Kitesurfing Lessons Aruba
Kitesurfing (known as kiteboarding in the US) is fun, exciting, and addicting; and we make it safe and memorable at Aruba Active Vacations. Aruba is blessed with good winds, almost all-year round. This, together with flat, shallow waters beside Fisherman’s Huts, makes Aruba a great place to start your voyage into the world of kitesurfing. With waist-deep warm water, your instructor can stand with you to coach you through the correct techniques for flying your kite.
We provide kitesurf lessons to suit every level. The water close to Fisherman’s Huts is shallow for beginners and their instructors, and for more advanced learners who can kitesurf greater distances from the beach, we are always close to you with a safety boat.
We have two priorities: your safety and enjoyment.
You can find an overview of our lesson content below.
Although kite surfing is without doubt the most fun you can have on the water, it is also a dangerous sport to learn without high-quality instruction. It is therefore essential to learn kitesurfing with the guidance of an instructor who can ensure your safety and understanding, allowing you to enjoy the experience and progress confidently.
At AAV we go through the stages of teaching at your pace, making sure that you are fully comfortable and competent with each step. This is vital to making sure that you are safe on the water.
We pride ourselves on giving you the best kitesurfing experience, which is why we replace all our equipment every year, and use the latest Cabrinha equipment. These are reliable, high-end kites, with extemely good stability and flying characteristics – which is essential. With the strong winds of Aruba, you don’t want to be using budget kite equipment, offered by some schools.
Outlined below is a guide to your progression steps through the lessons, each being two hours long. Of course, everyone is unique and those that have experience flying stunt kites and/or wakeboarding have a distinct advantage. However, on average, most people progress as outlined below.
All the lessons are 2 hours and start daily at 8:30 / 11:00 / 13:30 / 16:00.
Lessons include kitesurf equipment, booties and impact vest. Pick-up and drop-off is also included for people staying in the hotel areas of Palm Beach and Eagle Beach.
The first lesson starts on land for those with no previous kite flying experience. You use a small, low-power, trainer kite to learn the flying techniques; and then progress to the beach where we explain how to rig up a larger kite. Depending on how well you master the kite-flying exercises on land, there may be some time to try your hand at the larger, inflated kite in the water.
This lesson and all after it are in the water with a kite. This lesson focuses on your essential kite skills to make you safer and more independent in the water:
Trying to stand up on the board is the most exciting part of your lessons; but it is also the most challenging part for learners. You need to fly the kite correctly while also dealing with a board on your feet. Once you’ve learnt the kite flying drills well enough it gets easy. Our experienced instructors will do their best to train in you the correct kite techniques so that get you up and riding safely.
Getting up on the board is one thing, staying up on it is quite something else! We will guide you through this tricky stage with expert instruction. At this stage we are often heading a little further away from the beach as you start to make longer runs, so we continue to coach you from one of our rescue boats, making sure that you continue to progress and can get back to the beach safely. This lesson covers:
Once you’re up and riding the next challenge will be to begin edging the board to control your direction. The ultimate goal here is to learn how to aim yourself back upwind, as learners mostly head downwind in their initial waterstarts. Mastering upwind riding is a true milestone in kitesurfing, as you are now able to ride where you want and return to your starting point without help. You will usually get a cheer when you achieve this!
Learning to ride upwind usually requires further lessons, for people without prior board riding experience. If you already know the basics and want to learn more, our experienced and knowledgeable instructors can help you learn further kitesurfing techniques, such as:
