Best Place for a Quick Trip?

[bcruz]

Thinking about taking a fast trip in the very early spring (March). What is the best place to get a fast trip and some guaranteed (or at least almost guaranteed) riding? It would also be nice to have something to do if there is no wind.

I'm thinking something like a 3-6 day trip. Options are Puerto Rico (Been There), Corpus Christie, South Padre, California?, South Carolina, or anywhere else that is close enough to give us the maximum amount of kiting and has warm weather.

I know Tim recommends Corpus, which sounds like it has some of the best kiting that time of year. The only downside to Corpus is that there's not much to do outside of kiting, which is fine if the wind is pretty certain.

Brandon

[nicole]

im thinking about going to s. florida march 17-22. you can fly into ft. lauderdale for about $200 and either stay around the ft. lauderdale/ miami area, or rent a car and drive down to the keys. there is a lot to if there's no wind. im going with my sister, who doesnt kite, so corpus is out, and south padre island has really expensive flights/ lodging. i think FL will be the cheapest/ warmest place. im not exactly sure how reliable the wind is in florida at that time though. . .can anyone recommend a website where that could be checked?
nicole

[nicole]

p.s. theres a cable park in deerfield beach, so you can ride w/o wind
http://www.skirixenusa.com/index.html

[V]

Corbs, where did you hear that SPI was expensive? It is pretty cheap, actually. $30 a day hotel with cheap eats. Not sure about spring break rate hikes, but most of the year its fairly inexpensive according to a half dozen kiters I know that go there all the time. What type of costs would you expect to pay in SPI? We're planning the trip now, so input is helpful. Thanks.

I've got a buddy in Ft. Lauderdale and been thinking of going there myself, too, but the wind doesn't seem consistent at all. I think its good in the keys, but that's pretty far south. Do you know any kiters in FL?

[nicole]

v,
i looked up hotels on orbitz, and the cheapest in SPI is $140 a night and thats just too much for me and my still-in-college sister. march is spring break month, so thats probably why its more expensive than you thought. and where do you fly into? i typed in south padre island, and it came up as a flight to brownsville, tx, and prices start at $350. yikes!

i was thinking of staying with friends in miami for a day or two, hitting up the cable park, and then heading down to key west, where i think the wind is more consistent. also there's a hostel you can stay at for about $30 a night (which might fill up fast b/c of spring breakers). the bad thing is that the cheapest flights are into ft. lauderdale, so you pretty much have to rent a car.

the only kiter i know there is paul menta in key west, who i took lessons with about 2 months ago. he has a "kitehouse" which sleeps 4 that he rents out for $85 a night, but i emailed him trying to make a reservation, but still haven't heard a response.

im definitely not ready to go out by myself, so would love if i could meet up with a kiting buddy. if i cant do that, paul does supervised rentals for $100 a day, and will take you out on his boat to the "secret spots", but like i said, he's not responding to my e-mails, which is annoying me, so i havent booked a flight yet. let me know what you guys wanna do.
nicole

[V]

I posted some flight info on the general forum. You fly into Harlingen airport. Another option is Corpus Christi. Flights to both should be from $250-$350 max on Southwest or United.

Corpus is dirt cheap with hotels. Tim recommends the Motel 6 which is cheap and close and they have twice a day maid service for fresh towels after kiting. A week at Motel 6 is $200. Average daily highs 80 low 65 water around 60.

Right now there's bout 6 of us planning to go in March. Would love it if you joined us and if you're open to a little extra help with learning, we could give you some pointers too and aid you if anything happened out there..

[nicole]

hey i just did another search for hotels at SPI and motel 6 came up for $47 a night (i guess b/c i changed the dates from my last search). i would do that.

[bcruz]

Nicole,

I'm heading to south florida (Isla Morada) this weekend. From what I hear it's pretty good. They have kickers, etc. built in the water, which will be a first for me to try.

I talked to a couple guys from down there and they said it's great conditions, flat water near shore, waves outside, works on almost any wind direction, etc.

They also have great scuba diving, fishing, nightlife, etc. in case you can't kite for any reason.

There's a website at http://www.sevensports.com

Flights were only $200 into Fort Lauderdale on Southwest, and it's 1.5 to 2 hour drive to the island from there. You can also fly into Miami, which is closer, but I bought my tickets too late to get a good price into Miami.

Brandon

[nicole]

im jealous. i was looking into going there in april to see the islamorada invitational, but dont think im going to make it. hotels seem to be pretty pricey there, were you able to find a deal?
nicole

oh and the link you posted doesnt work, its www.sevensports.com

[bcruz]

I'm going down with family, so I didn't do most of the research. I'm actually not sure what the hotels cost, but I thought there were some good deals down there.

Sorry about that link, I fixed it. I'll post some info about the place when I get back. Keeping my fingers crossed that the wind blows!

[Guest]

Just south of Miami in the Biscane Bay in a town called Coral Gables is an awesome place to ride. It is in a state park called Matheson Hammock. I was just there and it was a blast. It was definitely a cool scene with about 5-15 riders every day I was there. The setup is primarily for kiters. This section of the bay is HUGE, and it never gets more than waist deep....perfect for a novice like myself. They also have a man made atol (check it out online, I can't describe what it is), bathrooms, restaraunt etc. which was great for my wife and kid. This way I didn't get a guilt trip for leaving everyone out of my day.

I highly recommend it.