With 378 kilometers of coastline stretching from Celestún to El Cuyo, there is more than room enough for everyone to do their own thing.
Windsurfing, water skiing, and kayaking all have their place in Yucatán, but over the past decade or so, kiteboarding (also known as kitesurfing) has exploded in popularity.
As the name implies, kiteboarding uses an inflatable kite to zoom the riders at great speed over the surface of the water on a board.
As it turns out, the coast along Yucatán’s northern coast is perfect for kiteboarding and is now attracting droves of tourists looking to get some serious highs.
“I live in the bay area and kite is huge there, but the beaches are crowded and the conditions are often not ideal. In Yucatán, the wind is very reliable and there is just so much coastline for everyone to enjoy,” says Roque Arcudia, a native Yucateco working in Silicon Valley.
For someone who has never even attempted kiteboarding, the entire thing looks quite intimidating and with quite a steep learning curve.
“It’s a very bad idea to try to learn to kite on your own, if you don’t know what you are doing it can be quite dangerous,” adds Arcudia.
For this reason, several kite academies have sprung up along the coast, teaching eager students from Yucatán and across the world.
You would think that the popularity of this rather extreme sport would be focused on the young, but if you look closely at the folks zooming along the waves you will spot several people well into their 50s and 60s doing tricks side by side with teenagers.
“I started kiteboarding in my 40s when I lived in Belize, but now that I am in my late 50s and living in Yucatán I am still going strong,” says Mattias Bauer, originally from Salzburg.
But no matter your age getting into kiteboarding is a fairly major commitment, as the cost of even the most basic kits starts off at a few thousand dollars.
One thing that has always struck me about kiteboarders is how eager they are to help each other out.
In the early afternoons when the wind is usually at its most intense, it is not unusual to count dozens of kiteboarders riding the waves regardless of the day of the week.
Aside from the weather conditions, another of the things that makes Yucatán so attractive for kiteboarders are relatively inexpensive equipment rental and accommodation costs.
As for myself, I think I will stick to kayaking, thank you very much.
