MapUAERas Al KhaimahAl Hamra BeachRas Al Khaimah

Al Hamra Beach

Umm al-Quwain Emirate · Ras Al Khaimah · Jazirat Al Hamra

also known as Jazirat Al Hamra Beach, RAK

Part of Ras Al Khaimah →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlylow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Nov–Jun

Months riders and schools name

How windy

18-28 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

32–34 °C in summerShallow flat water with chop and small waves, depending where in the lagoon you sit

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy Nov Dec Jan Feb

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

60 min

On the clock

08:00 · 12:00

Mornings, roughly 08:00 to 12:00, are the most consistent and least gusty part of the day. The wind reaches Al Hamra one to two hours before it reaches Dubai's Kite Beach, so an early drive north can buy a session that the city does not get.

The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Al Marjan Islandno page yet
Umm Al Quwain
Al Zorah Marina / Ajmanno page yet
Dubai Kite Beach
Nessnass Beachno page yet
Fujairah / East Coastno page yet

The spot

Location and water

Al Hamra is a sandy public beach behind Jazirat Al Hamra and Al Hamra Village at the south end of Ras Al Khaimah, and kite talk usually just calls it RAK. What you ride is a lagoon about 1 km by 2 km, sand bottom, no reef, waist deep and less across most of it, with a narrow channel at the far end out to the open Gulf.

Season and wind

The season is the argument here: the local reading is that May to September is Shamal season with 18-28 knots from the north-northwest and 30-plus knot days several times a month, while other guidance puts the best window at March-June and the country-wide advice points at winter. Heat, not wind, is what limits the summer months. The disagreement is wide enough that you should ride a forecast rather than a calendar.

Daily pattern

Mornings, roughly 08:00 to 12:00, are the steadiest and least gusty, and the wind reaches Al Hamra one to two hours before it reaches Dubai's Kite Beach, which is the real reason to drive north.

Facilities

Facilities on the public beach are close to nothing: parking on the access road is free, and the showers, food and rental desks are in the village, at Al Hamra Marina, at the Royal Yacht Club and in the resorts.

Pre-launch

Check the sand before you lay out lines, because glass, rubbish, fisher nets and 4x4 tracks are all part of it.

The wind

locals call it Shamal / northerly Gulf winds

Direction

cross-onN

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

N, W, WNW, NW, NNW

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

At 75-85 kg, 7-9 m covers the 18-28 knot summer Shamal and 5-7 m the 30-knot days. Twelve metres is the size for the 12-18 knot transition days in April and October, and 14-15 m or a foil for the 10-16 knot winter.The local rule of thumb is that at 15 knots a 60 kg rider is on 9 m and a 100 kg rider on 15 m.Indicative: sized from the wind band, no local quiver list confirms it.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Typical strength

18-28 knots from the north-northwest through the May-September Shamal, with 30-plus knot days several times a month. 12-18 knots on the better April and October days. 10-18 knots from the northeast through the winter.

Forecast-dependent, and the published guidance contradicts itself on when the season even is. Shamal days are properly strong. Average days across the UAE are light and unreliable, and Al Hamra is not exempt from that.

May to September

May to September is Shamal season and the strongest stretch of the year here: 18-28 knots from the north-northwest is normal and 30-plus knot days come round several times a month. The limit in those months is heat, not wind.

Rest of the year

April and October are transition months giving 12-18 knots on the good days. November to March is the lightest season at this spot, 10-18 knots on northeast trades - the reverse of the usual advice for the UAE as a whole, where winter is the season. Plan around a forecast rather than a calendar.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · the wind series here holds no strength figure

No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, and whatever the series does hold is in the table below.

Measured at Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, ~19 km from the spot (2013-2026).

Every figure, month by monthWind from · Air

Month	Wind from	Air
Jan	WNW	21 °C
Feb	WNW	23 °C
Mar	NW	26 °C
Apr	WNW	31 °C
May	WNW	36 °C
Jun	NW	38 °C
Jul	N	39 °C
Aug	NNE	39 °C
Sep	NNW	36 °C
Oct	NNW	33 °C
Nov	NNW	28 °C
Dec	NW	23 °C

How this was measuredmeasured · 2013-2026

What was recorded here is in the table above, but it holds no wind-strength figure for any month, so no season is drawn from it. The season is the one the spot record names.

A station this far away — often inland or at an airport — can understate accelerated local wind. The direction is a column of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport · Windfinder · 2013-2026

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Waist deep and less across most of the lagoon: roughly 0.4-0.8 m in the shallower sections at low water, 1-1.5 m at high water. The bottom is sand with no reef. The lagoon runs about 1 km wide by 2 km long, so there is a great deal of standing water before the channel out to the open Gulf.

Tides

The lagoon is depth-sensitive rather than tide-free. Reckon on 0.4-0.8 m in the shallow sections at low water against 1-1.5 m at high water across most of it. Low water is the beginner and transition window; high water suits foiling and freestyle.

Temperature

32–34 °C summer · 21–23 °C winter

Wetsuit

Rash vest/boardshorts are generally enough year-round; a shorty can be useful on the coolest January-February days.

Currents

No measured current is published for the lagoon itself and the flat water inside it behaves. The place to respect is the narrow channel out to the open Gulf, which is for intermediate and advanced riders only.

Conditions

Shallow flat water with chop and small waves, depending where in the lagoon you sit. The public beach in front is calm and shallow with limited facilities; the watersports activity sits around Al Hamra Marina, the Royal Yacht Club and the nearby resorts, and a sheltered anchorage lagoon is adjacent to the marina.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Knee-to-waist-deep water over sand across most of the lagoon is why beginners can work here: a fall is gentler than it is in chop, and transitions are cheap to practise. Intermediates get flat water and the channel, and the narrow channel out to the open Gulf is not a beginner exit.

