Safaga and Tobia island
The coast’s original wind destination — flat water in the lee of a long headland and Tobia island, at prices from a different decade.
- Season
- Strong and reliable roughly April to September; the classic windsurfing season.
- Wind
- North, funnelled and accelerated along the bay.
- Launch
- Several centres along the bay south of town. Tobia island itself is reached by boat and offers flat water on the sheltered side.
Safaga was a windsurfing destination before kitesurfing existed, and the geography that made it one has not changed: a headland and an island shelter a long bay, producing flat water under strong, funnelled northerly wind.
It remains the best value on the coast for wind sports by a wide margin, and the least developed. Riders who come here tend to come back and tend not to advertise it.
Suits
- Windsurfers, who have known about this bay for thirty years
- Riders who want strong reliable wind without paying El Gouna prices
- Flat-water sailing in the lee, chop and swell outside it
Hazards
- It is a working commercial port. Shipping movements are real and the exclusion areas exist for a reason.
- The wind here accelerates. A day that is manageable at El Gouna can be overpowered at Safaga on the same forecast — size down.
- Facilities are older and thinner than further north; do not assume a rescue boat.