Kiteboarding Or Kitesurfing??

[TnTWalter]

I can't remember the name of a kiteboarding place [not extermesports ] I read about. I thought it was by the southern spots....I have searched here and another board but hoping someone here remembers.

Also when is the 'windy season' in Tulum? That's when places say its' available....we're going May 7-10.

Thanks so much.

My husband would love to do this. I'll be reading a book and worrying. LOL.

:eat-drink:

[shedives]

Extreme Control, here's their website. They have locations at El Paraiso and La Zebra.
http://www.extremecontrol.net/content/view/16/30/

I'll be taking lessons with them in July so you can let me know how it goes!

[shedives]

BTW, that web site says the best time to kiteboard in Tulum is between December and July, so it looks like we're both set!

[TnTWalter]

Thanks but I was looking for another NOT extreme control...but perhaps the one at La Z....since it's on the southern side.

good to know about windy season. cool! :eat-drink:

[La Luna]

Extremecontrol is the only company offering kiteboarding classes in Tulum! But there is also another guy who teaches people kiteboarding. His lessons are $35 per hour and he lives close to Cabanas La Luna. His name is Jean juan! I just met him 2 weeks ago and I am thinking about taking some classes as well!

I keep you posted about the classes!

July wind???

I thought the windy season was ending somewhere in April, because huricane season starts here in May/Jun..... The best time for kiteboarding is between Dec - Jan

But I am not sure since i havent been here in this period!

Hasta luego!

[shedives]

Info on the other guy would be great! Yes, I have only found info on Extreme Control, and they are MUCH more expensive than Jean Juan... it's good to have options...

Not sure about the wind either, just what I read on their website. This will be my first time in Tulum, just visited the ruins one day last November.

[TnTWalter]

I thought it ended in April as well :( but perhaps if there's a windy day, they offer it all times of year.

That's the one I was wondering about....the one man show...

but how far is La Z from La Luna? Is it an easy walk? Thanks. I just looked on the map and looks like it's about 1 km or .6 miles?

[La Luna]

Cabanas La Luna is located at 6.5km and La Zebra 8.2km!

20 - 25 minute beach walk!

[TnTWalter]

I suppose that's do-able...the map I have says one's at 5km and one at 4km....oh well....

I can handle it...makes more room for margaritas and Cervezas! :eat-drink: but i'll definitely be looking into the gent next door too. DH would enjoy that. We took surf lessons from a local who drove us in his car in Zihua. It was a BLAST. Nice guy too. We spent a few hours with him and then he took us back to his shop that he closed to take us surfing and gave us some beers....:surfing:

[oceanaddict]

I am going to try kiteboarding when I come at the end of March. Last time I tried the wind was going "the wrong way" So in addition to needing wind it also needs to be going the right way for a beginner to get out from the beach. 35$ per hour sounds way better to me too! Please keep us posted! And thanks for the info.

[La Luna]

I keep you guys posted!

[oceanaddict]

So Rene, Did you get a lesson from Jean Juan yet? I am becoming obsessed with the idea of kiteboarding. Cant wait to hear about your experience.

[DougSR]

I've got a ski boat adn definitely can wakeboard but this looks considerably more challenging because the wind is so variable compared to a boat. I'm going to have to give it a go when I come down. I've got to say i tried it at least.

[TnTWalter]

DH loves wakeboarding that's why I think he'll like it. I'm a bad wife and barely pull him because I'm a wimp and always worried about all the other boats swerving...I need to work on that. Hopefully we'll see if he likes kiteboarding....I just don't want him to get eaten by sharks....I said I'm a wimp.

[DougSR]

Very cute Trish but I'm guessing he will be ok. :shark: Just let me know when he's going so we can chum the beach the morning of. :D


I just don't want him to get eaten by sharks....I said I'm a wimp.

[TnTWalter]

We'll just send you out first. LOL. Then if you survive, odds are in his favor.

[La Luna]

I havent taken any kiteboarding lessons yet, because I am to busy at La Luna! But I will let you know wehn I take my first lesson.

hasta luego

[DougSR]

I emailed Extreme Control yesterday. I'm thinking to myself, I rule at wakeboarding! This should be a peice of cake! Maybe not after reading the response. Plus, it's kind of costly. But who knows. I may go for it. Here is Marco's response.

"Hola, thanks for contacting us, we will be really happy to have you learn the Art of Kiteboarding with our team.
All our instructors are multilingual, we offer any level of lesson in English, Spanish, Italian and French, all of us are expert kiteboarders and IKO certificated instructors with over 3 to 5 years experience of teaching and riding, we teach what we love.
There is no problem taking a lesson with us, but is really hard to tell you how many hours you will be able to take, it really depends on the wind.
Usually it takes around 8 hours to learn the basics of this sport, but it really depends on your ability on how fast you will start riding. Our classes focus on teaching you how to control the kite, which is the most important thing to be able to start working with the board, the water re-launch, the self rescue, and to help prevent problems.
We usually do 4 hours the first day, beginning with flying a trainer kite on the beach then assembling all the equipment of an inflatable 4 lines kite and ending with you dragging in the water while moving the kite one side to the other .
The next day you may take another 2 to 3 hours where you will assemble the kite by your self under the supervision of the instructor and then you will go in the water to keep practicing the body dragging and the water re-launch until you are ready for the board.

