Ultimate Cabarete Beach Guide
Cabarete is a world-famous watersports hub, so it’s no surprise it has some pretty amazing beaches. If you’re an active person looking to get the most adventure out of your vacation, this might just be the place for you. Cabarete is a small town with a big personality. It’s located on the North coast of the Dominican Republic, near Puerto Plata. Here’s a run-through of the best spots to kite, surf, windsurf, SUP, and swim! We’ll start at Cabarete Beach, the longest beach by the center of town, and work our way downwind. Cabarete Beach This is the most bustling beach in Cabarete, sporting many restaurants and shops, as well as the best wind on the island. In Cabarete, we are blessed with side-onshore wind, so it’s safer to be out on the water and ideal for beginners. You’ll find plenty of kite schools here, with instructors eager to show you the ropes and get you feeling confident. Windsurfers tend to hang out upwind on Cab Beach, because of a wind pocket. Kiters ride along the middle of beach, but be aware as it does get choppier as you move away from the point (near Janet’s supermarket). Crack out your SUP before the wind picks up, which is usually shortly after 11am. If you’re not into watersports, there’s lots of space to relax on Cabarete Beach. You can top up your enviable Caribbean tan, dive into a book, or strike up a conversation with a fellow sun-worshipper. And, of course, be sure to spend at least an afternoon sipping coconut water and mojitos until sunset. Bozo Beach Bozo is so named because it’s where you end up if you’re a beginner (or bozo) kiting on Cabarete Beach. That said, it’s a great place to be out on the water. So good, in fact, that this is where the pro kiters gather to show off their best tricks at competitions. There’s plenty of ocean space when you get out, though you sometimes find a bit of shore break and some chop. Bozo’s nearby reef is popular with kiters on directional boards. On a low-wind day, you’ll see confident bodyboarders and bodysurfers having fun at Bozo. Punta Goleta Punta Goleta is a calm place to soak up the sunshine away from the crowds. It’s a popular place for skimboarders to play around, and you can enjoy their antics from the beach. Kiters tend to steer clear of this area because of choppy waters and proximity to Kite Beach point. You can easily get yourself into a bad situation here, if you’re struggling to relaunch your kite, and drift toward the rocks near the point or the shallow reef. Not for beginners. Kite Beach Right on our doorstep, mere footsteps from La Mesa Taina restaurant in eXtreme, is the world-class Kite Beach. As the name suggests, this beach is a kiters dream. Perfect wind conditions on over 300 days a year, gorgeous sand, warm bright-blue water – if you’re lucky, you might even see turtles swimming around you when you’re out on the water! eXtreme guests enjoy prime access to Kite Beach, so you can be the first on the water when the wind picks up! We also have a grassy area where you can hose down and pack up your kit, away from the sand. You can store your kit just a few steps off the beach, and head straight to our farm-to-table restaurant to refuel. It doesn’t get more convenient than that. There are a good few kite schools around on Kite Beach, with skilled, experienced instructors to help you on your way. Safety tip: If you’re going around the point, be sure to give it a wide berth, since there are a good number of rocks. You’ll find the flattest water just downwind of the point. It’s common to see locals spear-fishing at the point, too. Kite Beach in the early morning is a magical place to be. Take a dip or have a paddle out on the glassy water. Experienced paddlers can find some paddle surf waves out on the reef. At eXtreme, The Yoga Loft is a serene space that looks out over the water. Join us there for morning practice to ground yourself before an active day. Mats and blocks are provided, so don’t worry about bringing your own equipment! Playa Encuentro Encuentro is THE place to rise and surf in Cabarete. Just a 5-minute moto ride from eXtreme, it’s a must-see if you’re a looking to catch some waves in the area. The variety of breaks makes it an ideal spot for surfers of all ability levels. First-timers can keep their cool in the Beginners’ Area (between Pauhana and Bobo’s), where mellow waves and helping hands abound. Seasoned experts can test their skills in the Destroyers or Coco Pipe breaks. You can rent boards there or bring your own. The guys from Pauhana Surf School are your best choice, excellent equipment and great teachers! Get down there early for a sunrise surf, before the wind and crowds start to build at around 9am. Big waves mean SUPs are not allowed here, and swimming is not advisable. Stick to the board. With 350 surfable days a year, Encuentro is a safe bet for your surfing holiday. Come and join the party! The beach in Cabarete is a year-round outdoor playground for adventure-seekers and ocean lovers, zen beach babes and party animals. As they say, the sun always shines in the Caribbean. Whether you’ve been on the water a day or a decade, you’ll soon feel at home on Cabarete’s friendly beaches.
Kiteboarding Lessons: Do I need them?
