For the last 25 years, my life has been kitesurfing and travelling. I spent between three and seven months travelling every year. Now I’m a father and I’m scared. Do the two go together, or does one always come up short? I am infinitely grateful for the licence to travel solo for a month.
After a good 36 hours on the road via Mecca and Manila, I get off the small propeller plane in San Jose, Mindoro early in the morning. At the bus station, two half-people stand in my way. One half is Russian, the other Ukrainian. Together they talk incessantly and more than two whole people. (more…)
Kitesurf Travel Guide Philippines
Kitesafari 10/2/23 to 12/3/23
As a passionate kitesurfer, I have been travelling off the beaten track for over 20 years. Of the almost 100 countries I have visited, none fascinated me more than the Philippines. On three trips over a total of seven months, I appreciated reliable winds, the most varied spot conditions, the friendliest and most sincere people in the world, magical islands as well as varied nature, good food – and the right amount of adventure. For Germans, however, the Philippines often takes some getting used to. Travelling in the Philippines is different. It is more unpredictable. You have to be flexible. I read a lot of questions from German kiters: what, where or how to get from A to B? The necessary information is often hard to find. Kitesurf travel guide Philippines – Kitesafari 10/2/23 to 12/3/23
I am your travel guide. The Grand Philippines Kite Odyssey IV – 10 February to 12 March 2023 I’ll take you to the best kitesurfing spots in the Philippines and help you plan your trip.
Road trip in the land of 1001 nights
4800km road trip across Oman, from Salalah, along the coast, into the Wahabi Sands desert, from there into the mountains and via Sur, following the coast again to Muscat. In summer, up to 50°C inland.
We took three and a half weeks for this journey. We travelled through the sand in a rented Mitsubishi Pajero to beautiful white kite beaches with turquoise blue water, drove through impressive wadis and took in the breathtaking mountain scenery.
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Ciao Sicily!
In the last of my five weeks in Sicily, the Scirocco churns over Lo Stagnone for a few more days. The heaviest day drops back down to 12 degrees and peaks of up to 45 knots. Hardly anyone is outside, and even the friends and locals who ride this ultra-strong storm with the smallest kites don’t break their best marks.
I take a break and don’t go out again until a day later. The Scirocco continues to blast along at a slightly less rough 20 to 35 knots. I no longer fulfil my “Don Dodeci” mission, but I am satisfied with the 9.4m height I have achieved. The last few days my knee finally gives out. I can’t even edge without screaming – let alone jump off or even land. (more…)
Sirocco in Lo Stagnone
My friend Wilko is visiting me from Berlin for a good week. For most of the week, the Scirocco blasted along at 18 to over 30 knots. On one day, it even reached a top speed of 46 knots. Definitely too much for our smallest kites. On the other days, we test all the spots in the northern lagoon of Lo Stagnone. On the few windless days, we toured western Sicily.
We start the first session at Wind, Water & Wine. The spot is run by the lovely Austrian Lena. It’s easy to set up on the grass. As with most other spots, there is no infrastructure. The only bars are in front of the kitesurfing resort – and all of them are still closed. You pay five euros a day at Lena. Carry your kite to the water’s edge, launch and head out onto the water. There are no dangers here apart from a few cacti on the narrow beach and a clearly visible rock in the water. (more…)
Sicilian post-corona blues
I was absolutely certain: corona is a mental illness and it mainly affects those who don’t have it. I was wrong. Just two weeks after testing free from my corona infection, I’m still finding it hard to breathe. I set off on my first big trip in two years and fly to Sicily for the first time with Ryan Air. The checkout is a true masterpiece of superfluous “offers”.
The taxi driver charges me €50 for an eleven kilometre journey from the airport to my first accommodation. The hostel manager confirms that the price is the same everywhere. Nothing mafia. Just Putin. The driver said it was because of the petrol prices. They are currently about 40 cents lower than in Germany. (more…)
Breitenbrunn / Lake Neusiedl
I’ve had my eye on this forecast for a while. you rarely get 24 knots at 24°C in October on Lake Neusiedl. But the first disco after a year and a half break due to the coronavirus the night before, plus four and a half hours travelling to and from the lake and kiting are too much for one person alone.
