On Cabarete Beach and Kiteboarding
Are you going kiteboarding in Cabarete Beach, Dominican Republic? Read on for the best kiteboarding spots near Cabarete Beach, travel tips for the Dominican Republic, and more.
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The horizon is filled with kiteboarders at Kite Beach.
Kiteboarding is the entire reason we, like many people, visited Cabarete Beach in the Dominican Republic.
Logan took up kiteboarding about five years ago after lessons in the Philippines, and he hits the beach whenever possible in our hometown of Charleston, SC. Once he got wind of the awesome kiteboarding opportunities in Cabarete, however, he was dying to check it out.
I’ve already done a post on the Best Things to Do in Cabarete Beach - read it! - but since my husband is our family’s avid kiteboarder, we did a quick post to help you plan a rockin’ trip to Cabarete Beach to make all your kiting dreams come true. Here are all the things he learned after this 9-day kiteboarding trip to Cabarete Beach!
(Thank you, Logan, for sharing your experiences and insights!)
Kiteboarding in Cabarete Beach
Best places in Cabarete Beach for kiteboarding:
Kite Beach
Just north of Cabarete Beach is the official "Kite Beach." Hotels line the small stretch of shoreline, and each caters to the kite community. Many have their own kite school.
Generally, Kite Beach is quite crowded, and not just crowded with pro-riders, but crowded with newbies from the ongoing lessons. Walking down Kite Beach gave me some anxiety. There were kites and lines stacked up all over the place. Kites were crashing down next to me every time I looked up, and there were close-call kite collisions all over the place. There is an abundance of kite schools in the area because the shallow water stretches out rather far out. While some shallow areas like this can be great because they are also super calm, I found Kite Beach quite choppy during our stay. Between the rough waters and the crowds, I was happy just to make it back from my session alive with all of my gear intact. I didn't push myself to learn any new tricks or try anything fancy.
The Kite Club is amazing, however, and they offer week-long memberships for about $25 and kite caddies, which can be super helpful. (More on this below.)
Kiteboarding at La Boca.
Puerto La Boca
About 15 minutes down from Cabarete is La Boca, where Wilson's La Boca restaurant is. You take a small boat across the river to reach the restaurant, and that small stretch of river happens to be a great kiting spot.
We met friends from the Netherlands who were already there kiting or I may have turned around before I got there. You drive through a really interesting abandoned neighborhood and then down a very bumpy dirt road that feels like the middle of nowhere.
This spot was great because it was completely empty and completely flat water, in stark contrast to Kite Beach. The river is quite small though; there are about three different 'lanes' for you and a few friends to run back and forth to practice some tricks and hit some big jumps.
This is definitely not a beginner spot, though, as it is quite narrow and has several obstacles that must be avoided. With the current flowing upriver, it'd also be a bad place for your kite to go down as it is pretty deep and has a large wind shadow just up the river, which flows into the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed ending our session by landing our kites at the restaurant across the river and having drinks and food.
It's worth noting that the "beach" vibe here is a bit unpleasant. It is nearly covered in plastic and debris that has washed ashore. If you aren't actively kiting here or going to the restaurant, I wouldn't plan to go.
Beach Point
Between the surfing at Encuentro and the kiting at Kite Beach lies 'Beach Point.' This small stretch of beach has a kite school, a fun cocktail bar, restaurant, and the only craft beer bar I saw in Cabarete. This area was void of any kiters, aside from the few from the surf school, and that made it my favorite place to kite in Cabarete. The only downsides here are that it isn't shallow like it is through the rest of Cabarete, there is a small hazard to the right side of the beach where there are some cement pylons, and there are some local fishermen here if you go too far up the beach.
Encuentro Beach
For me, one of the most compelling things about Cabarete was not just the kiting but also the surfing. While most of the kiting is contained to Cabarete, Encuentro Beach is just up the road a few miles and has some really amazing surfing. This ensures that even low wind days will give you something to look forward to. What makes the surfing great here?
- The conditions: During our stay, all except for one morning had a nice clean, low wind forecast with between 3-5 foot waves.
- The variety: There are roughly 3 nice breaks that I experienced in Encuentro Beach. If one got too crowded or wasn't firing the waves you wanted, you could easily paddle to another. If the outside of the wave is too large for you, or you are learning the inside, white wash is quite large and great for learning
- The vibe: the beach is lined with surf schools and board rental shops, and even a few coffee and smoothie booths. Possibly as a result of the surf schools close by, the vibe was really optimistic and friendly. I accidentally cut someone off of a wave twice while surfing, and my apologies were met with nothing but friendly responses. Though it got a bit crowded in the afternoon, everyone was stoked to be there, and the vibe felt as if there was plenty of wave for everyone.
Note, you can kite at Encuentro, but only later in the afternoon (12 pm, I think) as it is reserved strictly for surfing until then.
Kiteboarding Lessons in Cabarete Beach
The great things about doing lessons in DR are the abundance of schools and the strength of the US Dollar make it quite cheap to do kiting lessons.