If you want to book ahead we suggest just booking the first 6 hours depositing 50 usd plus 5% Fee. The Full Intro 6 hours is 260 us for a group class 2 to 4 students, if you book ahead you will get the IKO certification and an XTC t-shirt for free!!!

Please let me know if you like to book and what payment method you prefer and I will send you all the information.

Have a great day and feel free to contact me any time if you need.

INTRO KITEBOARDING
1.5H TRAINER KITE
PRIVATE 70 USD GROUP 50 USD

THE FULL INTRO
6 H FROM THE TRAINER KITE CONTROL ,
THE BODY DRAG AND THE WATERSTART !!!!!

PRIVATE 350 USD GROUP 260 USD

KEEP GOING PROGRAMS PRIVATE GROUP

1 HOUR LESSON BY HOURS 70 USD 50 USD
2 HOURS LESSON BY HOURS 130 USD 90 USD
3 HOURS LESSON BY HOURS 200 USD 140 USD

ASSISTANCE PER HOUR 20 USD 20 USD"

[gocubzzz]

WOW!

6 hrs and $240+

It looks like alot of fun. I just dont think I want to spend that much time before I even get on the board.....

Ill be watching from the beach...:beer:

[DougSR]

It kind of cooled me on the whole idea as well. I'll prolly stop by when I'm there and check out the conditions. Then think about my $$$ and walk away. Rene said there is anothe rguy that does it for $35 an hour. I would maybe do that is we could skip some of the formalities and get in the water.

[Karen in OH]

sorry, had to edit, trying to get a link in here.

[beachreader]

There are a number of folks other than XTC. Rene can tell you about his guy, and Pierre the coffee guy does it too, and Tommy at Casa de Miel is also a certified instructor. He let me play with the small kite for a while, which apparently is the first step. It was fun to play with the kite, but my feet were firmly planted on the sand. My neck started hurting from looking up all the time (I was afraid of killing someone walking by), but I'm thinking I might give it a real try next time I'm down there. I've wakeboarded, too, though I wouldn't say I "rock" at it (after a few years of messing around with it, I finally jumped the whole wake once, but then broke up with the guy with the boat and that was as far as I got).

[DougSR]

Beachraider, I'm impressed! Wake jumping! Come to DFW! My Mastercraft awaits!

[beachreader]

:) That would be big fun, Doug! I was in better shape back then, but I'd like to try it all again. I just had a hard time learning to commit to the jump, fear of the landing always put me landing in the middle, and then up the other side. We shortened the line and I finally just caught it right and leaned back instead of forward and off I went! Nothing exciting for the viewer, I'm sure, especially since the other guys were doing tricks and stuff, but everyone on the boat applauded.

Do you guys barefoot much? I used to love those barefooting runs at the crack of dawn, mist still on the water. I never got off the boom myself, but my ex was a long-liner.

[shedives]

wow, i'm impressed too!

how would we go about setting something up with these other guys?
should we just show up and tell them the beachraider :moped:sent us?:)

thx for the info!


There are a number of folks other than XTC. Rene can tell you about his guy, and Pierre the coffee guy does it too, and Tommy at Casa de Miel is also a certified instructor. He let me play with the small kite for a while, which apparently is the first step. It was fun to play with the kite, but my feet were firmly planted on the sand. My neck started hurting from looking up all the time (I was afraid of killing someone walking by), but I'm thinking I might give it a real try next time I'm down there. I've wakeboarded, too, though I wouldn't say I "rock" at it (after a few years of messing around with it, I finally jumped the whole wake once, but then broke up with the guy with the boat and that was as far as I got).

[beachreader]

wow, i'm impressed too!

how would we go about setting something up with these other guys?
should we just show up and tell them the beachraider :moped:sent us?:)

thx for the info!


:) I'd actually just wait 'til you're down there so you can check out the conditions, maybe talk to the folks at your hotel to see if they know someone. Obviously you'll want to make sure they're certified by whatever body certifies such things, and personally I'd want someone very skilled in English--nothing like trying to figure out instructions at high speed when you can't understand the person.

Tommy is at Casa de Miel, Pierre is down the beach running the coffee-shop surfboard, in the campground next to Esmeralda K, though I've heard he's moving over to the Ak-iin beach club, which should be good for his business. I don't know where Rene's guy works out of, I'm sure he'll let you know.

[oceanaddict]

Campground next to Esmerelda K?? What kind of facilities do they have?? I was just gonna bring my tent and see what I could find, meanwhile I took your advice and booked a tipi @ uno astrolodge. BTW, Thanks do much for all your info help. I hope your trip is wonderful.

[beachreader]

I stopped over to look at the "tipis" at Uno, and it's really just a little campground at the back of their property. There were regular tents, and then a couple of teepee shaped canvas tents, that I guess you'd rent so you wouldn't have to schlep your own tent?

It was a pretty cool-looking space, but not a whole heck of a lot of breeze since it's on the backside of the primary dune. Still, for what it costs, you're on a great stretch of beach.

They have a really nice new yoga palapa as well, though no one was around to ask if they have regular classes or if it's just there for groups to rent or something.

I don't really know anything about the campground next to Esmeralda K, but apparently it's private, whatever that means. I made some comment about bringing a tent and Pierre (the coffee guy) said "it's private". I didn't pursue the matter.

How much are you paying at Uno? Is there a cot in the tent, or are you just on a pad on the ground? I suppose if there's a decent amount of sand under the tent, sleeping on the ground would be pretty comfortable.

[oceanaddict]

The tipis just have a mattress with bedding and a mosquito net. the showers and bathrooms are shared with the workers that camp in the back. Apparently camping is only allowed for those few workers. I just dont want to be in the ghetto unsafe camping by the ruins. I like the far end of the beach. Its a bummer that the camping by Esmerelda K is private. Thanks for the info though.
The tipis are $40, though they are charging me $35 since it's just me. I hope to find something available on the beach that is reasonable. I just cant afford these fancy new cabanas on my own. Sucks to be a high season traveler, but such is the life of a student.

[TnTWalter]

Since Rene's leaving Tulum can someone give details on the guy he knows? Will he be easy to spot? Thanks.

:eat-drink:

[DougSR]

I have two friends that are/were incredible barefooters. My buddy Nick would stand on the swim platform and step off the back of the boat with a very very short line right into the prop wash. If I slowed down even a bit he would have face planted right into the platform.

Unfortunately, age has taken it's toll and no one barefoots much anymore. I skied amatuer slalom competitions in my 20s. Not so much anymore. Just a pull then off to the party cove for floating on rafts. What happened to me? Oh yeah...47 birthdays.



Do you guys barefoot much? I used to love those barefooting runs at the crack of dawn, mist still on the water. I never got off the boom myself, but my ex was a long-liner.

[beachreader]

We are of a similar age, and most of the guys who were seriously footing when we were doing it in KY and TN were a bit older than I, so I guess they were mostly 40-ish back then. I can't believe your friend could do it in the prop wash--I didn't think there'd be enough surface tension for that! We had a boom off the side of the boat, great for training, and then when you got good enough hanging on the boom, you'd take a short line off that to practice in-water starts and could start doing tricks. Then they'd move off to the long line, meaning they'd have to drag along like a bag of potatoes for a while until the speed got up enough for them to set their feet. The bruises were seriously impressive.

Crazy bastards, all of them! :)

[La Luna]

I will give you all more info about this guy before I leave!

[Margoinmexico]

Just perusing the FAQ's and saw this thread.........:wave:

We had two different groups of kiteboarders at xamach dos last season. The first from Austria with 3 kites! He said it was the best he'd ever done, as well as the safest! He encouraged us to get out there and let the kite board world know and gave us a number of websites to link to...the fact that I'm an RN and an EMT were one of the reasons he said we should do it, which was one of the reasons I was thinking, why would we wanna do that?

(I asked to try it Doug and Beachreader.....he said it takes a month or so of lessons to get it........he sure made it looke easy! I used to do compititions and shows on water skiis........after a summer of trying, I did barefoot once........like 5 million years ago):o

Then the second guy came.........from Portland, Oregon........he agreed it was some of the best he'd done and I think has re-booked for March 09. He discouraged us from really hard core persueing the KB folks.....he said that the windy months we are all ready booked to capacity, so no es necesario.........

Or maybe he just wanted to keep it a secret! :o:p:o

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/Margoinmexico/2008FebXamach076.jpg

[minniemex]

This just came out ~ spotlight on Tulum Kiteboarding ~ thought I would add this to this thread for anyone searching it!!

http://www.locogringo.com/spotlight.cfm

[brian2day]

Hi, just want to know if anyone out there knows any thing more on this thread, which was last replied to in the spring of 08

[beachreader]

Hi, Brian! What more would you like to know?

Where are you staying, when are you going, do you want to take a course or just free-board it with your own equipment, etc.?

[brian2day]

Thanks Beachreader.

You replied to my other post as well and I appreciate it very much. On this one I want to know what water sports are accessible to us in Tulum and are rentals, lessons etc available. If you know some websites for info I'd be happy to turn to them for info. Any light you can shed on this would be great. And any other things that you're aware of that would be fun for both 20 somethings and 50 somethings (not necessarily together).

I've already gotten all the dive shops in Tulum and Akamal.

[beachreader]

You know I just remembered that when I stayed at Casa de Miel last spring, one of the managers, Tommy, was a kiteboard instructor. He let Giddy and me play with his practice kite, learning how to fly it and turn it. Neither of us ever got past the kite-flying stage, but that was really neat.

I don't know if Tommy is still there, but that could be a start for you if you're interested in kiteboarding. I've heard it's extremely difficult to learn, but if you're game, Tulum is a great place for it!

[minniemex]

Here is a web site for the kiteboarding ~

http://www.extremecontrol.net/

Hope this helps!! My link above to them has been replaced with sky-diving!!