Kiteboarding lessons, do I need them? Short answer: yes. Kiteboarding when you don’t know what you’re doing is pretty dangerous. Reckless kiting can put yourself, other kiters out on the water, and passers by on the beach in danger. Just as you wouldn’t drive down a highway without taking driving lessons, you need to be taught how to fly a kite from someone who really knows their stuff. Preferably someone qualified and certified by the IKA, with a clean record. In Cabarete, you’ll find plenty of kiteboarding schools with skilled, friendly instructors to help you take your first tentative steps into this exciting sport. Taking lessons will equip you with essential know-how. There’s a lot to stay on top of in this sport. It’s called an extreme sport for a reason. What will I learn in Kiteboarding lessons? Learning how to fly the kite and move it with control through different positions in the wind window is essential. Kite control is a key factor deciding how you fare out in the water. You’ll be taught on the beach first, likely with a smaller training kite. These depower very easily so are forgiving when you make mistakes. Learners need to get to grips with the science of the sport, and how the direction of the wind works to power your kite. The horizontal plane is discussed in terms of numbers on a clock, where 12 o’clock is straight ahead of you and 3 o’clock is 90 degrees to your right. The vertical plane is discussed in degrees. For instance, the most powered up point in the wind window is at 12 o’clock at 45 degrees. Once you’ve mastered the training kite, you’ll move onto sand skiing and body dragging through the water. After you’ve shown you can skilfully control the kite, you can start learning to board. Safety first As I mentioned earlier, safety is highly important in kiteboarding. Beginners have a lot of kiting safe practice to learn: how to assess wind and water conditions, how to rig your kit, how to avoid collisions with other kiters. You’ll be drilled in dealing with emergencies and learn how to rescue yourself if something goes wrong. You need to know the beach and its hazards well: is there a reef? which direction do the currents flow? are there any major obstacles? hidden rocks? beach umbrellas? where is the safest spot to land and launch? The main danger in kiteboarding is people who don’t know what they’re doing. That’s the primary cause of accidents and trouble on the water. Kiteboarding lessons are a must to get you feeling confident and in control on the water. Instructors know how to get you up on your board and tacking along in as little time as possible. Trust them, it’s their job. Hold my mojito… Cabarete is the perfect place to learn how to kiteboard. We have reliable wind for around 300 days a year, though high kiting season goes from June to August. The warm water, beautiful sunny weather and safe onshore wind make it a dream location to begin your kiting journey. Check out our Kiteboarding lingo for beginners article to learn the basics of kiting gear, tricks and slang. If you’re looking for a challenge on your active vacation, try taking a few kiteboarding lessons. You know, just to dip your toes in the water. Who knows, you might get hooked.
The Butterfly Effect returns to Cabarete
The Butterfly Effect will return to Cabarete in June 2019 for a celebration of active women who love the ocean. The event will take place on the 29th June and will include SUP, windsurf and kitesurf activities. Last year in June, the BE had a blast in Cabarete. The beaches were full of Butterflies, giving it their all and having a great time in the water. The highlights were a 2km downriver SUP course from Islabon to La Boca, and a massive 5km downwinder from La Boca to Cabarete Beach. BE events have a focus on learning about local culture and giving something back. Last year, the Butterfly community helped clean up the local beaches and put on a dinner to raise money for the Cabarete charity DREAM Project. Over the years, BE has managed to donate over $45,000 to charities around the world. These funds go to important causes, like fighting breast cancer, working with at-risk young people, and supporting women who have suffered domestic and sexual violence. The women in the community are known as ‘Butterflies’. Butterflies are women who love being active and encouraging one another. When Butterflies come together in a non-competitive environment, they are free to connect with a community of adventure-loving women. Together, they learn new skills, grow in confidence and help each other navigate what femininity means to them. The Butterflies also know how to have fun. BE events always have an after-party with live music, food and plenty of dancing! About a dozen Butterflies met for the first event in Maui, Hawaii in 2007. Since then, the community has boomed, with thousands of women joining together in over 50 events. In just over a decade, the Butterflies have fluttered all over the world. 19 countries, to be precise. Locations have included Fiji, Tahiti, Melbourne, Switzerland, Morocco, Whistler, and Israel. Their mission is global women’s empowerment through watersports, and they are certainly spreading their wings. Butterfly puns aside, the BE community is doing some awesome work to promote a healthy, connected lifestyle for women. Their gatherings refuse to pit women against each other, instead they to encourage and build others up, forming lifelong friendships. Now, that’s the real prize. We can’t wait to see women of all ages coming together to do what they love on the beaches of Cabarete. Watch out for The Butterfly Effect 2019, coming to a tropical location near you!
