Kiteboarding in Marsa Alam: Lagoons, Wind and Choosing a Kite Centre

Kitesurfing in Marsa Alam means riding in lagoons that a coral reef separates from the open sea, and each kiteboarding centre sits on one of them. The wind blows mostly from the north. Inside the lagoons the water is usually flat; outside the reef you get waves.

The lagoons are far apart: the one at Casa Mare is 46 km north of the town, while Hamata and Wadi Lahami are 2 to 2.5 hours' drive south of the airport. You get between the lagoons by car, so I'd plan this trip the other way round from most: choose the lagoon that matches your riding, then book a hotel next to it.

If you're still comparing regions, the overview of all of them is in Kite spots in Egypt.

Where to kitesurf in Marsa Alam

The lagoon at Casa Mare (formerly Royal Tulip)

The closest lagoon to the airport. The hotel was known as Royal Tulip Beach Resort until it was renamed, and you'll still see that name in older reviews and video titles. The lagoon runs about 1 km along the beach and 700 m out to sea, so there's room for plenty of kites at once.

You can see a jetty running out over the shallows in the video. That's the kind of detail I sort out before I pump up: where exactly the kite zone ends, what's downwind of me, and how I get back if I go down far from the launch.

El Naaba

Here it matters where you get in. There's sand and standing depth for roughly the first 20 metres, then the lagoon gets deeper, and about 200 m out a reef shuts it off from the sea. If your waterstart (getting up from the water onto the board) isn't reliable yet, you'll spend every crash in the main bay body-dragging back to your board in deep water, letting the kite pull you through the water. Baby Bay, a little further south, has flat water and is the better place to start. Locals rate Giant Bay for experienced riders.

Blue Lagoon

About 20 km south of town, by the Dream Lagoon Beach hotel. The bottom is sandy and the water is usually flat, choppy when the wind picks up. The reef sits about 800 m from shore and takes a little of the space. Complete newcomers learn here too: the local centre runs an introductory lesson with theory and your first go at flying a kite.

Hamata and Wadi Lahami

The waist-deep shallows here are huge, the water is flat to slightly choppy and gets flatter at low tide. For beginners it's the safest bet in the area, and advanced riders have plenty of room to practise tricks. There are mangroves upwind of the spot and islands with reefs a little further out. At Lahami Bay the water level drops in July and August, and the kiting area shrinks to a narrower channel.

It's a long way, though: about 180 km from the airport, 2 to 2.5 hours by car. Kite Village has bungalows right behind the kite centre at Hamata, while the Wadi Lahmy Azur and Lahami Bay Beach Resort hotels are further away and run transfers to the spot. You'll find it on the kite spot map under Hamata.

Wind direction and the best months

At Marsa Alam airport the wind averages 13 knots, mostly from the north (Windfinder statistics for 2003 to 2026). A knot is the nautical unit of speed; 15 knots is about 28 km/h or 17 mph. The windiest months are June and September at around 15 knots on average, the lightest are December and January at around 11 knots. That's why I'd pack a bigger kite as well for a winter trip. The NASA POWER model also peaks in June and September, with the wind coming from north-northwest (339-350°).

At El Naaba and at Hamata the wind is usually strongest in the morning, so I wouldn't linger over breakfast. At Hamata it typically drops a few knots in the afternoon.

At Hamata the most common sizes are 9 and 12 m², with 7 m² for lighter riders, and a big kite comes in handy on light days. You can work out your own size from your weight and the wind in the kite size calculator. If you're choosing by month, there's a comparison of destinations in Where to kitesurf in June and Where to kitesurf in September.

Reef, shoes and what's downwind

The coast here is lined with coral reef, so you only kite in the lagoons and only where there's sand down to the water. Even the shallows have coral heads, so pack reef shoes.

Kiters refer to wind blowing along the beach as sideshore. That's what you get at El Naaba, coming from the left. At Hamata it also comes from the left, but at an angle towards the beach (side-on). In both places you and your kite drift to the right when you crash, and at Hamata towards the beach as well. Standing there facing the sea, everything that matters is on your right: the jetty, the reef, swimmers or the edge of the kite zone. Have a look before you head out.

Beyond the reef there's deep water and waves. Besides getting you up and riding, a good course teaches self-rescue: getting yourself and your kite back to shore. Without it you're a danger to yourself and everyone else on a new spot. Once you're there, ask whether the centre has a rescue boat on the water.

How to choose a kite centre in Marsa Alam

The centres here sit at hotels, so choosing a centre also means choosing a lagoon. These are the questions I'd ask:

• Is the centre right on the lagoon? If they drive you somewhere else every day, you lose time, and the strongest wind tends to be in the morning.
• Is there a rescue boat on the water while you ride? On a spot with open sea beyond the reef, that's a must for me.
• Where is the standing area for lessons, and how big is it? For a beginner, 20 metres by the beach and waist-deep shallows make for a completely different week.
• Are the instructors IKO certified, and do they speak a language you'll understand over the wind?
• What kite and board sizes do they rent? Especially if you're lighter or heavier than average.
• Where does the kite zone end, and what's downwind? They should show you that on the beach.

When to go and what to wear

According to the NASA model, air temperature is around 19 °C in January and around 32 °C in August. The water is around 23 °C in winter and around 29 °C in summer. A wetsuit makes sense from October to March, a shorty in April, May and September, and a lycra is enough in summer. For Hamata I'd go between October and June and skip the summer heat.

Getting there, airport and visa

Marsa Alam airport is about 60 km north of the town and 210 km south of Hurghada. The town itself is 274 km south of Hurghada. From the airport it's about 30 minutes to El Naaba and 2 to 2.5 hours to Hamata and Wadi Lahami. You can buy a tourist visa on arrival at Marsa Alam airport for 30 USD (the price since 1 March 2026), or get one in advance through the e-Visa portal.

If the north appeals more, with spots closer together, have a look at kitesurfing in Hurghada and El Gouna. Money, SIM cards and getting to the spot are covered in Egypt for kiters.

Marsa Alam or a week on a boat

Marsa Alam suits you if you want one lagoon by your hotel that you ride all week and get to know better every day. If what you want is a week that clearly moves your riding forward, I'd go for a kite safari from Hurghada. The boat heads out to the islands every day depending on the wind, you kite in the morning and in the afternoon, and in the evening your sessions get reviewed on video. The crew helps with launching and landing, and there's a rescue boat on the water.

The safari I go on sets off from Hurghada, so if you want to add a few days in Marsa Alam, plan for the transfer north along the coast.