Kite Surfing Ras Sudr and Sharm El Sheikh: Spot Guide

For “kite surfing Ras Sudr”, look to the shallow lagoons on the Gulf of Suez, about 200 km from Cairo, where the tide changes the water depth. Sharm El Sheikh is on the other side of Sinai, and kitesurfing there mostly happens in the Nabq lagoon in the north of town: shallow water of varying depth, reefs around it and wind from the north to north-east.

The two spots are about 3 hours apart by car and suit different trips. Sharm is a holiday resort where you can combine kiting with diving and a hotel the whole family will like. Ras Sudr is a weekend escape for people from Cairo who come for the wind, with kite centres spread along the coast.

Sharm or Ras Sudr: the difference in one table

Kitesurfing in Sharm El Sheikh: the Nabq lagoon

In Sharm, most kiting happens in the lagoon in Nabq, in the north of town. Depth varies: the local school The Kite Bubble describes its riding area as knee to chest deep. For lessons, stay in water at least hip-deep and choose the area with an instructor. Further out there are waves, and north of the lagoon is a bay where they break right on the beach. I would leave that one to advanced riders.

The wind blows mostly from the north and north-east, side to side-onshore. Side-onshore means diagonally towards the beach; for a beginner, I would choose that direction with clear space downwind. Offshore blows from the land out to sea. In offshore or side-offshore wind, a rescue boat must already be on the water with a trained operator, and someone on shore must know you are riding.

Nabq gets stronger wind all year than Naama Bay or Ras Um Sid further south, and the best wind is often in the morning. That is how I would plan the day: on the water in the morning, diving and trips in the afternoon.

There are reefs and corals around the lagoon. I would pack booties and ask someone at the centre to show me the clear riding area and the route back to the beach before going out.

Sharm has a practical visa advantage for travellers from the UK on a full British citizen passport. The FCDO says no visa is needed if you fly into Sharm and stay for less than 15 days only in the resorts of Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba. Ras Sudr is outside that list, so plan on a visa if you go there. This advice applies to that passport category; check the entry rules separately if you hold a different passport.

Kite surfing in Ras Sudr: lagoons on the Gulf of Suez

Ras Sudr (also spelled Ras Sedr) is on the west coast of Sinai, about 200 km from Cairo. Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Water Sports (CDWS) puts it at roughly 3 hours by car from both Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh airports. The spots are spread along about 40 km of coast, and each centre has slightly different water and a different wind angle to the beach.

The Ras Sudr weather station on Windfinder shows an annual average wind direction from the north-west. That does not tell you where the wind will come from during your session. Depending on the spot, wind comes side to side-onshore, and onshore in places. Onshore wind pushes you towards the beach, so for your first rides I would choose a spot with an instructor where it comes more from the side.

In Ras Sudr, find out what the tide does at your chosen centre. Conditions differ between lagoons. On arrival, I would ask which stage of the tide leaves enough water in the teaching area and where the obstacles are. For learning and first rides, I would choose flat water, but only where it remains at least hip-deep; a local instructor needs to assess whether the area is suitable.

CDWS says the wind is best from March to November, averaging 16-25 knots, or 8-13 m/s (a knot is 1.852 km/h, about 0.51 m/s), and strongest from the end of August to the end of September, when gusts go over 30 knots (15 m/s). That is the chamber's seasonal description, not a forecast for your stay. For a specific week, look at the forecast, because a seasonal average won't guarantee wind on the beach.

Some kite centres in Ras Sudr close over winter, from November to March. Before you buy a flight, check directly with your chosen centre that it will be open on your dates.

You can find Ras Sudr on the kite spot map, with details on its spot page.

When to go: air temperature by month

According to the NASA POWER climate model, Ras Sudr, which lies further north, is 4-5 °C cooler than Sharm all year round. In January the average air temperature there (day and night) drops to 13 °C.

The model shows similar wind at both points all year, around 8-10 knots (4-5 m/s). That is wind 10 m above ground over a grid cell of roughly 50 × 50 km, not the wind on the beach, where thermal wind adds to it. To pick a month, go by CDWS and the station rather than the model.

According to CDWS, the Red Sea drops to 20 °C in February and March and reaches 29 °C in late summer. In summer, a rash vest and shorts are usually enough. For spring and autumn, I would pack a shorty, also recommended by the local school in Nabq; in winter, a full long-sleeve wetsuit. Check current conditions with your school before travelling, especially if you are heading to cooler Ras Sudr. I cover winter clothing separately in kitesurfing in Egypt in winter.

If I were choosing dates on wind and temperature alone, I would go to Ras Sudr between June and September. Sharm works any time, with a wetsuit in winter.

Which spot suits whom

Complete beginner. In either area, choose the school and a suitable teaching area first. A good course teaches you to read the wind and practise using the safety systems. The main quick release depowers the kite while it remains attached by the safety leash. Practise self-rescue with your instructor too, getting back to shore when things go wrong, and ask how the school provides rescue cover. What a course in Egypt looks like day by day is in learning to kitesurf in Egypt.

You can ride, but not upwind yet. I would choose flat water clear of obstacles, at least hip-deep, following a local instructor's advice. In Ras Sudr, check that your chosen area stays deep enough at low tide. Flat water makes it easier to learn to ride upwind, angled into the wind, which is what brings you back to where you started.

You ride on your own and want to jump. In Ras Sudr, choose between the spots according to current depth and conditions; high tide alone does not guarantee a suitable place to jump. In Sharm there are waves further out from the lagoon and the bay to the north for advanced riders.

You're travelling with family or divers. Sharm. Kiting fits in with the hotel, snorkelling and diving, Ras Mohammed for example. If you want Sinai with a kite but somewhere smaller than Sharm, Dahab is further north on the same gulf; more in kitesurfing in Dahab.

Progress is your main reason for going. I would also consider a kite safari from Hurghada: the programme includes morning and afternoon sessions according to conditions, plus evening video coaching to review your riding. That means flying into Hurghada; you do not board in Sharm or Ras Sudr.

I compare the other spots on the African coast and in Sinai in the overview of kite spots in Egypt.

Where to ride from the beach around Hurghada and how to combine a few days there with a week on the boat is in kitesurfing in Hurghada and El Gouna.