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South Sinai · Dahab

Dahab Lagoon

also known as Kite Lagoon, Dahab Kite Lagoon, Lagoon (Area 4), Kitesurfing Lagoon, Kite Lagoon Dahab, Lagoon Area

lagoonbeginner-friendlyhigh crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Assalah Beach 4 km · Dahab Blue Lagoon 15 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMar to Novthe months riders and schools name How windy17-25 knotsmixed Launchokaccess rules on record, below Waterlagoon28°C in summer · 6 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools7named at this spot From the airport90 minSheikh International Airport (SSH)

On the clock

09:00 · 10:00 · 14:00

On the clock

10:00 · 11:00 · 13:00 · 15:00

Thermal, sharpened by the funnelling of the narrow gulf. From September to December it usually fills around 09:00-10:00 and fades after about 14:00, a block of four to five hours; spring and summer hold on later into the day. On slower days it does not fill until 10:00-11:00 and peaks between 13:00 and 15:00.

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.

Dahab Lagoon is the kite-school basin on the town side of Dahab, not the Blue Lagoon up the coast. It is small: about 300 x 500 m of knee-to-hip flat water over sand and salt, cut off from the windsurf lagoon by sandbanks, with a few holes over 2 m at the top of the tide.

That is where first lessons and waterstarts happen, and early progression too, and on a May afternoon up to 30 kites share it, so get on the water before 10:00 if you want room.

The wind is a northerly, NNW to NNE; it is thermal-driven, strongest from late morning into the afternoon, 18-25 knots on many windy September-December mornings and often 25 or more in the March-November season; the lagoon itself is sheltered, but the moment you leave it the same wind is cross-off to offshore. That is the part that matters.

Rescue outside the basin exists only for guests of a station, Harry Nass on radio during opening hours, and an unaffiliated rider drifting toward Napoleon Reef should assume nobody is coming. Shoes: the bottom goes slippery at low water and there is coral toward the sandbank.

The full and new moon lows squeeze the lagoon to very little water, so check the tide table as well as the forecast. Zoning is real here: kites stay out of the windsurf lagoon and Baby Bay, and Area 2 and Area 3 are the open zones.

The wind

Direction

cross-offN-NW to NNEwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

5678910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: Thermal, sharpened by the funnelling of the narrow gulf. From September to December it usually fills around 09:00-10:00 and fades after about 14:00, a block of four to five hours; spring and summer hold on later into the day. On slower days it does not fill until 10:00-11:00 and peaks between 13:00 and 15:00.

Typical strength

17-25 knots through the main season, with 25 or more on the strongest March-November days and gusts past 30 when the narrowing gulf really funnels. Winter mornings often start under 15. Long-run averages across all hours sit far lower, near 10-11 knots, so read the live forecast rather than the season label.

Inside the kite lagoon the water is sheltered and flat, but the wind there is affected by tide, by the crowd and by the buildings around it; outside the bay it is cross-off to offshore, and you want station rescue behind you.

March-November is windy on most days; December-February comes in roughly three-day windy cycles. The most reliable stretch is May-August (June 2025 local figures), with March-April and September-October as useful shoulders and winter lower but rideable. Other advice puts the season at September to May and calls June-August very hot with weaker wind; unresolved.

Also on record

The quiver, in words

7-9 m in summer, 10-14 m in winter. A 9 m and an 11 m cover most of the season; add a 7 m for the stronger July/August days, when it blows 25 knots or more, and a 13 m for November-March or foiling (2026).

Direction to shore

cross-off

Forecast

Month by month

Jan63
Feb73
Mar, riders' month73
Apr, riders' month70
May, riders' month88
Jun, riders' month96
Jul, riders' month85
Aug, riders' month86
Sep, riders' month94
Oct, riders' month83
Nov, riders' month66
Dec51

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.