Beacause I brought my own gear, I paid $40/hour for my lessons, and they would cost at least 3x than in the States. The kiting lesson I did from the shop at surf point was led by two amazing riders. If there was any doubt of their skill level, I watched them play around while I took a break, and they hit amazing tricks with air higher than I could imagine - they made it look easy. The instruction I got was really catered to me specifically as I was focused on my ‘front roll’, a pretty simple ‘kite trick’ where you spin 360 degrees in the air in the opposite direction of the edge of your board. The guys were super helpful, giving me insight into what I was doing wrong and helping me find ways to fix it. When my kite went down halfway through the lesson because I accidentally engaged my safety, they were quick to help me and my kite back to shore and get my lines untangled. I was back on the water within 15 minutes when this probably would have been a day-ender for me if I was alone.
In addition to kiteboarding schools, a wide range of schools in Cabarete Beach offer wing-foiling instruction. Wing-foiling is another wind sport similar to kiteboarding, where you ride a hydrofoil board, and you hold your kite directly in your hand. This is perfect for light wind days or for the morning before the wind picks. Based on the instructional costs, the shallow depth of the bay, and the steady windy conditions, Cabarete Bay is likely an ideal place to expand your skills and learn how to wing foil.
Packing for Kiteboarding in Cabarete Beach
This was my first kite trip, so I wasn’t sure exactly how to pack my gear but it was quite easy. I picked up the Mystic Gear Carrier bag from my local kite shop, and I easily packed two kites, my harness, lines, board, and pump. I was able to check this bag as ’sporting’ equipment for $35 on American Airlines as long as it was under 50 lbs. This was not a problem on the way in, but on the return trip, once my gear was a little wet and I added some dirty clothes to the bag, it ended up being about 6 lbs overweight. Based on this, I’d suggest not trying to cram extra stuff into your bag on the way home, like I did.
I’d also suggest bringing some long-sleeved rash guards to protect your skin from the sun, as it is intense near the equator. Bring a nice reusable water bottle that you can refill from your hotel to help stay hydrated and to avoid the need to buy bottled water continually.
Picking Kites for Cabarete
Apparently, the wind in Cabarete is usually very strong, and riding a 15-meter kite or larger is mostly unheard of. However, this season has been unusual, and the wind was much lighter than normal during our stay. I was very glad that I packed my 15m North Reach; that was all that I rode during my trip. I also packed my 11m, which would have gotten much more use under normal conditions.
Something to note is that the forecast in Cabarete changes rapidly. I would avoid using a wind forecast as a definitive guide for what you should pack with you. I spoke with the folks at my kite/surf school ‘Wave Soul Retreats’ before our stay, and they advised me to pack my 15m and 11m and leave my smaller kite at home. They were exactly right.
A view of Encuentro Beach.
Other Advice for Your Kiteboarding Trip to Cabarete Beach
Get a rental car. Having a car will give you the freedom to go to whatever kiting or surfing spot you want. Driving in DR can be scary at first. There are mopeds ‘aka Motos’ all over the place, filling in any gaps in the road on either side of you, and they can come and go and pull out in front of you or beside you at any second. Once you learn to relax, drive slowly, go with the flow, and expect the unexpected, it is really not so bad. You should be able to find a rental car for around $50 per day with insurance if you shop around.
Before going all in with any particular kite camp and/or hotel, vet it very carefully. There are a ton of small kite/surf schools in the area, and many of them offer on-site accommodations. That offers a lot of convenience, but if the accommodations aren’t what you’re looking for, you will be in an awkward spot. If having a comfortable place is important to you, I’d suggest focusing on finding that first, even if it means you’re a short walk away from your ideal kite or surf spot.
A Note on Kite Club
The Kite Club sits right in the middle of Kite Beach. This is a lovely property with a large private parking lot and the nicest kite shop I found in the area, with big glass windows facing the beach. They sell great kiting gear by North, Mystic, and others. They have a nice restaurant and beach bar, private restrooms, gear lockers for rent, and, of course, a surf school.
You can buy a membership here by the day, week, or month. I purchased a week-long membership here during my stay for about $25, giving me access to all of the private amenities, including parking. One of the cool things that the Kite Club offers is personal “kite caddies”. These are local guys who work for tips to help you set up your gear and get kiting. I didn’t think I’d care to use a kite caddy, but I actually loved it the one time I used one.
I arrived a bit late that day and was super excited to get my session started before the sun went down. A kite caddy (indicated by his t-shirt) was sitting out in the parking lot and asked if I needed help. I said sure, why not. He jumped down, excitedly helped me grab my gear out of my car, and started getting it set up, even as I was still getting situated, putting on sunscreen, sending some texts, hitting the bathroom, etc.
By the time I would have normally started setting up my gear, he had my kite inflated and lines straight and was ready to launch me. I double-checked his work, and everything was good to go. I gave him 300 pesos, about $5, which I think is more than usual, and it was a win for us both. On this super crowded beach, where I may have been struggling a bit to find the right location to launch to avoid colliding with others, we got up smoothly and quickly. But more impressively, after my session was over about 60 minutes later, the wind had started to die down, as had the sun, and I figured it was time to end my session. I was a bit further down the beach than I wanted to be and was struggling to get back to the low onshore winds.
He saw me walking back up the beach with my kite and came to meet me, catching my kite for me, rolling up my lines, and then immediately carrying it back to the kite club to put it all back for me. He deflated the kite on the beach, swept off all the sand, and folded it super neatly back into my bag. Then he took my board and ran it under the shower to clean off all the sand. This was all super helpful because I knew my wife was waiting for me to end my session so we could enjoy the last of the sunset and grab some dinner together.
Do you have a favorite kiteboarding spot? Drop it in the comments below!
