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Where to kitesurf:
Cabarete has one main spot for kiteboarding: the officially designated
Cabarete Kite Beach.
Then there are a few other good places to the
East and to the West of Kitebeach. 'Bozo Beach', located
between Cabarete and Kitebeach is where the Kiteboarding
World Championship (2001), World
Cup (2002), and World
Cup (2003) took place. Encuentro Beach which
is very popular with regular surfers in the mornings
when the waves are best, is still a great place
for wave riding in the afternoon when the winds
pick up. La Boca de Yasica
is a great place with 100% flat waters and once you played
around for a while you can kite back to Cabarete by going
downwind with the trade winds for about 6km. However, only
experienced kiters should venture on this one. There
are a few other places that locals will be happy to point
out to you.
Jose-Luis of Kitexcite, a local kiteboarding school. Go
to the gallery for many more pictures. |
Cabarete Bay: There's an agreement
between the windsurfing schools and the kitesurfing schools that
the latter will not teach and encourage kiting in the bay (except
Bozo Beach occupying the western side of the Cabarete Bay). This
is because the main bay is usually too crowded with windsurfers
on the water and people on the beach.
Getting there: To get
to Kitebeach from central Cabarete, you can either stroll
along the beach to reach it just around the corner past Bozo
Beach and Punta Goleta (approximately 20 minutes walk) or
take one of the Motorcycle-Taxis (locally called moto-conchos
– the charge is 10 Pesos). You'll see the kites in the sky
by then anyway. To get to the other places to kitesurf you are
best off asking the locals once you are here in Cabarete.
For your safety: If
you're looking for lessons (highly advised), you'll also find
that most of the kite-schools are located on 'Kite Beach'. If
you do decide to go out on the water without lessons (which may
even be prohibited in the near future), at the very least have
a little chat with a local kiter in advance for advice on conditions,
especially the reef.
Material: Getting
new material in Cabarete is no problem and often less expensive
than you'd find at home. However, getting spare parts like fins,
bladders etc. can still be a problem in Cabarete, so it's not
a bad idea to bring some extra gear along with you from home –
afterwards you can also easily sell them here. Cabarete does have
very good board and sail repair workshops in case something breaks.
One is at at the entrance of ProCab, and the other one is further
into ProCab, at the tennis courts.
Come get some huge air, and enjoy your stay in
Cabarete.
Wind and Weather: click here.
Pictures
and Movies:
Don't miss our galleries.
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