Kite Area guide
Hamata, Hamata & Wadi Lahami
Hamata's kite beach is one vast shallow lagoon with three reef islands offshore, a mangrove forest upwind and almost nobody on the water.
When to kite
Best months: April, May, June, July, August, September, October.
About this Kite Area
The lagoon at Hamata is the main event here — a single expansive riding area with a huge waist-deep zone for beginners and deeper water further out for everyone else. The water is exceptionally clear over reef, which is where the aquarium comparison comes from.
Hamata records some of the best wind statistics in Egypt. The most reliable windows run roughly May to June and September to mid-October; January to March and November to December blow stronger but slightly less consistently, and July and August hold steady thermals in 45°C heat. Most riders are on 9 and 12 metre kites. The wind is thermal, which makes forecasts conservative — locals reckon on adding a few knots to what is predicted, and it tends to be strongest in the morning.
Water is flat to lightly chopped, flattest at low tide, when parts of the lagoon drop below knee depth. Above 30 knots or on a high tide it gets choppier. Reefs are the hazard to respect, and a mangrove forest sits upwind of the launch — keep a hundred metres off it. Unusually for Egypt, there are no sea urchins.