Destination guide

Antsiranana & Northern Madagascar, Madagascar

A thirty-square-kilometre emerald lagoon at Madagascar's northern tip, reached past Diego Suarez and almost nobody else.

About Antsiranana & Northern Madagascar

The far north of Madagascar holds one of the more extraordinary pieces of water in the sport. The Emerald Sea, on the Babaomby peninsula in the northern passage of Diego Suarez bay, is a lagoon of roughly thirty square kilometres, held by coral barriers and small islands, and coloured exactly as its name suggests.

The season runs March to November on the Varatraza, the south-easterly that blows onshore between about ten in the morning and five in the afternoon. It builds through the year: 20 to 30 knots from March to May, 30 to 40 from June to August, with June to October the peak. Most riders are on 5 to 7 metre kites from May to October, and 7 to 10 in April and November.

The lagoon averages around three metres deep over sand, with water at 25 to 28°C, and it works for every level — flat water across most of it and wave spots near the reefs for advanced riders.

Diego Suarez itself, the Red Tsingy, Amber Mountain and the underground rivers and lemurs of Ankarana are all within reach, which makes this a genuine expedition rather than a beach week.

When to go

Best months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November.

Kite areas

1 distinct riding area documented within this destination.