Ibi & Friends Kiteclub
ShopOnline shopRentalSchool
German-run kite school at Seahorse Bay that is CrazyFly's listed dealer for the area and sells gear through its own German-language webshop.
Cairo Road, Seahorse Village, 84511 Hurghada
Photo
Kitesurfing at HurghadaEbief, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Hurghada
Established
External renown — how known this place is in the kite world. Not a quality rating.
The feel of the place
Hurghada is a sprawling, low-cost Red Sea resort city with genuine city-scale nightlife and every hotel budget imaginable, but its kite spots are lagoons and hotel-front launches scattered across town rather than one clean beach - most riders actually kite in or base themselves toward neighbouring El Gouna.
Suits budget-conscious riders and groups who want an affordable, lively base with desert and dive add-ons; less suited to anyone chasing a boutique, quiet, walk-to-the-water kite village feel.
The short answers
The essentials before the detail
When to come
Mar to Oct
Every spot here is in season then
Number = how many of the 4 spots are in season that month.
Windiest modelled month
June · 92% of days · Makadi Bay
The month the wind model rates highest; the season above is when riders and schools go.
modelled
days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local, in June at Makadi Bay, the strongest month any spot here models
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
What it costs
budget to mid
Accommodation ~EUR 20-100/person/night
Schools
11
in the directory
Getting there
1 airport
Hurghada International Airport (HRG) · direct charters/flights from much of Europe
Permits & rules
3 spots
with rules of their own for permits, zoning or the bathing season, on the spot cards
Where to ride
4 spots
lagoon, shallow flat water, deep-water pool, mixed water, bay, sandy beach, shallow near shore, flat to chop with small/medium waves possible, shallow sandy bay, flat to chop
Levels across the spots
Good to know before you go 2
- Hurghada's own kite launches are scattered and less clean than El Gouna's lagoon - many kiters stay in/near El Gouna instead and treat Hurghada as the arrival city
- Bring exact USD cash for the airport visa fee - card payment at the kiosk is unreliable
The spots
El Naaba Lagoon
El Naaba Lagoon is near Marsa Alam, about 30 minutes from RMF, and not a Hurghada spot whatever the seed coordinates say.
Hurghada / Magawish
Magawish is a Hurghada kite area rather than a beach: the hotel front, the Magawish sandbanks and islands, and school-run training zones.
Makadi Bay
Makadi Bay is a resort bay about 30 km south of Hurghada, and the kite launch is the hotel beach at Palace Pier.
Sahl Hasheesh
Sahl Hasheesh is a resort bay roughly 18 km south of Hurghada International Airport and just north of Makadi Bay.
Schools
11 in the directory
Colona Watersports
IKO
Doeslessons · rental · storage
RidesHurghada / Magawish
colonawatersports.com
Harry Nass
Doeslessons
Sultan Kite School
Doeslessons · rental · storage
RidesSahl Hasheesh · Makadi Bay
sultankiteschool.com
High Surf & Kite School
IKO
Doeslessons · rental · storage · wing · foil · camp
RidesSahl Hasheesh
highsurf-kite.com
Masters Surf School
IKO
Doeslessons · rental · wing · foil · camp
RidesHurghada / Magawish · Makadi Bay · Sahl Hasheesh
masterssurfschool.com
Star Surf Egypt
Doeslessons · rental
RidesMakadi Bay
SpeaksEnglish · German · French · Italian · Russian
starsurfegypt.com
Kite Fly School
IKO
Doeslessons · rental
RidesMakadi Bay · Sahl Hasheesh · Hurghada / Magawish
kiteflyschool.com
Easy2Kite
Doeslessons
RidesSahl Hasheesh
Show all 11 schools
KiteCampSchool
IKO
Doeslessons · rental
RidesSahl Hasheesh
kitecampschools.com
Kite School Egypt
IKO
Doeslessons · rental · storage · downwinders
RidesHurghada / Magawish
kiteschoolegypt.com
ProCenter Tommy Friedl El Naaba
Doeslessons · rental · storage · foil
RidesEl Naaba Lagoon
SpeaksGerman · English
tommy-friedl.com
Shops & repair
6 shops · As of 2026
Sick Dog Surf - Kite Repair
RepairRental
Repair-focused operation running a workshop in El Gouna with beach-to-beach pickup and drop-off for damaged kites across Hurghada, El Gouna, Safaga, Makadi Bay and Soma Bay, alongside kite safaris and rental; legally registered in Estonia but run on the ground in Egypt.
