17 am

I'd say go to Sri Lanka...

It's culturally incredibly rich, has a very nice fauna and flora (many national parks, climate zones)
has good food, friendly people, is less expensive than many south american locations.

And of course the important thing for you: if you go between May and October, you're likely to have more than 95% of strong kiteable wind up in Kalpitiya.

Kalpitiya has also some flat water in the Sethawadyia lagoon, but if you are staying for 3 month, you can also go and discover some other spots in the area that are nice (Imho).

Hope this helps :)

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby Toby » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:27 am

what is the language in Sri Lanka?

Since Spanish is similar to Portuguese, I suggest Brazil.
Close to Fortaleza, like Cumbuco, where I stay as well.
It has all of what you are looking for.

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby mede » Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:15 pm

Language in Sri Lanka: With English, you get along very well. (It's an official language there, often used to communicate between Singhals and Tamils)

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby windrider11 » Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:36 pm

Your post makes me think of 2 places Cabarete, Dominican Republic and Bahia Salinas, Costa Rica.
I lived in Cabarete for 6 months and it was great. Made lots of friends, lots of kiting and seen a lot of cool places. It is also fairly cheap: rent 400-500/mth for a 3 brdm apt., cheap food and drinks and amazing people.

Also, Bahia Salinas has very good strong winds and you can stay at one of the two kitehouses in the area. The closest major city is Liberia and you're also fairly close to Tamarindo beach, famous for some of the best surfing in the world. Costa Rica is a bit more expensive, but a lot more developed and if there's no wind, there's a lot of things to do and see.

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby Toby » Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:26 pm

Thx Mede!
Great thing...something I also like about the Philippines...the majority speaks good English

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby OBX Kiter » Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:34 pm

We spent two weeks in Mui Ne, Vietnam and could have spent two months easy! Meets all of your requirements and then some…except maybe flat water, which does exist you just have to travel a bit to get there…oh and the food! :thumb:

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby runner1 » Wed Apr 03, 2013 5:12 am

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, they are much appreciated and there were a couple of spots I had not considered:

Sri Lanka: While it undoubtedly has great kiting and lots to see, I thought that the kiting was away from the more interesting parts of the country?
Mui Ne: We have been there (not kiting) unfortunately and I dont think I can convince the missus to go back to the same place.
Bahia Salinas: Sounds great for kiting but hard to find any more information about the area itself, is there much appeal there for a non-kiter?
Cabarete sounds ideal but unfortunately I should have added that while the dates are not fully fixed we will be going sometime between and October and January and I take it that there is very little wind in Cabarete then.
Cumbuco (or similar along that coast) sounds pretty good and seems the most likely so far (and would be a definite if it was Spanish speaking).
Any other options in Latin America at this time of the year?

Thanks again.

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby piccio » Wed Apr 03, 2013 8:46 am

If warm water is not essential I will suggest cape town.
A place between hawaii and portugal ,beautiful place ,not extra beautiful like many people say but good living for a couple of month,many things to do ,many spot any conditions,everything easy and cheap
(at least cheaper than europe). good people,good kiting decent foods,no restrictions etc.
Some people say is dangerous, foolishness!!!!!! of course same attention like every place but nothing compared maybe to miami (that I consider nice place but worst place for living) rio ,caracas.
you should choose places where people always return to( it means is worth going again) and forget islands (some boring more than 15 days)
I live in italy ,mostly sardinia, will say medim expert kiting, I was cabin attendant for 25 years and unfortunatly I have had to see places and travel.I hate airplanes ,hate travel ,hate foreign foods,hate moving from home, afraid of white shark!!!! but will go again asap
ciao
,,

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Re: Place to kite for 2-3 months which is also interesting

Postby mede » Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:56 am

runner1,

I know Ceara, Costa Rica, and Sri Lanka from personal experience, cannot judge Cabarete though.

Essentially, you cannot go wrong with either of the places, they are all fantastic.

There are some differences to keep in mind, though:

1) Time of the year you want to travel:
* If you like to go in wintertime, bahia salinas is clearly the top pick, wind will be better than Ceara, or Sri Lanka from November till March.
* If you like to kite from May till October, Sri Lanka will have the best wind overall.
* In Ceara, wind picks up typically a bit later (End of July, beginning of August), but it lasts longer (until about January)

2) Sight seeing: Nature
You will see the biggest mammals (Elephants, Leopards, etc) in Sri Lanka. There is a National Park (Willpattu) very close to Kalpityia (essentially the other side of the Putalam lagoon), where it is likely to spot leopards. Many more National Parks half a day away.
Costa Rica has also a very diverse fauna and flora, keep in mind though that the best places are in the South West and East.
North Eastern Brazil is, when you go north from Fortaleza, stunningly beautiful, especially North of Jeri, but the distances are very large, and you will rather see smaller animals, and birds. If you can make it to Lencois Maranhenses (about 2 days by car from Fortaleza), this is a unique place with sweet water in a dune desert.

3) Sight seeing: Culture
You can't beat Sri Lanka on that one. Many beautiful ancient cities within easy reach (about half a day by car from Kalpitiya). Actually, Lonely Planet just voted Sri Lanka the top destination to visit in 2013, it's so interesting.
Culturally, there is not much in Ceara, but the party scene is probably the best of the 3 destinations.
You won't go to Costa Rica for it's culture, either; what can be interesting are the indigenous people mostly living on the panamese boarder in the East (pm me if you need a contact there).

4) Cost:
Sri Lanka is the cheapest of these destinations, Ceara should come in second, Costa Rica probably most expensive of the three.
Car rental cost about half the price in Sri Lanka compared to Ceara (depending on the model 4/4 drive car, even less). Did not rent a car in Costa Rica, so cannot compare it.
Lodging should be about the same in Ceara and Sri Lanka, but you probably have more options in Ceara. Food is cheaper in Sri Lanka.

Hope this helps ;)


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