Luckily, some friends spontaneously decide to drive over. One place is still free. After the disco, I quickly pack the kites at half past three. We set off an hour later. I sleep through the whole journey in the cosy camper. (more…)
Kiting in Kedros
Our last stop is in the north of Samos in Kedros. I suspected that kitesurfing would be possible here. But in the absence of any reports on the WWW, nothing was certain. I’m delighted when I spot the first kites down on the beach from the terrace of the Kedros Hotel as soon as I arrive.
The Kedros Hotel is a bit outdated, but super clean and the two hosts, Grandpa Ioannis and his wife Ijlal, are absolute gems. Nowhere were we happier. Our trip across five islands of the Dodecanese ends with top service, the best breakfast and fantastic sunsets with funny stories from the well-travelled owners on the terrace. The rooms have panoramic balconies with views of Kedros Beach, 150 metres away, and quiet air conditioning. The best way to book is to call Ioannis directly, he speaks good English: 30 6934 1327 22. (more…)
Lipsi: Of Sense And Nonsense
Lipsi is the smallest island on our tour. Settled since the Bronze Age, for centuries Lipsi served solely as a goat pasture for the monastery on the larger neighbouring island of Patmos. Today, Lipsi has just 700 inhabitants and is the only place in a wide area that serves water in glass bottles to its 8,000 overnight guests every year.
The village is committed to ecotourism. Plastic sun loungers and jet skis are therefore banned. Lipsi is the only island in the Dodecanese to practise waste separation. Our green dot has been around for over 30 years – and for just as long we have tolerated the fact that 60% ends up in waste incineration for “thermal recycling”. On Lipsi, all the wonderfully separated waste seems to end up in a single, poorly secured landfill site – with a fantastic view of the Aegean Sea. (more…)
Leros
In just 25 minutes, the Dodecanisos catamaran takes us across to Leros at a speed of 60 kilometres per hour. The island is completely different to Kalymnos: quite green, varied and confusing. With its many bays, no island in the world has ever managed to confuse me so often. Only shortly before departure do we realise from which harbour we are heading.
The Paradisso Studios on Vromolitos beach deserve their name. A Garden of Eden full of fruit to eat is guarded by rather snappy geese. They don’t mind stealing – but they do mind being approached. We hire a fine 125cc Symphony scooter with plenty of steam and immediately swing up to the medieval castle on one of the highest mountains above the old marina of Leros. (more…)
Kos
Kos is beautiful but offers less greenery than Corfu, for example, and significantly less variety and historical buildings than Rhodes, for example. As car hire prices have risen in recent weeks to at least €125 a day for a small car, we switch to a 50cc scooter. We tour to the western end of Kos, climbing steep hills in the blazing sun and gazing out at the endless blue. We stay away from the few tourist hotspots that are approached every day by an armada of large buses.
At sunset, we drive to the highest mountain village of Zia. It’s all hustle and bustle here, but that’s to be expected given the panorama. The moon rises over the mountains. Clouds sweep over the ridge. After a hard climb, we roll back down to Tigaki, which is much warmer despite the difference in altitude of only 300 metres. (more…)
Dodecanese @ Kos
Behind us all lies a year and a half of pandemic restrictions. I also have a year of digital promotion behind me with web design jobs until I drop. We want to be free again and enjoy life. The day before we leave for our honeymoon, the German government declares our holiday destination Greece a risk area. Of course I’m pleased that, as fully vaccinated travellers, we don’t have to go into quarantine on either the outward or return journey. But Delta is giggling expectantly in the background. Tests are not even mandatory.
Shortly before Munich Airport, my car’s oil warning light comes on for the first time in 13 years. During the last oil change, I must have given the engine oil more freedom in the form of a half-closed top-up cap. It was obsessively steaming and waving at me from the oil pan with a shiny black colour. I immediately impose a hard lockdown and wonder how pandemics can promote the ability to interpret oracles. (more…)
Big waves @ Kägsdorf
Actually, the report should have been called “Warnemünde”. But after practically every spot on the Baltic Sea has only been available for a high parking fee in recent years, Warnemünde really takes the cake. Within an hour of searching for a car park in the furthest corners, I really can’t find anything under €20 for a longer kite session. In high season, you pay €3 per hour up to one kilometre from the beach. There are cheaper car parks. From October. They’re all full now.