Elixir Beach Marina, Touristic Villages, Hurghada
HOLIX Watersports & Kitesurfing
ShopOnline shopRepairSecond-hand
National watersports retailer trading since the early 2000s, run by a small team of riders (self-described as active since 1992); the Cairo store is the flagship, stocking kite, wake, SUP and surf gear plus a used-gear section.
95B Merghani Street, Heliopolis, Cairo 11341
KBC (Kiteboarding Club) El Gouna
ShopOnline shopRepairRentalSecond-handSchool
Kite and wingfoil centre with its own on-site repair workshop (bladders, valves, lines, torn canopy) and a linked online shop, kbc-shop.com, that also lists second-hand gear.
Buzzha Beach, Kite Center Road 1, 84513 El Gouna
KitePeople - The Station
ShopRepairRentalSchool
Kite school inside the Movenpick Resort with an on-site shop for kiting essentials and an express kite-repair team; brand range not published on the site.
Movenpick Resort & Spa, El Gouna
Kitepower El Gouna
ShopRepairRentalTest centreSchool
Billed as El Gouna's oldest kite operation, running since 2004 and under its current co-owners (head coach Lukas Vogeltanz among them) since 2023; the beach base is the exclusive Flysurfer and Levitaz test-and-buy point for the area, with on-site spares and small repairs.
El Gouna lagoon base, next to SALT beach club
Getting there & around
Nearest airports
- Hurghada International Airport (HRG) · direct charters/flights from much of Europe
Car
Car neededNot essential within Hurghada/El Gouna - taxis and hotel transport cover it; useful only for desert safaris or day trips further afield
Transfers
Kite bag rules for your airline
Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.
Checked so far for Egypt:EgyptAir
Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →
Practical
LanguageArabic; English widely used in tourism industry
VisaMost Western nationalities (US/UK/EU/Canada/Australia etc.) get a 30-day visa on arrival at Hurghada airport for around USD 25-30 - pay at a bank/visa kiosk before passport control, and bring exact-change crisp USD notes since card machines at the counter are unreliable; an e-visa bought in advance skips the queue. Passport needs 6+ months validity and one blank page.
Costsbudget to midAccommodation ~EUR 20-100/person/night6hr kite lesson ~EUR 2603hr kite gear rental ~EUR 45Visa on arrival ~USD 25-30
Cash & cards
MoneyEgyptian pound; USD cash widely used for visa and some tourist services
What riders say
11 recurring claims
The tag says how far the riders who mention it agree; the figure is how many mention it.
Almost no stretch of Hurghada beach is simply open water you can walk onto - the beach in front of each hotel belongs to that hotel or to the station on it, and kiting from it costs roughly 10-20 EUR a day, or 55-80 EUR a week if you take storage. Security turns you back if you try to walk along the beach to the next resort.
consensus6 riders
Hurghada city is where you sleep, not where you kite. People who went twice mostly say to base at Magawish, or leave town entirely for El Gouna or Soma Bay, and treat the city as taxis, food and an airport.
consensus5 riders
Even inside the good season the wind is a week-by-week lottery. The same two-week trip can produce one week barely rideable and one week on an 8m, and several people describe planning around statistics and getting skunked anyway.
consensus4 riders
Wind is thermal and much more reliable in summer than winter, when weeks can pass without wind
strong2 riders
Sun-umbrella spikes on the beach can shred a kite - a distinctly local hazard
strong1 rider
Show all 11 claims
Makadi Bay itself gets gusty because of buildings on the north shore; steadier wind is found just outside the bay
strong1 rider
You ride inside a box someone else drew. Go too far downwind, foil out toward the islands, or try a late sunset session and you get called back - the station is responsible for rescuing you and keeps you within sight.
majority3 riders
At Magawish the wind is dirty near the beach and cleans up once you are past the sandbar; close to the marina and buildings it swirls badly enough to be a launch problem, and in cross-off conditions you can get pushed down onto coral near shore.
majority3 riders
Beach staff pump, rig and launch your gear as the default, and riders who own good equipment describe finding real damage afterwards - bar assembled backwards, a back line nearly shredded, tips dragged over concrete, sand worked in between strut and canopy.
majority3 riders
The thing people rate highest about the Hurghada area is not the town's beaches but the liveaboard kite safari that leaves from it - flat spots off uninhabited islands, wind every day, and diving thrown in.
