My work is paying for me to head to Europe in early June 
and I intend to tack on a few days (up to a week) holidays once the work bit is over so I am looking for tips on good places to go kitesurfing in Europe. I am going to be in Bulgaria (just north of Greece and Turkey) for work so I was thinking maybe heading to Greece or Turkey to kitesurf would be best. I have to go home via London so I could alternatively take a stop-over there and go to Spain or Portugal instead? I am an intermediate kiter who tends to favour being in the waves rather than flat water tricks - but I am open to any good kitesurfing experience. Basically I would be keen on improving my skills while I am there so some lessons would be good too. So, my desires are: A decent place with good chance of good winds in early June plus a kitesurfing school and a good vibe (and not too crowded). Any suggestions?
Greek Islands - Paros and Naxos are awesome - you get the Meltimi which blows from sunrise to sunset 20 -35 knots consistently. And the food and people are awesome.
Paros - you can ride the strait between Paros and Antiparos (Dead flat water) - there is a kitesurf centre with accommodation right on the beach there and it pretty nice.
But a 40 minute ferry ride to Naxos yields better results - better beaches, and probably not as crowded. There is a kitesurf centre with accommodation there too.
Lots of cool little villages on the island to check out as well.
Thanks for the tip re Paros and Naxos. Confirms what I had seen on the net but it is always better to trust first hand experience. I remember going to Paros (before Kitesurfing was invented!) way back at the end of the eighties and it was a beaut little spot back then.
If you are close to Greece then you should check it out. Paros, naxos and rhodos are usually wind safe spots with strong winds. Used to work at Paros Kitecentre Pro so if you get to Paros say hello from me =) But there is no dead flat water at all as lostinlondon mentioned, it is really choppy and deep water straight away, but the wind gets squeezed in between Paros and Antiparos so winds are usually consistent and strong and yes, food and people are great! mmm miss the food! Tarifa in Spain is great, Italy is cool. But for me, Portugal holds the best spots, you've got sick waves from the Atlantic and loads of lagoons for flat water. Egypt is really cool as well. Europe in June is wicked! Man, I just made myself home sick! =)
Best thing to do is hire a quad bike when you get there. You can load your gear on the rack and go searching for spots.
Paros was pretty flat when I was there but it was tail end of the season. Naxos is not flat but the beaches are nicer and you are a bit further away from the crowds.
I have the Wind and Kitesurf guide to Europe. If I remember to dig it out I'll scan the pages on Paros and Naxos for you.
Thanks for the helpful tips guys. Hey N1CK, Portugal sounds interesting - especially as I like getting into the waves. Any spots in particular you would recommend? Would I be assured of wind in early June?
Chris, regarding Dahab. I have been there but didn't actually kite. I didn't have my gear with me at the time as I was backpacking through Egypt. I can tell you though that you couldn't hire gear without taking lessons. Not sure if things have changed since then (2006). My advice would be to take your own.
Wind is on there pretty much all the time but it depends what you're chasing for conditions. The lagoon they talk of is ridiculously shallow (just over ankle deep for the main part) and not very big. The ocean is split up and the windsurfers have the pick of the area. There is a windsurfing centre there and they pretty much run the show. In short the kiters get the choppy stuff in the bay. There are no waves as such and the flat water is hogged by the poleys. But if you are after plenty of wind and don't mind choppy conditions then it would be alright.
Plenty of cheap accomodation and some pretty sweet places right on the red sea to chill and have a couple of Stellas. Penguin Village is chill.
Diving is huge there and if you're after other things you can arrange a trip to climb Mt. Sinai.
I lived 10 minutes from Guincho in 2008 and kited almost everyday.
Advice : Take a 7 m or a 5m if you planning on getting there after 3pm
Thermal effect is crazy. Can be a tad gusty
In my opinion Spain and Portugal could be a good option.
The most popular spot in Spain, where every year a lot of people are going to do kite and windsurf is TARIFA. Tarifa is a small city in the South of Spain and everybody in Spain and maybe Europe know this place for the wind. In June Tarifa can have a lot of days which people can do kite, but in some days the wind can be so strong (40 or 50 knots). In this case you can go 30km from Tarifa and maybe there is a little bit less (30 or 35 knots). Or maybe you have good luck and in the week that you want to go is PONIENTE (wind blowing from the WEST) and it is perfect for sail (15-25 knots). The nightlife, food and people maybe is another good reason to go to Tarifa.
Another good place is Canary Island, also Spain. From Jun to Sep is a good season to do kite or windsurf. Around 70% days the wind is > 14 knots. My favorite island is FUERTEVENTURA.
If you have any question about Spain you can ask me whatever you want.
Thanks for all the suggestions and information guys. I've decided to go to Naxos since the weather and wind forecast looks good, I managed to find some really cheap flights and the accommodation turned out to be really cheap at this time of year - and of course because a lot of you recommended Naxos. Thanks again.
Hey guys, just to let you know that I went to Naxos and it was great. I stayed at a specialist kite-surfing hotel (Orkos Beach Hotel) right on Orkos Beach in Mikri Vigla on Naxos. It was a good spot to kite, plenty of room, good strong winds all day (side to on-shore) and 100 metre walk back to the 'kite cafe' at the Hotel to 'refuel' (and sample the Mojitos at the end of the day). Best part was the people - really friendly and all there to kite. I can highly recommend it. Now for some fun in the waves back in Perth...