Beginners should still treat the public beach, the motorised traffic, the rubbish and glass and any Gulf exit as things to check on the day.

The scene

What riders come here for

intermediatefreerideflat waterfreestylelight-wind sessionswing foilingwindsurfing

Local and informal, and quieter than the Dubai kite beaches. The public beach itself has little on it, and anything that looks like a facility belongs to the marina or a resort.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

2 spots nearby

All 2 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No public kitesurf rescue. The two schools on the lagoon cover their own lessons and rentals, and the yacht club's vessel-recovery service is a membership benefit for boats, not a rider pickup. Ride inside a swim you could actually make, and stay in the lagoon rather than the Gulf channel unless you are confident.

Launch

Sandy public beach behind Al Hamra Village and the marina, opening onto a flat lagoon roughly 1 km by 2 km with a sand bottom and no reef.Parking is free along the beach access road.The sand near the edge is soft enough that a 4x4 saves an argument. Facilities on the public beach itself are thin - the showers, food and rental desks are in the village, the marina and the resorts.

Hazards riders report 19 reported

Crowds and zones

Jet skis and other motorised craft operate from Al Hamra Marina / local watersports providers.

Waves and currents

Fisher nets and current along this stretch.

Protected areas and rules

Broken glass, rubbish and debris on the sand; protect your feet, your canopy and your lines.
Jet skis from Al Hamra marina come into the lagoon; give way to all motorised craft
The narrow channel from the lagoon out to the open Gulf is not a beginner exit

Other

Region prone to shamal-driven sandstorms with reduced visibility
Extreme summer heat and humidity (RAK regularly exceeds 40°C, with high humidity)
Cars, quad bikes and 4x4s on and near the sand; keep lines and gear clear of the vehicle tracks.
Stay clear of the marina entrance/channel and any anchored or berthing vessels.
Extreme summer heat and humidity; Ras al-Khaimah's hot season runs May to late September with average highs above 102 F / 39 C and July average highs around 108 F / 42 C.
Respect private resort beaches, villas and marina property boundaries.
Broken glass, rubbish and debris on the sand; check the ground before you lay out lines
Cars, quad bikes and 4x4s drive on the sand; keep lines and gear clear of the tracks
The marina entrance channel and any anchored or berthing vessels
Fisher nets along this stretch
Soft sand at the access can bog a two-wheel-drive car
Shamal weather brings sandstorms and reduced visibility
Extreme summer heat and humidity: the hot season runs May to late September with average highs above 39 C and July highs around 42 C
Resort beaches, villas and marina property either side are private

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no kitesurf permit or licence is confirmed for the Al Hamra public beach, and no official Ras Al Khaimah kite zone was located.

Rules

2026: the working rules are local etiquette - give way to all motorised vessels, stay clear of the Al Hamra marina entrance and any anchored or berthing boat, keep beginners inside the lagoon, and leave the narrow channel out to the open Gulf to intermediate and advanced riders.

Private property

2026: the resort beaches, villas and marina frontage either side are private property.

Check posted signs on the day, since zoning can change and fines are possible.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Ride the morning, roughly 08:00 to 12:00, and be off the sand by midday in summer: it is the steadiest, least gusty window and heat is the real hazard here.
Drive up from Dubai on a marginal day. The wind gets to Al Hamra one to two hours before Kite Beach, and there is more space when you arrive.
Check the forecast for Al Hamra Marina specifically and confirm with local riders before you set off.
Inspect the sand before rigging: broken glass and rubbish turn up, and cars and quad bikes drive on the beach.
Bring water, shade, footwear and a first-aid kit, because the public beach has almost nothing on it.
Keep beginners inside the lagoon, stay out of the marina entrance and the jet-ski lanes, and leave the channel to the open Gulf to riders who can handle it.

Getting there

Airport

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is about 35 km from Al Hamra Beach; Dubai International Airport is a common gateway and RAK tourism lists Dubai to Ras Al Khaimah at about 1.5-2 hours by car.

Route

Drive north from Dubai on the E311, about 75 minutes to Al Hamra, and park free on the beach access road behind Al Hamra Village and the marina.Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is around 35 km away.Buses reach Ras Al Khaimah from Dubai but you still need a taxi at the far end, and with kite gear a car is the only practical option.

Transfer

60 min

Cost level

medium-high

Staying

Al Hamra Village, Sofitel Ras Al Khaimah Al Hamra Beach Resort, Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah, The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah Al Hamra Beach and Al Marjan Island hotels are nearby accommodation options.

No-wind days

Al Hamra Marina/Royal Yacht Club watersports, SUP/kayak, jet ski, banana boat and waterskiing; Al Hamra Golf Club; Al Jazeera Al Hamra heritage village; Al Marjan Island resorts; Jebel Jais mountain activities; Ras Al Khaimah beaches and restaurants.

Photos

FAQ

Is Al Hamra Beach suitable for beginners?

Sources vary, listing it for any level or specifically as advanced, so beginners should treat the open beach, boat traffic and possible debris as local-check items.

What is the wind like?

The spot depends on Shamal/northerly Gulf wind, reported at 10-28 knots depending on season, and is described as forecast-driven rather than reliably windy.

When is the best time to kite?

Sources conflict: one guide lists May-September as Shamal season, while community listings favor March-June and broader UAE guidance points to November-March instead.

What hazards should riders know about?

Reported hazards include broken glass and debris, vehicles on the sand, jet skis from the marina, and extreme summer heat exceeding 40 degrees C.

The bigger pictureEverything about Ras Al Khaimah

Last updated: August 2026