The beach at Icaraí de Amontada — Photo: Fabiobarros

Palms over the beach. — Photo: Fpncreation

Beach path, wind turbines beyond. — Photo: Icaraideamontada

Wind turbines on the dunes at Icaraí. — Photo: Noe

Brazil

Nov · 97% rideable

Icaraizinho

What it's actually like

Windsurfers get the bay in front of the village, flat and shallow at low to mid tide. Club Ventos at the tip lets you launch in any tide. The wind averages 14 to 17 knots from June to December, peaking August to October.

Icaraizinho de Amontada, which everyone there just calls Icaraí, is an old fishing village on the west coast of Ceará, about 200 km from Fortaleza. It sits in a bay of palm trees, with dunes and wind turbines on the horizon. The village has restaurants, barracas (the beach shacks), two supermarkets, pharmacies and a health centre, and in the evening everyone gathers in the square in front of the church.

June to December is your season. In each of those months at least nine days in ten clear 12 knots for three daylight hours or more, and September reaches 100 per cent. The wind averages 14 to 17 knots over those hours, strongest from August to October, and in September it clears 12 knots from 8am to 6pm on almost every day. Cabana do Kite reports gusts of 25 to 30 knots on the best days of the peak, when the bay is properly lit.

The schools split the water into three riding areas. Out front of the village is the bay, where windsurfers, wingers and beginners go. Club Ventos sits at the tip of the bay, and you can launch there in any tide. Kiters head for Praia da Ponta, which you reach only by buggy or 4x4 along the beach in about 20 minutes. It has side-onshore wind, a firm sand bottom and plenty of room, for beginners to intermediates. Todos Al Agua calls it the school spot of Icaraizinho.

Watch the tide, because the water changes with it. A 2015 windsurf travel guide has glassy flat water in the bay at low tide, small waves over the reef at mid tide, and bump and jump outside the bay. At low to mid tide the bay is flat and shallow, which is when Todos Al Agua puts its beginners on it. Cabana do Kite starts its beginners in a shallow lagoon behind the sandbank.

Fancy going further? Todos Al Agua runs a downwinder for kite and wing out of the bay to Caetanos. It also runs trips to Lagoa dos Patos, a shallow freshwater lagoon with a white sand bottom and no waves, about 50 minutes away. On a day off the water there are dawn fishing trips with local fishermen on a jangada (the traditional fishing raft). Paddleboard or Hawaiian canoe trips run through the mangroves of the Rio Aracatiaçu.

Club Ventos teaches windsurf and wing, has certificated instructors, a bar and a restaurant, and rents JP, Starboard and Neilpryde kit. Todos Al Agua has taught kitesurf, wing foil and windsurf since 2016 and takes children from 5. Cabana do Kite teaches with IKO and ABK certified instructors, in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish, with radios on the water and video review. If you are learning, the flat, shallow bay is a gentle place to start.

You fly into Fortaleza, a little over three hours away by road on the CE-085, the Rota do Sol. Jericoacoara airport is about 120 km away, around two hours. Buses run from Fortaleza’s bus station to Amontada, with a local connection. Todos Al Agua runs door-to-door transfers from the airport. The water is about 27°C all year, so a UV lycra and sun cream are enough.

Rules and safety. Buggies and 4x4s drive the beach to Praia da Ponta, so watch for traffic on the sand when you rig and launch. Club Ventos lists rescue cars and lifeguards for its own riders, and no public lifeguard is named for the beach. The Brazilian Navy standard NORMAM-211 puts the kitesurfing area 200 metres beyond the line where the waves break. State or municipal government sets out how beach waters are shared, and the rules for Amontada have not been confirmed. In an emergency call 193 for the fire brigade.

When it's good

Is it for you?

LevelUphauler
Beginners learn in the bay, and intermediates work on gybes and tacks by Club Ventos.
WaterMillpond to bump and jump
Flat water in the bay at low tide, bump and jump outside the bay.
LaunchBarefoot
A palm-lined sand bay, with windsurf kit to rent from JP, Starboard and Neilpryde.
WetsuitBoardies
Sea about 28 °C in November: boardies weather, with a rash vest at most.
AprèsA few places
10 bars and 41 places to eat within 5 km: a sundowner, dinner, then bed.
CostNot checked yet

Where to launch

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

Baía de Icaraizinho

The bay in front of the village, flat and shallow at low to mid tide, where the schools start windsurf and wing beginners.

For windsurf, wing. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps
Praia Principal, Club Ventos

At the tip of the bay, and you can launch in any tide.

For windsurf, wing. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps
Praia da Ponta

You get there only by buggy or 4x4 along the beach, about 20 minutes.

For kite. Directions: Google Maps · Apple Maps

In an emergency

Fire brigade 193

Getting there

Nearest airportFortaleza (FOR). About 200 km down the CE-085, three hours or a little more. Jericoacoara (JJD) is closer, about 120 km and two hours away.
Getting aroundCar or transfer. The schools run transfers from Fortaleza, or you can take a bus to Amontada and pick up a local connection.

Stay, learn and rent

Full details for every place are in the Pocket Guide.

Os Navegantes Kite & Host

Houses on the sand for up to four, each with a private pool and a full kitchen. A kite school gives you private lessons with ABK-certified instructors.

Website

Icaraí Kite Village

Stay in a pousada of chalets and houses, Casa Mandala among them, in a coconut grove about 250 m from the beach. Its own French-speaking school, Chill Kite & Wing, teaches kite and wing.

Website

Icarai Kite House

Private terraces and breakfast at this pousada, which puts the kite and wing spot 200 m away. Kite lessons run with its partner school, Kitexperiment.

Book on Booking.com

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

Pocket Guide

Icaraizinho, 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

Icaraizinho

When it's good

Is it for you?

Where to launch

Baía de Icaraizinho

Praia Principal, Club Ventos

Praia da Ponta

In an emergency

Getting there

Stay, learn and rent

Os Navegantes Kite & Host

Icaraí Kite Village

Icarai Kite House

DePraia Brasil

Pousada Icaraizinho Praia

Club Ventos Icaraizinho

Todos Al Agua

Cabana do Kite

Club Ventos Icaraizinho

Icaraizinho, in your pocket

You may also like