So a little while back I hastily booked a return to Europe or five weeks from mid-August to mid-September and am considering whether or not to take my kite gear with me. From the research I have undertaken it appears to be pretty good conditions around the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic coast with crowds to match.
Does anyone have any experience kiting in this part of the world? If I take my kite gear I will try to only visit a few places and stay for a while (1 week min). I am also open to kiting in the colder places further north than the Mediterranean as long as the conditions are worthwhile.
Taking into consideration that I haven’t been kiting that long, would it be worthwhile bringing my gear, or leaving it at home and doing a more conventional backpacking style trip? Cheers
I get that we all love kiting but surely their are far better things to experience in Europe that you will never experience in Australia?
I've only done a tiny amount of travelling over the past 3 years but one thing i've learnt is that carrying extra and unnecessary gear is a massive headache.
Select to expand quoteMDSXR6T said..
I get that we all love kiting but surely their are far better things to experience in Europe that you will never experience in Australia?
I've only done a tiny amount of travelling over the past 3 years but one thing i've learnt is that carrying extra and unnecessary gear is a massive headache.
Yeah good call, I'll probably go back there at some stage to do all the proper tourist stuff but lugging all that gear around just seems like it would be excessively stressful and a pain....
Considering going to a school and using their gear. Can anyone suggest any good schools, I have been looking at Tarifa in Spain, but it looks crazy crowded..
What I can tell you is that the cost of hiring gear is quite a lot. Maybe just bring one kite, bar and harness and see if you can hire just a board....Lugging all that gear around will get tiring especially if your planning on public transport, buses, trains etc etc.
Or if you are really keen, see if you can sort a cheap VAT free deal over there and demo a heap of kites and buy something which you like? Not the greatest idea for supporting local Aussie shops though. Depends on how keen you are to kite. Another thing to remember is that many places in Europe wont hire gear if you don't have IKO ticket.
Man, it's a huge hustle to move around the EU with all our gear.
Whey you say Mediterranean, did you look at the size of it? :)
Personally, I would go and experience something like taking a tandem paragliding flight @Swiss alps in the morning, with a bit of skiing or snowboarding on a glacier, and than having a swim on French Riviera in the evening:)
Or visiting Baltics, particularly Helsinki, and take a train for 37Euros return ticket to St. Petersburg over one day. Or take a ferry for 20Euros return to Tallin, Estonia and drink some Saku beer on 700 years old square. Admiring all the beauty, and I mean all.
Than, if you're really keen and still able to walk, go to Turkey or Greece and hire a gear 2hrs for $40 and have a blast...
Mind you tho, in 2 weeks on a kiting beach, I used my gear twice (2 boards, 12+16m). Plus purchased a race board (VAT?, it ic is a joke in the EU, they don't do it, don't know how to and can't care lass on the airports).