It’s All About Kiting
It’s All About Kiting During Summer Good Wind And World Class Events Summer is just around the corner and the kiters among us (like Vikki, Chrissy and Patricia) are looking forward to the next few months! We’re lucky to have wind year round but June to September is our favorite season -time to pump up the small kites! With smaller crowds and stronger winds than the Christmas season it’s paradise for kiteboarders of all levels. Whether you’re learning or a seasoned pro it’s a good idea to make sure you’re taking care of your body after hours on the water. With that in mind we’ve put together some packages with a daily yoga class to stretch out and re-align your body as well as daily organic breakfast and dinner. Ask us about our yoga and kite camps. If you are a fitness enthusiast we have something for your too. Cabarete is packed with kiting talent, local rising stars Lou Marin and Adeuri Corniel just qualified for the 2018 youth games in Buenos Aires. Cabarete has a long history of producing pro-riders but in Summer we also get to see even more international kiting stars in the water. The Global Kite Association (GKA) is bringing their world tour to Cabarete from July 9 – 15 promising spectators an exciting World Cup event with appearances from the world’s best freestyle riders. (In case you are confused about the structure of the kiting associations, here’sa nice overview!) Uncharted Kite Sessionshosts Kite Camps with Youri Zoon, Kevin Langeree, and one Kite Camp for Ladies with world champions Jalou Langeree and Moona Whyte. This gives you the opportunity to learn from some of the best kite boarders in the world, if you want to do more than watch the pros. They base their training at GoKite/ eXtreme hotel and we’re also one of the accommodation options. We’ve seen the camps in action and can’t recommend them enough to take your kiting to the next level. Kiting isn’t just about competition and learning new tricks it’s also an amazing way to build community and find like minded people. The Butterfly Effect, an annual SUP, Windsurf, Kitesurf Event, happening July 7 is a great example. The Butterfly Effect is a global movement of non-competitive events to inspire women to stay active, learn the local culture, build community, promote sustainability, healthy living, and give back! Taino Farm With our new aquaponics system up and running the farm is producing more than ever. This Summer our products will not only be sold in Cabarete, Sosua and Puerto Plata but will also be available in La vega, Las Terrenas and possibly even Santiago- we’re one step closer to taking over the country with organic, nutrient dense food! Our Hatchery is finding a new home closer to the other aquaponics systems and we’re finally putting up some shade over the longer plant beds to keep the greens that are less happy with direct caribbean sunlight (lettuce) as healthy and happy as possible. We’re also on the verge of hiring a new Tour Manager and intern coordinator at the Farm so in the next couple of months so watch this space. We’ve been inundated with amazing applications so although we’re still sifting through them all (there’s still time to apply if you’re a bilingual agriculture enthusiast) we’re sure that whoever we end up hiring will be great and we’re very excited to add a new member to the team.
Master of the Sea
Big surf competition happening this weekend at Encuantro! The master of the sea needs to demonstrate their ability to kill the waves and the wind. “DISCIPLINES There will be four disciplines – surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing and stand up paddle board (SUP). All disciplines will be judged on surfing waves, jumps and tricks performed during riding the wave and freestyle manoeuvres using the wave. Overall impression is the main focus for judges with weight given to performance on or using waves.” http://masteroftheocean.com/master-ocean-2012 Everyone should go down and cheer on the competitors. We’re also really excited to cheer on some of our local talent and our good friend Nir, a pro kiter from Israel staying with us at the hotel. With competitions happening everyday this weekend, everyone come back to our restaurant Chichigua to talk about the days big competitors and stories. Arturo makes a mean cucumber mojito :) See you there!
Lots of questions on Cabarete
hi D Some Answers: On Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 5:48 PM, D wrote: Good evening, I am interested in coming to kite beach for one week, arriving leaving . I have a few questions i was hoping you could help with. -Are these dates available for a package of lessons, equipment, monitoring, and hotel, if not are there other dates? yes In the one week package, how many nights stay are included with the beach accommodations? A week is 7 nights. If two of us go, can one of us stay for an extra week for the 2 week special price? one on the one week price, and the other on the 2 week price – no problem. Would we get any kind of IKO certification from our kite lessons? If you like we can get you the IKO certificate. But it’s just a piece of paper actually. What specifically would be included as far as kite lesson times and supervision/equipment? Gear rental, 6 hours of lessons in 3 steps, unlimited use of the gear with supervision of an assistant instructor for the whole time. Kite as much as you like – most of what you need is practice and that’s what we give you. We have a ton of success with this formula at creating kiters. My friend is considering coming, do you have any suites available and if so what would the price be? We have a 3 bedroom penthouse overlooking kite beach that is $1000/week. For a single room, can you guarantee two beds? I can What kind of prices can you offer on the different rooms/lessons based on one vs two persons? If someone joins you but no kitesurfing, it’s $50 for the week. If two of you take the lessons then it’s $599 per person. How many lesson hours and is unlimited supervision and equipment included? 6 hours of lessons, one on one. Unlimited supervision and gear rental Is there food included or a restaurant on site? Yes, a very popular restaurant right on the beach – it’s a cool place. Are there things to do or restaurants nearby within walking distance? we are right on the best part of kite beach. Cabarete down town is 1.4 miles away Do we need a car? most people get around on moto taxis – $1.50 to town How much is a cab from the airport? fixed rate $35 Do you have kiteboarding gear for sale there? we do – new and used. all of cabarete has pretty good deals on kite gear from x pro gear to hard up travellers to big companies dumping excess inventory. Any AAA discounts or different timeframes we should consider for a better deal? it’s tough to beat the price anywhere in the world for what we offer. many try but be sure to read the fine print. i can confidently say we have the best instructors, truly unlimited supervision (we started it), top notch gear and an amazing location. Anything we will need? sunscreen I saw you have a halfpipe, should i bring my skateboard? uh – depends. how long has it been? it’s a pro level ramp. Any other things we should know or questions i should ask? I’m pretty sure you covered it all – i’m going to blog this :) this is a fun place, and you’ll have a great time. I’m here if you have questions, robbie