12Jan23°
13Feb22°
14Mar22°
13Apr23°
15May25°
15Jun27°
13Jul29°
14Aug30°
14Sep28°
13Oct27°
12Nov26°
11Dec24°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	63%	11.8 kt	N	18.4°C	22.9°C
Feb	73%	13.1 kt	N	18.6°C	21.7°C
Mar	73%	13.9 kt	N	21.8°C	22.3°C
Apr	70%	13.4 kt	N	27.7°C	23.4°C
May	88%	14.5 kt	N	29.8°C	24.5°C
Jun	96%	14.6 kt	N	34.5°C	26.7°C
Jul	85%	13.3 kt	NNE	35.1°C	28.7°C
Aug	86%	13.9 kt	N	35.9°C	29.6°C
Sep	94%	14.1 kt	N	33.6°C	27.9°C
Oct	83%	12.9 kt	N	29.1°C	26.5°C
Nov	66%	11.6 kt	N	24.4°C	25.7°C
Dec	51%	11 kt	N	20.8°C	23.9°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. 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.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

lagoon

Standing depth

The school lagoon is a shallow standing area of about 300 x 500 m, knee-to-hip deep, with small parts over 2 m at the top of the tide. At full and new moon low water it gets extremely tight.

Tides

Semidiurnal, two highs and two lows a day, and small: a spring day swings from roughly 0.85 m down to near 0.03 m, so under a metre in total. In knee-deep water that is still the difference between riding and walking.Both high and low water are rideable, but full and new moon lows leave very little water and very little room. High water comes about 30 minutes later each day, so a good tide slot drifts across the week.

Temperature

28°C summer · 22°C winter

Wetsuit

Summer is shorts or a 1 mm top for sun and reef protection; a 2 mm shorty April-October is comfort rather than need; a 3/2 full suit November-March, and a 4/3 mm if you feel the cold (2026).

Currents

Nothing to fight inside the enclosed lagoon; the water there moves with the tide and little else. Modelled flow in the gulf outside averages about 0.3 knots and tops out near 1 knot, indicative rather than measured at the spot. What carries a rider away here is the offshore wind, not the current.

22–30°C water

Flat, protected Red Sea lagoon water used by local kite schools for lessons and progression. The bottom is mostly sand/salt, with slippery sections at low tide and more stones/coral toward the sandbank. Outside the enclosed kite lagoon, riders enter more exposed Dahab Bay zones with chop, swell or waves depending on area.

Shoes are recommended for both kite and windsurf lagoon areas.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

The enclosed lagoon is the teaching area; beginner and intermediate courses run inside it at Harry Nass and 5 Squares, and both also coach advanced riders there. Advanced independent riding happens outside, leeward of the windsurf area or in the Area 3 waves, and with cross-off wind it depends on having rescue behind you.

The scene

What riders come here for

beginnerslearninglessonsflat waterfreestyle practiceprogressionwarm-water winter escape

School-led and resort-front, social rather than remote. Up to about 30 kiters can be in the lagoon at once; people are considerate, but anyone who wants space will not find it here. Dahab as a town is chilled and safe with a community feel.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

7 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Assalah Beach, 4 km

Assalah Beach Dahab Blue Lagoon

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

+20 69 364 0559 +20 12 2170 5391

Radio rescue and standby boats outside the enclosed lagoon are run by the kite stations for their own paying guests during opening hours, with walkie-talkies included in rental and storage fees. Unaffiliated riders are not covered, so count rescue outside the lagoon as unavailable unless you have booked with a station.

Numbers worth saving before you go out: Harry Nass +20 69 364 0559, 5 Squares +20 12 2170 5391.

Launch

Sandy/salty lagoon-front launch by the kite schools, with direct lagoon access from Harry Nass Centre 1 and the Soul Kiters/Five Squares lagoon area. Launch/landing assistance, compressor, storage, and fresh water are available at the kite station.