I head west along the coast in search of cheaper kite spots. There are several kite spots here, e.g. Nienhagen, Heilgendamm and Kühlungsborn. Each one is hopelessly overcrowded. Parking costs at least €5. Despite the good wind, I don’t see a single kite in the sky. (more…)
The Schnatermann session
They still exist, even after 20 years of kiting. The little unexpected surprises. Surprise is an understatement. I’ve already visited Schnatermann, the nearest kitespot to Rostock, twice. Once I was too flat after a wave session in Markgrafenheide. The second time, the wind was too light even for fish and 13m².
Today the forecast was right. Fortunately, the predicted 38-knot peak didn’t materialise. I’m more than happy with 16 to 26 knots, which isn’t a bit of a bump but still fluctuates a lot. I find my favourite spot in Rostock under 10m² and mostly royal blue late summer skies. (more…)
Saal
The kite spot in Saal offers flat water and a large meadow for setting up and launching. Two kite schools hire out equipment on site and offer the only dry shelter even in shitty weather, as well as hot drinks and burgers. Parking costs €5 per day including toilet use. You can also camp here.
The entrance is via a few small stones in a 20 metre wide bay between rushes on the Bodden. If you want to use foils with long masts, you have to go out at least 150 metres. It is a little difficult to get out of the bay in a south-westerly wind. There is a lot of training on the water. Getting through this belt can also be a bit tight at times. (more…)
Markgrafenheide
Markgrafenheide is one of Rostock’s home spots. The journey from the city centre takes about 30 minutes by car. In Markgrafenheide you can only park centrally and for a fee. Many of the small residential streets are fire service access roads. Never park in the wild! There is a lot of towing.
Rügen – Thiessow
Crossing Rügen can take an hour, depending on traffic. If you have your accommodation in the east in westerly winds, Thiessow, located at the end of a headland in the south-east, is a good alternative to avoid long island crossings.
You can park for €8 directly at the small campsite in front of Klein-Zicker, including toilet facilities. Or you can walk 250m to the Thiessow bathing car park, which costs a maximum of €5 per day. Pitches are set up on the meadow next to the campsite. There is also a small hire shop and school there, but no catering.
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Christmas kite on Mindoro
During my four days at Secret Kite Camp, the Coron tourist information centre is unable to book the ferry ticket back to Mindoro. In the evening, the last ship before Christmas is fully booked. That’s enough! I lie to the coastguard: I need urgent medicine from Mindoro. That throws me to the front of the multi-page waiting list. Sparkling clean patent leather shoes monitor the proper overloading of the ferry. there are 250 passengers on 146 regular seats.
After nine hours of waiting, I arrive in San Jose. I jump into one of the minivans, which are even more packed than usual just before Christmas. After another hour, I’m back in Bulalacao. The dogs are howling again at Felipa Lodge. Eight years after my first visit, the Filipinos still can’t hit a single note or beat on the same ancient Videoke machine. (more…)
Wikingair @ Secret Kite Camp
My great-grandfather on my mother’s side was Danish. He brewed beer, somewhere in the south. I don’t know where. I don’t even know what his name was. I don’t speak a word of Danish. But the funny Danish Captain Kim speaks English. He invites me to spend four days preparing his Secret Kite Camp AmazingPhilippines.dk at the end of the world. I gratefully accept.
The two-hour crossing from Coron is an adventure. For me. Captain Kim calls the two-metre swell on his eight-metre speedboat “comfortable” from the second half onwards. The hard blows after high waves make me prefer to shoulder the laptop standing up in the waterproof bag. Out of my warm life hands. After two hours, quite well showered, we land in the Caribbean-turquoise shallow water channel between the islands of Nangalao and Secret Island. (more…)
King of Cuyo
The second typhoon costs us a whole week. Sunday evening, the Milagrosa finally leaves Iloilo. Everyone is overjoyed. Together with a Cuyo policeman from our last visit, we empty a few Red Horses on deck. He confirms all my prejudices about Cuyo. Up to six police officers have up to six incidents per 24-hour shift. To. To.
