Has anyone sailed Borocay recently. I'm thinking about giving it a try end of December / January this year.
this is peak season so I believe it gets fairly crowded and hectic?
any recommendations for reasonable cost accommodation.
keen to hear any feedback.
The district hotel Boracay is by far the best hotel on the island. It is locate on main beach and is only a five minute walk from the sailing side. The sailing is fairly good with a reasonable selection of gear, however the water in front of the shops is quite dirty but further out cleans up nicely. 
I've been to boracay twice around Christmas/New Years and the sailing was fantastic. Don't worry about it being too crowded, the two windsurf stations are positioned at the upper end of the beach and the kitesurfers end up being more down wind. Good news is that the nightlife is good when it's high season and there are not too many windsurfers.
Last time I used 4.0 to 6.5s. My profile pic is me on a 4.0 in boracay when I easily could have been on a 3.5 we had the outliers of a typhoon coming in.
I've rented at both windsurf stations but id recommend reefriders these days. They have decent severe sails and starboads. Happy to put you in touch with the owner if you like.
I went a few years ago now.
Reefriders were good. Friendly and casual and gear was good.
We stayed at Cohiba Villas which sits up above the sailing lagoon. It was great and out of the crowds. We had a group of four which cut down the cost. Its recommended. I sailed and kited. Recommend getting out wide near the reef. Theres some real rude arrogant euros that will not give way (kiters).Not so much an issue when sailing but when kiting - wont dip kite etc when passing. Not to mention people learning to kite and dive bombing you with out of control kites.
Overall a great place to visit with pretty good sailing in choppy conditions. Enjoy.
I went to Boracay over xmas this year with my girlfriend and some mates. Was an awesome trip - the next Aus Windsurf mag will have a more detailed article, but basically sailed 5.2m/4.8m and 100ltr freestyle board every day. Some days were a bit lighter (15 knots) and we had some really windy 35knot days too. Reef Retreat is the best place if you want to sail. Reef Riders is right next door - the rooms are nice and comfortable and reasonably priced and the water is about 10m from your front door. Matt, the owner is a freestyle windsurfer and can give you loads of local advice on pretty much anything you need on the island. Staying on the Bulabog beach side of the island means you ahve a breeze and are away from the main tourist strip of White beach - which is only 5 mins walk away.
here are a couple of pics to give you some idea of the conditions. The 3rd bay down the lagoon is best as you get away from the kites (of which there are a LOT - beware) but the conditions are great and flat for blasting and freestyle.
Select to expand quoteWillaus0001 said..
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Will was owning the pretty much the water at Christmas. Amazing to look at. I felt a bit ashamed surfing next to him trying to stand my jibes after my 10 year break :)
Looks good, thanks for the feedback.
will I need to book gear in advance or just do it when i get there once I sus out what's on offer.