Space

Hazards riders report 6

Very shallow water at some tide states, especially full/new moon lows, can make the lagoon tight and increase injury risk.
Slippery sandy/salty bottom as the tide goes out, worst on the strip in front of Soul Kiters.
Stones and some coral toward the sandbank side of the lagoon; wear shoes.
Offshore or cross-offshore wind outside the enclosed lagoon; use rescue/radio cover and avoid going out alone.
Crowding in the small 300 x 500 m lagoon, especially after 10:00 or at high tide.
Open-sea areas downwind can include swell/waves and reef features such as Napoleon Reef.

Rules & access

2026: windsurfing is not allowed in the kite lagoon, kitesurfing is not allowed in Area 1 (the windsurf lagoon), kitesurfing is officially forbidden in Baby Bay, and kiting is allowed leeward of Area 2 and in Area 3. Independent kiters heading for the leeward Area 2 zone cross the windsurf lagoon before 09:00 and carry a radio because the wind is offshore; kites may not use the windsurfing area between 09:00 and 15:00. No municipal permit rule is published.

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

Rider tips

Be on the water before 10:00; after that the 300 x 500 m basin fills with school kites and at high tide it gets tighter still.
Check the tide table alongside the forecast; full and new moon lows leave very little water, and Dahab tides run roughly 30 minutes later each day.
Do not ride outside the enclosed lagoon without a station behind you; the wind out there is cross-off to offshore and radio rescue is for affiliated guests only.
Pack reef shoes even if you ride barefoot at home; the bottom is slippery at low water, with a bad strip in front of Soul Kiters, and there are stones and coral toward the sandbank.
Kites stay out of the windsurf lagoon and Baby Bay; to reach the leeward Area 2 zone you cross the windsurf lagoon before 09:00, and the windsurf area is closed to kiters 09:00-15:00.
Bring a 7 m for July and August, 9 m and 11 m for the rest of the season, and a 13 m for November-March or foiling.
Winter riders need a 3/2 full suit November-March; a 2 mm shorty is a comfort item April-October, not a necessity.
Put a station number in your phone before you ride outside the lagoon: Harry Nass +20 69 364 0559, 5 Squares +20 12 2170 5391.

Getting there

Airport

Sharm El Sheikh International Airport (SSH)

Route

Dahab is about 90 km from Sharm El Sheikh airport (May 2026). A private taxi or direct transfer takes about 90 minutes; the shared microbus or East Delta bus means getting to Sharm bus station first and takes 2-2.5 hours.Prices in May 2026: shared microbus 40-60 EGP, East Delta bus 50-80 EGP, private taxi USD 20-30 (2026), pre-booked transfer USD 25-40 (2026).

Transfer

90 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Dahab Lagoon Club & Resort sits on the Lagoon beach next to Harry Nass Centre 1; it was listed from EUR 100 (2022) per double room per night, half board. Everything else is in Dahab town, a taxi ride from the Lagoon.

No-wind days

SUP at Harry Nass on windless days, diving/snorkeling around Dahab and Blue Hole, restaurants along Masbat and Lighthouse, desert or mountain excursions, and general Dahab beach time.

Photos

Windsurfer, Laguna, Dahab — gbsngrhm, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Dahab Lagoon good for beginners?

Yes, it is the core teaching area for local schools, offering shallow standing-depth water for lessons and early progression.

When is the best time to visit?

March-November is windy on most days, with December-February often working in roughly three-day windy cycles.

What is the wind like?

The prevailing wind is N-NW to NNE and is cross-off outside the protected lagoon, so rescue cover matters once riders leave the school area.

Are there zoning rules to know?

Kitesurfing is officially forbidden in Baby Bay and the windsurfing lagoon, and kiters may not enter the windsurfing area between 09:00 and 15:00 as of 2026.

What hazards should riders watch for?

Full and new moon low tides can leave very little water and space in the small lagoon, and the sandy bottom becomes slippery as the tide goes out.

Last updated: August 2026