Nearby Dahab Lagoon 4 km · Dahab Blue Lagoon 11 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
09:00 · 10:00 · 11:00 · 13:00 · 15:00
The northerly fills between 10:00 and 11:00 and is strongest from about 13:00 to 15:00. Autumn and winter days start earlier, nearer 09:00-10:00, and can be finished by mid-afternoon.
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.
The wind
locals call it Gulf of Aqaba northerly / Etesian-influenced thermal
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: The northerly fills between 10:00 and 11:00 and is strongest from about 13:00 to 15:00. Autumn and winter days start earlier, nearer 09:00-10:00, and can be finished by mid-afternoon.
Typical strength
15-25 kt on typical good-season Dahab days, 20-30 kt on the stronger April-November days; the long-term average at the nearest station is 10 kt with 17 kt gusts, so read the daily forecast, not the average.
Also on record
10
The quiver, in words
9-11 m is the standard quiver for a 75-85 kg rider through most of the season, 7 m in July and August when it blows hardest, 13 m for winter, light days and foiling. Rental kites in town run from 3 m up to 13 m.
Direction to shore
Side-shore. The flow comes down the gulf from the north with a NNW or NNE slant depending on the day, so it runs along the beach rather than pushing onto it, and a self-rescue means drifting down the shoreline.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan21
- Feb49
- Mar, riders' month40
- Apr, riders' month50
- May, riders' month58
- Jun, riders' month62
- Jul, riders' month45
- Aug, riders' month63
- Sep, riders' month62
- Oct, riders' month42
- Nov, riders' month20
- Dec11
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 21%Jan23°
- 49%Feb22°
- 40%Mar22°
- 50%Apr23°
- 58%May25°
- 62%Jun27°
- 45%Jul29°
- 63%Aug30°
- 62%Sep28°
- 42%Oct27°
- 20%Nov26°
- 11%Dec24°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21% | 60% | 42% | 11.4 kt | NE | 14:00 | 18.4°C | 22.9°C | 62 |
| Feb | 49% | 70% | 56% | 12.4 kt | NE | 13:00 | 18.6°C | 21.7°C | 57 |
| Mar | 40% | 60% | 53% | 12.4 kt | NE | 13:00 | 21.8°C | 22.2°C | 62 |
| Apr | 50% | 65% | 60% | 13 kt | NE | 13:00 | 27.7°C | 23.4°C | 60 |
| May | 58% | 77% | 69% | 13.4 kt | NE | 14:00 | 29.8°C | 24.5°C | 62 |
| Jun | 62% | 87% | 73% | 13.6 kt | NE | 13:00 | 34.5°C | 26.8°C | 60 |
| Jul | 45% | 79% | 63% | 12.3 kt | NE | 13:00 | 35.1°C | 28.8°C | 62 |
| Aug | 63% | 81% | 71% | 13.4 kt | NE | 13:00 | 35.9°C | 29.7°C | 62 |
| Sep | 62% | 92% | 73% | 13.5 kt | NE | 13:00 | 33.6°C | 28°C | 60 |
| Oct | 42% | 76% | 60% | 12.3 kt | NE | 13:00 | 29.1°C | 26.5°C | 62 |
| Nov | 20% | 53% | 30% | 10.8 kt | NE | 13:00 | 24.4°C | 25.6°C | 60 |
| Dec | 11% | 34% | 23% | 10.1 kt | NE | 14:00 | 20.8°C | 23.8°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
mixed
Standing depth
The reef sits centimetres under the surface in places. At high or mid tide there is enough water over it to ride and to stand; at low tide large sections drain to ankle depth and the spot is off. Past the reef line the bottom drops away.
Tides
Tide decides more here than the forecast does. High or mid water is the window, low water leaves the reef bare or nearly so across much of the rideable area. High water comes about thirty minutes later each day, so the window that worked this morning is a lunchtime window next week.
Temperature
27-28°C summer · 21-23°C winter
Wetsuit
Boardshorts/rashguard in midsummer; 2 mm shorty is optional/luxury in April-October; 3/2 full suit or warmer layers recommended November-March, especially because wind chill is noticeable.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: ok
Somewhere else
Dahab Lagoon, 4 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Beach launch straight off the Assalah shorefront in town, sand right in front of the houses and guesthouses, with reef and rock patches mixed into the water entry. From here the run downwind is about six kilometres south to the Dahab lagoon, which is how most people use the beach.Few riders bother with it; the ones who do are locals who know where the anchored boats and the shallow reef sit.
Space
ok
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Ride Assalah on a high or mid tide and skip it on the low; the reef sits centimetres under the surface and large sections go ankle-deep.
- Wear booties. The entry is sand mixed with rock and coral patches, and you will stand on them at some point.
- Ask at Happy Kite or Harry Nass where locals enter and exit before your first session; which stretch of the Assalah shorefront is accepted for rigging is unconfirmed.
- Know the lagoon zoning before you downwind toward it: Baby Bay is closed to kites, and the windsurf area is off-limits to kiters between 09:00 and 15:00.
- Wait for the northerly to fill; it comes in between 10:00 and 11:00 and is strongest 13:00-15:00, so a morning start is mostly waiting.
- Watch for anchored boats on the inside; they have been reported in the launch area.
- On a dead low tide the Blue Lagoon trip is the usual fallback; Baby Bay gets suggested too, but kiting there is officially forbidden, so check before you go.
- Ask at a Dahab centre where locals enter and exit before your first session; which stretch of the Assalah shorefront is accepted for rigging is unconfirmed.
- Watch for anchored boats on the inside; they sit in the launch area.
- On a dead low tide the Blue Lagoon trip is the usual fallback; Baby Bay gets suggested too, but kiting there is officially forbidden.
- High water slides about half an hour later each day, so read the table rather than reusing yesterday's timing.
Getting there
Airport
Sharm El Sheikh International Airport (SSH)
Route
Dahab has no airport; most visitors arrive via SSH and travel the coastal road to Dahab by private transfer/taxi, shared microbus via Sharm bus station, or East Delta bus. Assalah is in/north of central Dahab and is walkable from many Assalah guesthouses.
Transfer
90 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Assalah is one of the kite-friendly areas to stay because it is walking distance to the in-town launch; Mashraba is more touristy but still walkable to launches, and Lighthouse/North End is quieter and closer to Baby Bay. Options in Dahab range from budget guesthouses/apartments to mid-range hotels and lagoon resorts.
No-wind days
Diving and snorkeling at Dahab reefs such as Blue Hole, Canyon, Eel Garden and Lighthouse; desert/canyon trips, quad or camel tours, Ras Abu Galum excursions, Mount Sinai/St Catherine trips, SUP from some centers, cafes and remote-work time in town.
Photos
Last updated: August 2026