Jericoacoara & Preá, Brazil

About Jericoacoara & Preá

Jericoacoara has no paved streets. It sits inside a national park on the Ceará coast, reached across dunes, and the sand runs right through the village to the water. It was a fishing settlement until the wind found it; today its pousadas and villas fill from July to February with people who have come a long way to ride.

The kitesurfing itself has largely moved fourteen kilometres east to Preá, where the beach is wider and less crowded. The strip between Barrinha and Preá gives cross to cross-onshore wind over sand, suitable at every level: flat at low tide, and kickers and waves as the tide pushes in. Behind the dunes lie the freshwater lagoons — Guriú, Tatajuba — which are glassy, shallow and the reason many people never ride the ocean at all.

The wind is as reliable as anywhere in the sport: 99 per cent of October days are windy, 95 to 96 per cent in August and September, averaging around 17 knots and gusting well beyond. One practical note — there are no cash machines in Jericoacoara, so arrive with reais.

When to go

Best months: January, February, July, August, September, October, November, December.

Kite areas

3 distinct riding areas documented within this destination.

• Jericoacoara Beach

  Best months: July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February.

• Praia do Preá

  Best months: July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February.

• Tatajuba

  Best months: July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February.

Curated places to stay

• Casa Siará

  For the non-kiting partner, privacy, food, tennis, fitness and restorative spa time are every bit as deliberate as the rider’s programme.

• Casana Hotel

  For the non-kiting partner, privacy, gastronomy, massage and contrast therapy turn the same trip into a secluded coastal escape.