Qatar Kitesurf Spots
You might have come here as an expat not knowing what to expat… but you have one hobby, or maybe we should call it a passion.. watersports!! You have come to the right place. Qatar has an great variety of awesome kitesurf spots to discover. Each has their own particularities and advantages and there’s even a couple pitfalls too! If you would like to find out all about them, read on!
Inland Sea
The name might not give it away, in fact it sounds a little contradictory, but this is actually one of the most epic spots Qatar has to offer. It is bordered by Saudi on the south side and Qatar to the north, with a channel of pretty clear water running through the middle. On the south side you’re looking out to rocky hills of many different colors, and on the north side there are the majestic sand dunes of Qatar’s desert. A channel is formed by the water, and as the water flows through, so does the wind too. The result is an often surprising breeze that can be felt flowing through here. As beautiful as it is, kiting in the channel has been done before, but is generally not recommended (Spoiler alert, all other spots are 100% accessible and legal, don’t worry!). One exception found to this is a spot in between the dunes on the Qatari side. You are actually kiting in waters surrounded by dunes all on the Qatar land side, and you don’t have to enter the channel to Saudi, although it is nicely visible to the south. Definitely a beautiful spot, but one that comes with a caution!!
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Fuwairit
Next up is my favorite go-to spot for kitesurfing in Qatar. Fuwairit beach. It is found quite far to the north of Qatar, just before hitting the northernmost town of the country. You will come to the town of Fuwairit first, and the beach itself lies just behind it. But be careful, there is also a mangrove area to be found, which will not be supported the weight of your 4-wheel monster! Trust me, a friend of mine has tried! Once at Fuwairit beach you find yourself with a beautiful clear sea in front of you, varying in depth from just a couple inches to many feet deep. And behind you there is the most amazing flat-water lagoon, perfect to get into kitesurfing lessons, or for perfecting your latest tricks. There are also a couple mangrove-type bushes to play around with. Both sides are quite tide dependent, you want to be careful going on the seaside at low tide, as sharp bits of coral will be just millimeters below the water surface. On the lagoon side of Fuwairit, you will need a tide of at least 1m or higher to begin thinking of kiting here. DOn’t worry, these kinds of tides happen every day. You’ll just need them to match to your off-time scheduled to have some epic sessions here!
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Zekreet
This is the go-to spot if you are new to the kitesurfing sport and learning from day one. It can be found in the West of Qatar. It is an inlet which connects to the open sea by a wide channel. It is probably some of the saltiest water in Qatar, although it wouldn’t quite match the water of the dead sea, when ingesting a gulp of it, you would think it comes close! Zekreet is so good for learning to kitesurf because it is surrounded by beach literally all around apart from a small area to the northwest. And the northwest also happend to be the prevailing wind direction. In practice this means you can go to Zekreet and practice practice practice while floating with the wind, and you will always end up on land somewhere!! An added point of interest here is that, because of the amount of people taking their first steps here, nicely colored kitesurf boards can often be found along the shore here! Before that happens to your board, be sure to write your name and or number on it so it can be returned swiftly! A point to remember here is that the beaches of Zekreet also happen to be ___infested___ in sharp little rocks. Unless you are expert level (and probably even then), wearing some booties is highly recommended! Oh and watch out parking your kite at the beach, the sharp rocks can get to them too!
Ras Brouq (Brace Bay)
A little further north of Zekreet, but following a slightly challenging route through the arid landscape, you will find the kitesurf spot of Ras Brouq. It is a beautiful bay actually lined with nice white sand a some of the clearest water that can be found around Qatar. Because of the inaccessibility of this spot, if you like to kite surrounded just by the elements and not lots of other kites and guys (girls) splashing about, this is excellent to enjoy some time in near solitude. Of course I’m not recommending to kite out here alone. I’ll just let you choose how big a crowd you want to invite along. Ras Brouq is not really a spot for beginners. Winds are not as steady here as some of the other spots
Coming up: Dukhan, Shamal SS, Ghost Town, Al Khor and Al Dhakira, al Wakra, Sealine.