The red horses are the fuel for my master’s examination in seaworthiness. During the night, the wind picks up to 35 knots. With it comes the heaviest swell of my five crossings of the notorious Sulu Sea. The stable lateral position becomes very unstable. Sleeping is only possible – and not very much – on my back. I hum Tom Petty on the way down, Joe Cocker on the way up. Breakers up to five metres high fly over the bow and shake the hull of the 40-metre Milagrosa J5. (more…)
PKA Kite Championship Bulalacao
Bulalacao is the Philippine word for meteor. The name says it all. In the bay of the small village in the south of Mindoro, the wind really does shoot across the water like a meteor. The PKA organises the Philippine Kitesurfing Championships in Race, Hangtime, Freestyle and Foil here for three days. More than 50 international riders compete under really tough conditions.
Our small group with local kiter Buddy Cocoy and expat Jens arrives late at night from the ferry in a truck full of fun. The island is asleep. Early the next morning, the wind at Felipa Lodge near the harbour is very good. It picks up considerably by midday. The forecast for the next few days offers a stubborn all-you-can-eat menu of between 15 and 40 knots. She is to be proved right. (more…)
Odiongan, Tablas
Just four hours and a slightly delayed 2Go ferry later, Tablas is finally back to what I love about the Philippines: silence, peace and simple, pure life. My local kiter buddy Cocoy picks me up directly from the harbour in Odiongan and takes me to the nearby Hiland Resort right on the kiteable beach. I wander through the cockfights and night market, watch a basketball match and celebrate the opening of the island’s first Jollibee with the locals.
The small international local kite community from Tablas drops by the next morning. After 25 days of travelling with just one kiteable day, I’m incredibly happy about the mild 17 knots and 50 cm ramps in the bay of Odiongan. The Amihan finally gets going. With a northerly wind, it is fully onshore. If it turns to the north-east, which is typical of the Amihan, it is more stubborn due to the mountains in the hinterland – then it is better to head to the east coast, e.g. to Aglicay Beach Resort. (more…)
The children of Cuyo
The first post-taifun crossing from Puerto Princesa to Cuyo is surprisingly mild. The captain of the “Blessed Sea Journey” is a real sparrow: after seeing his girlfriend shivering in full winter gear, he turns down the air conditioning in the icebox tourist class to such an extent that 17 Filipinos will probably die of heatstroke by the next morning. Mild waves rock us to sleep.
Some magical places make you cry when you leave. Cuyo does this even on arrival. Early the next morning, the landlady of Niki’s guesthouse greets me by name after almost a year. All the children wave. Every second one of them wants to fondle Steffi’s curls and take a photo to prove that her curls are completely unknown in the Philippines. (more…)
Stormy Banka Tour @ Port Barton
As the typhoon is blocking our further route to Coron, we drive three and a half hours south again by minivan. Shortly after Roxas, we change to a trike. It takes us an hour through the mist-shrouded rainforest mountains to the west side of Palawan to the small coastal town of Port Barton. At some point, the trike driver says “Oh oh, the road is in bad condition.”. An euphenism par excellence.
The road ends up being a single 15 cm deep muddy track with deep ruts and large puddles. Our driver rocks them all and gets a big tip. We get into our accommodation right on the beach and walk a few minutes over to the “centre”. Port Barton is the first place on this trip that really feels Filipino. Bankas in the bay, not too many and not too few people. Good cheap restaurants right under the palm trees on the cosy sandy beach slow us down nicely. (more…)
Taifun Slow Down @ Palawan
The most intense three months of work in 20 years of web design are 10,000 kilometres behind me. The same goes for the all-encompassing porn soundtrack from the Eching esoteric sauna at Kuwait airport. After a 28-hour journey, even the topics of conversation of the quartet of paragliding terrorists melt into nothingness in the five-hour speedvan from Puerto Princessa to El Nido.
Seven years ago, we were stuck in 40 cm of mud on a jungle track in the mountains on the more than one-day journey in the other direction by jeepney. Today it’s tarmac and dogs sleeping on it. I look out of the window through the heavy rain. Water buffaloes graze in rice paddies. Herons vulture around them in tag teams after startled speculoos. (more…)
The Author
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.