majority3 riders
How much hassle you feel off the water is genuinely disputed. Some describe constant pressure for money and worse, others say the resort and kite crowd were warm and that the complaints are unfair given how cheap the trip is.
contested5 riders
The trade-off
Pros
- El Naaba Lagoon is shallow, flat and 'perfect for learning'
- Strong on-water rescue service noted at Magawish for offshore-wind days
- Divers are common at Magawish and reportedly appreciate riders jumping near (not over) them
Cons
- Reef and coral hazards at multiple spots (Magawish, Makadi Bay)
- Sun-umbrella spikes are a specific, easy-to-miss kite-shredding hazard on the beach
- Winter wind is unreliable - can go weeks without wind
- Makadi Bay's inner bay is gusty due to shoreline buildings
Wind micro-knowledge
5 facts · Time of day · Through the season
Time of dayAt Magawish, wind runs offshore in winter mornings then swings sideshore by noon; it stays mostly sideshore all day in summer
Through the seasonPeak season broadly May-October across the Hurghada-area spots (Magawish, Makadi Bay); El Naaba Lagoon (toward El Gouna/Soma) peaks May-Sep
Wind shadowsMakadi Bay's inner bay is shadowed and made gusty by beachfront buildings on the north shore; open water outside the bay is steadier
Tide and windEl Naaba Lagoon is rated best on high tide
GustsWinter mornings can run offshore before swinging sideshore by midday at Magawish; Makadi Bay's inner-bay wind is notably gustier than the open water outside it
Tips from riders
- Register at the surf station at Magawish (3-7 USD/day) and keep a kiteleash on at all times
- Beginners are restricted to the roped-off 'Training Bay' at Magawish
- At Makadi Bay, steadier wind is found outside the bay itself, not inside it
- Further north on Sahl Hasheesh's beach there are fewer people and more launch space
Scene & life
VibeLively, mainstream resort-city nightlife - the busiest and least quiet of the Egyptian Red Sea options in this batch
ActivitiesDesert safaris (quad bike/4x4) · Diving and snorkeling day boats · Yoga
Day tripsLuxor temple tours · Aswan tours
Pairs withEl Gouna (lagoon kiting), Luxor/Aswan Nile temple circuit
Après-kite
- Beach bars and BBQs
- Ministry of Sound Hurghada nightclub
- Restaurant strips along the marina/promenade
Itinerary idea
Fly into Hurghada, base in El Gouna for the kiting, day-trip to Luxor or into the desert on rest days
FAQ
Is Hurghada itself a good kite base?
Hurghada's own kite launches are scattered lagoons and hotel-front beaches rather than one clean spot, so many kiters instead base themselves near El Gouna, 30km north, for its calmer flat lagoon and dedicated kite schools.
Do I need a car?
Not essential within Hurghada or El Gouna, since taxis and hotel transport cover it; a car only helps for desert safaris or day trips further afield.
What does kiting cost here?
A 6-hour kite lesson runs about EUR 260 and 3 hours of gear rental about EUR 45, with accommodation running roughly EUR 20-100 per person per night depending on hotel tier.
What is the visa process?
Most Western nationalities get a 30-day visa on arrival at Hurghada airport for about USD 25-30, paid at a bank or visa kiosk before passport control; bring exact-change cash since card machines there are unreliable.
How this place scores
Scores out of 10, compared with other places. The data figure under each label is how much of this record that score had to work from, so a high score on thin data is a thin score.
- Flat waterdata 100%10.0
- Beginner friendlydata 88%9.2
- Safetydata 94%8.9
- Kite communitydata 87%7.9
- Room on the waterdata 81%7.7
- Familydata 100%6.3
- Off the waterdata 67%5.5
- Wavesdata 100%5.4
- Ease of accessdata 27%4.0
- Wind reliabilitydata 3%3.4
- Affordabilitydata 0%not scored
- Long staydata 0%not scored
A paler bar was scored from less than half of the record.
Scores by trip type
- Learning to ridedata 90%8.5
- Family tripdata 100%7.2
- Freestyle and flat waterdata 90%6.9
- Wavesdata 100%5.7
- Kite and workdata 45%5.4
Nothing here carries a figure for a long stay and affordability, so every line above is built without them.
Still open
Things we could not verify. If you have ridden here, you can help.
Show the 2 open questions
- Do most serious kiters base in El Gouna rather than Hurghada itself?
- How big are the Hurghada school and community rider groups?
When to go and nearby places
Last updated: 4 September 2026