Hi fellow Kiters!
A mate and I are looking at a week long kiting trip to Hurghada in Egypt this August / September.
Flights are the easy part but I'd be keen to hear any advice from those that have been there before or similar before we lock in accom etc.
We're also looking to hire gear over there instead of lugging our stuff all the way.
Any tips/advice would be much appreciated!
Cheers
Hi,
I've been to Hurghada recently a few times but not to kite. I went kiting in Soma bay (south) and El Gouna (north). Soma Bay is by far the windiest of the locations in Egypt. I'm not sure about renting gear, does that actually exist? and I'm also not sure about kiting in Hurghada, is there a reason you have to go there? it's not like you are getting anything extra by staying there, there's literally nothing much to see.
Alex.
Not been to this place before but I would be taking your own gear.
Most of the lugging is done by plane, car or camel anyway 
Unless you plan to be tripping around a lot and the kite gear is a problem you will get much more flexibility with your own gear.
Have hired gear in vietnam and I dont think they allow it out of their sight, it's based on kiting at the beach you hire it from.
I stayed all inc at beach albatros resort back in 2009 from the uk when learning to kite. There is a school at colona watersports just up the road 5 mins by bus (mega wish Swiss inn) it also has a dive centre which was great. Not much to do outside the resort but it blew hard most of the time I was there(sept), I only had a 12m with me and left my gear at the kite shop just caught a local bus to get up the road each day. There is a sandbar a km off the shore which makes it a great kite spot. Check rental prices as it may be cheaper to buy a kite than rent for a week or two.
I stayed at Magawish Swiss inn in August 2008. It averaged 30-35 knots 24hrs a day. I rolled up with a 12 and 15 and ended up renting a 7 from the shop. The people at Colona watersport were very helpful when booking (they actually booked the hotel for me). I would recommend emailing them or googling their prices and weigh it up. When traveling from the airport to the hotel, the taxi driver didn't have any rope, so both of us were holding onto the gear bag on the roof. A big gust came along and ripped the bag out of our hands and ended up in the road. Luckily nothing was damaged. So take some rope with you if you do take your gear!
Hurghada was pretty quiet and a bit of a dump back then. Doubt any revolutionists have gone there to spruce it up. Also, Magawish was pretty basic. But as RobT mentions there is an epic sandbar just off the beach at Magawish which makes for some excellent flat water. I've had some friends stay and kite at Club Med in El Gouna which they thought was ok.
One of the other options is a kite cruise. Not sure if they are still going, but you live on a boat and go between spots. I think they also do scuba from the boat, which as you'd expect from the red sea is pretty amazing.
Enjoy!
