Kitesurfing / Kiteboarding is rapidly developing in Mauritius and is bound to become one of the island's attractions. With its flat surface on one side and huge perfect swells on the other, the spot of Le Morne is the kitesurfers' favourite and is the site selected by some brands for their promotion videos. However, Mauritius (and Rodrigues) offers several other great spots of flat surface with side-on winds almost all year round.

Kitesurfing schools and rentals

Mauritius now counts several registered kitesurf schools and rentals. Many of them are located in Le Morne premises but each coastal region counts at least one school. Their instructors are IKO certified and licensed to deliver O+IKO certificates. They tend to be pretty booked-up and we advise taking contact with them well before your arrival. View our list of recommended kitesurfing schools in Mauritius.

Most of these schools also propose kiteboards rentals per day or per week. This service is meant to allow those who have finished their starter courses to keep practising kitesurfing during the rest of their stay. Equipments are usually very recent, updated and well-maintained.

Free kitesurfing in Mauritius
Many confirmed and semi-professional kitesurfers now come to Mauritius regularly; mainly to ride the now famous waves of "One Eye" Le Morne but also to enjoy the lagoon-riding and crossing possibilities around Mauritius.

Although there is a certain lack of publicly accessible launching and dropping spots, the climate and configuration of the lagoons contribute in making Mauritius one of the most enjoyable kitesurfing destinations in the world.

Some kitesurfing schools propose exclusive downwind and lagoon-crossing trips for small groups of kitesurfers willing to kitesurf around Mauritius. These 100 % fun trips being complex to organise owing to security / rescue issues, they must be booked well in advance.

Confirmed riders can ride in Mauritius pretty easily but we strongly recommend taking advice with as many local riders as possible before choosing your launching spots as many places have their peculiarities that can become hazards to the uninformed riders. For a detailed overview of the different kitesurfing spots of Mauritius, we invite you to view our map of the kitesurfing spots in Mauritius.

Wind and climate conditions
Kitesurfing in Mauritius is possible almost all year round for the locals or for those who spend relatively long stays but chances of enjoying good kitesurfing conditions during a 10-day stay are greatly increased during the austral winter months of June to November. Furthermore, to fully benefit from favourable conditions, one must be prepared to drive around the island and select the spot that works under specific conditions.

Put very broadly, kitesurfing conditions are as follows.
During austral winter (from June to November,) Mauritius is under the influence of the South-East Trade winds, generated by a path of anti-cyclonic cells off the Antarctic belt, moving from West to Right. Owing to its position on the edge of this path, the wind in Mauritius experiences cycles of 7 days. As the cold front reaches, the wind picks up from the South / South-East (gusty) for about 1 day, the wind then intensifies to reach between 20 and 25 knots in a South-Easterly direction for about 3 days. It then turns East in a slight moderation (16 to 18 knots,) for another 2 days. There is approx 1 windless day in between 2 anti-cyclones.

Around the summer solstice (December and January,) a similar pattern can be observed with the direction varying from East to North East and a wind force range 10 to 15 knots with days without. Despite the fact that the wind becomes "uncertain," it is the most enjoyable period for kitesurfing. Days are longer, sea is warm and owing to the landscape, there is consequent accelerations of the wind in certain places, namely in Le Morne spot, offering good moderate wind and flat surface conditions for great riding.

Choosing a region
The pure wave riders will stick to Le Morne... Of Course! For free riders, Le Morne remains a sure bet between June and November as the acceleration from the landscape gives almost a guarantee of wind, at least as from 11.00 am. Le Morne is also a wide lagoon to enjoy but is a fairly busy place to launch and drop or to ride where everyone else is. Le Morne is windless between February and May.

The North (North-East) is "rideable" almost all year round. Although a bit gusty and too "off shore" in winter, the lagoon of Anse La Raie / Calodyne offers wonderful conditions between November and January and in April / May, several days a week.

The East & South-East coasts count some excellent spots for the pure winter; the wind being "side / on shore" it is far less gusty along the East coast than elsewhere.

Kite sizes
Based on the good old C-shaped Kites, we would say that the average 80 Kg lagoon rider would need:

Update January 2013