A kiter boosting off the Dahab shore, Sinai mountains behind. — Photo: Mohamed Hozyen

A kiter on the bay with windsurfers further out. — Photo: Mohamed Hozyen

A November sunset over the lagoon near Medina. — Photo: Mc Paskal

The Blue Lagoon in the Abu Galum Protected Area. — Photo: Mohamed3171979

Egypt

Sep · 80% rideable

Dahab

What it's actually like

Kiters, the lagoon beside Harry Nass Centre 1 is flat and shallow, about 300 by 500 m. The north wind is often up in the morning. No windsurfing there, and the offshore wind can be turbulent near the shore.

Ahlan, which means hello and welcome here, and you will hear it before you have unloaded the board bag. Dahab is a small town on the Gulf of Aqaba, with the Sinai mountains rising straight behind the beach. Behind a long sand spit the lagoon water turns turquoise and flat. The first reach, red-brown mountains on one side and dark blue sea on the other, is one to remember. Plenty of people come for the diving. The ones out on the lagoon are here for the rush.

The wind comes from the north. The gulf is only 15 to 20 km wide, so the wind squeezes between the Sinai mountains and the Saudi ranges, and desert heat adds a thermal. It is often up in the morning, and in summer it can blow all day. June to September is the season, with September the pick and June behind it. Expect 20 to 30 kt through the warm months. Rig small, get out early, and you will be hooning across flat water before your coffee has gone cold.

Be straight with yourself about winter. From November to January only about one day in three is rideable, with November the quietest at 30 per cent. The water sits around 21°C, a January afternoon barely makes 22°C in the air, and the desert nights are much colder. A 3/2 mm full suit does for winter mornings. Pull a damp one back on and you learn to get into it in seconds. Summer is the other extreme, with air regularly reaching 40°C, so bring water, a hat and some shade.

Kiters rig by the kite lagoon next to Harry Nass Centre 1, a flat, shallow patch of about 300 by 500 m. Windsurfers take Area 1, the 2.5 km lagoon behind the sand spit, with a standing area to walk your kit back. Area 2, the Speedy, is shallow with steady wind behind the headland, and Baby Bay offers a breather. Past the Napoleon Reef, Area 3 has non-breaking swell of up to 3 m for the chargers. The sesh to chase is a long run down the Speedy.

Rules and safety. Windsurfing is not allowed in the kitesurfing lagoon, kitesurfing is not allowed in Area 1 or in Baby Bay. Kitesurfing is allowed leeward of Area 2, where advanced kiters kite defensively, and in Area 3. The wind blows cross-offshore. Kite outside only with affiliation to the Harry Nass station and its radio rescue service. Without that affiliation, its beach, station and facilities cannot be used. Wear a flotation vest: it is mandatory. Shoes are recommended in the kite lagoon and Area 1.

Then there is the Blue Lagoon, up the coast inside the Abu Galum Protected Area. Most people get there by jeep to the Blue Hole then a short speedboat ride, or by camel. What you find is shallow, flat, turquoise water, simple huts on the shore and mountains straight behind. Stay the night, watch the sky fill with stars, and go home stoked for a week. It is remote, so pack what you need, wear shoes, keep off the reef around the edges and sort your ride back.

The crew here is a proper mix: first-timers wading about in the lagoons, freestylers on the Speedy and wave riders out past the reef. You will not struggle to find a lesson or a spare harness. The standing areas in the kite lagoon and Area 1 make both forgiving places to learn. Look upwind before you launch. Yalla, as people say here, which means let's go.

When it's good

Is it for you?

LevelBody dragger to kiteloop
Standing depth in the kite lagoon; Areas 2 and 3 are for advanced kiters only.
WaterMillpond to chop and swell
Flat shallow lagoon to learn in; Area 3 has non-breaking swell up to 3 m.
LaunchMind your feet
Sandy lagoons, reef beyond; shoes are recommended in the kite lagoon.
WetsuitBoardies
Sea about 27 °C in September: boardies weather, with a rash vest at most.
AprèsGoes off till sunrise
9 bars, 1 club and 100 places to eat within 5 km: the night's yours.
CostNot checked yet

Where to launch

Conditions change. Check local rules and conditions before you ride.

Launch
Hazard
Stay

Kite lagoon (Harry Nass Centre 1)

Shallow flat water lagoon of about 300 by 500 m next to Harry Nass Centre 1, for beginners.

For kite. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps
Area 1 windsurf lagoon

Sheltered lagoon of 2.5 km in front of Harry Nass Centre 1, protected by a sand spit and a headland at its northern end.

For windsurf, wing. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps
Area 2 and Area 3 (Harry Nass Centre 2)

From the centre at JAZ Dahabeya, a beam reach to Area 2, the Speedy, shallow water with a steady wind behind the headland.

For windsurf, wing, kite. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps
Blue Lagoon, Abu Galum

Shallow flat lagoon north of Dahab inside the Abu Galum Protected Area.

For kite. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps

Getting there

Nearest airportSharm El Sheikh (SSH). Land at Sharm El Sheikh, about 90 km south, and you’re rigging in Dahab after an hour and a half by taxi or transfer.
Flying with a board bageasyJet, TUI Airways, Jet2.com, Air Cairo. Flying into Sharm El Sheikh (SSH)? Tap through to their board bag rules and fees before you book.
Getting aroundTaxi and boat. Take a taxi or transfer from Sharm El Sheikh. Boats run between the Harry Nass centres for their guests, and across to the Blue Lagoon.

Stay, learn and rent

Full details for every place are in the Pocket Guide.

Dahab Lagoon Club & Resort

Hotel with a 570 m sandy beach on the kite lagoon, home of Harry Nass Centre 1. Locked kit storage, a compressor, showers and a boat shuttle to Centre 2.

Book on Booking.com

JAZ Dahabeya

Resort overlooking a natural lagoon, with a sandy beach. Home to Harry Nass Centre 2.

Book on Booking.com

Swiss Inn Resort Dahab

Four-star hotel on Lagoona beach with the Vetratoria windsurf centre on site. Harry Nass Centre 1 and the kite lagoon are about 650 m along the shore.

Book on Booking.com

Book links to Booking.com and Agoda may earn WindChaser a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Pocket Guide

Dahab, in your pocket

Everything you need on the beach in one PDF. Save it to your phone and it works with no signal.

01The month: wind, conditions and water02Every hazard, and the local rules03The launches, with maps04Getting there with kit05Stays, schools and kit hire06Where every score comes from

Dahab

When it's good

Is it for you?

Where to launch

Kite lagoon (Harry Nass Centre 1)

Area 1 windsurf lagoon

Area 2 and Area 3 (Harry Nass Centre 2)

Blue Lagoon, Abu Galum

Getting there

Stay, learn and rent

Dahab Lagoon Club & Resort

JAZ Dahabeya

Swiss Inn Resort Dahab

Ganet Sinai Resort

Shoky Kite Paradise

Harry Nass Windsurf & Kite Centres

Five Squares

Shoky Kite Paradise

Harry Nass Windsurf & Kite Centres

Five Squares

Shoky Kite Paradise

Dahab, in your pocket

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