Sri Lanka Kalpitiya is a nice place to spend the winter for kitesurfing.

Trip to Sri Lanka

You can find cheap flights from 500eu to Sri Lanka with Quatar or Emirates, but
there are many other options also. We chose Quatar Airways because of their baggage allowance. We didn’t
need to pay extra for sport luggage and each bag can be up to 30 kg. The trip
was around 12-14 hours including one stop at Doha.

From Colombo Airport we had a bus organised by our host, Surfpoint Sri Lanka, with foldable seats so we could continue sleeping as the trip was 3-4h to Kapitiya. Probably this is the best and cheapest option for airport shuttle. Some of the guys, who arrived later got a ride with online apps but it costed the same and it was less comfortable for them.

Life next to the ocean

Surfpoint Sri Lanka is just next to the ocean, so you can feel some seabreeze all the time. It was a huge advantage, since it was super hot during our stay. The lagoon of Kalpitiya is 5 min with car or Tuk-Tuk but honestly for advanced riders the seafront where the Surfpoint base is located is just perfect! The water is deep here and a bit wavy, but there was pretty much noone on this spot besides us. When we wanted to go up to the lagoon, we just took our kites and rode up in 10 minutes.

where to eat?

We had breakfast, lunch and dinner in Ocean Breeze restaurant, organized also by our host Surfpoint.
The service was great. We could either choose from the menu or ask for a special meal the day before, and they were happy to prepare us anything they could. Lobsters, octopus, fresh fish and fruits, everything you wish to eat in this climate. There were mornings when the local fisherman came, showed us his catches and we could pick our dinner J

Wind?

Summer season: Mid May- September. The winds are stronger and more consistant in this period.

Winter season: Mid December- Mid February.

Our tipical day started with an early breakfast, than we went for a short session before the wind died around 11-12, after that we were just chilling in the hammocks and sunbeds at our accomodation.

After lunch we could easily kite up to the lagoon and spend the rest of the day there.

Everyone has to leave the lagoon around 5 p.m. when the fishermen start to work in the area, so we did a downwinder and continue in front of Surfpoint and we were usually kiting until sunset.

After our delicious dinner we started playing cards with the team or Carrom, a boardgame that the local guys thought us, and of course they were beating us all the time J

The lagoon of Kalpitiya.

At the morning the winds are not the best

on the lagoon so everyone goes there around 11-1 o’clock. The lagoon gets crowded quite fast.
The water is deep so all the beginners are staying next to the shore, practicing upwind bodydraging. Therefore the first waterstart and getting in and out from the water is a bit tricky, you really have to watch out for others.
Next to the lagoon there are small shacks that provide some shade but nothing else. So if you go down early and there is no wind it can be very boring to wait there.

Kitesurfing area

The ground is quite muddy. We are used to similar conditions in Sicily, but here there was even more mud.
In general it is a good place to practice, but I’d recommend it more to advanced kiters, because they can choose from several options and they don’t have to stay at the crowded beginner zone. You can also pay for rescue in case you are not so comfortable alone.

MAgic Island

If you had enough of the lagoon or there are to many people you can go for a boat trip to the Magic Island what is around 15km away from the lagoon.

With the boat it takes around 30-40 minutes to get there

After kiting at the deserted island you can easily go for a downwinder what is around 1.5-2h

Sightseeing

We were planning some trips around the island but from Kalpitiya everything is far! So next to the kitespot there is not much to see, you can only do kitesurfing
We visited Dambulla and Sigirya one day when there was no wind. It was around 5 hours drive from the kite spot, but it did worth it.

Dambulla is a ancient temple with a history going back to 7-3rd Century BC.
You can find more info of the sight here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dambulla

Sigiriya (or Lion Rock)

Is the ancient rock fortress of Kashyapa built in the 5^th century:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya

Other than sightseeing, you can also go on snorkel trips or dolphin watching. Our team was not lucky with the dolphins, they didn’t see any, however they got a bit seasick after 2 hours on the boat. Well, it’s part of the game I guess.

Kite schools

1 private hour 45eu
9 hour 375eu

Come and join us in Sicily

Sicily is one of the best spots in Europe to start kitesurfing.
Thanks to the flat shallow water it is easy to progress super fast.
We use Radio helmets and new equipment to provide the best kitesurfing experience