Mangroovy Beach
Egypt’s best-known kite beach and the centre of the country’s kite scene — consistent side-onshore wind, a big shallow area, and a lot of other people.
- Season
- Blows year-round; strongest and most reliable roughly April to September. Winter is lighter and more variable.
- Wind
- Predominantly north to north-west, side-onshore.
- Launch
- Wide sandy beach with a shallow standing area, and a large concentration of schools and rental centres. Space on the beach is the constraint, not the water.
Mangroovy is the beach that made El Gouna a kitesurfing destination, and it remains the most reliable place in Egypt to learn. The combination — steady side-onshore wind, a shallow area you can stand in, and a dozen schools on one beach — is hard to beat for a first week.
The trade-off is exactly that popularity. In peak season the water in front of the beach is busy enough that experienced riders often head downwind for space, and beach launch areas are tight.
It also has a social scene that no other spot on this coast comes close to, which for a lot of people is half the reason to be there.
Suits
- Learning — the shallow area and the number of schools make this the obvious place to start
- Freestyle and freeride in flat-to-moderate chop
- Anyone who wants a scene: bars, other riders, and equipment available
Hazards
- Traffic. On a good day in season this is genuinely crowded, and the density of beginners downwind of you is the real risk.
- Side-onshore wind means a failed water start drifts you toward the beach rather than out to sea — safer, but it puts you among other kites.
- The shallow area has patches of coral and sea urchins. Boots are not a bad idea.