Best Premier School Destination: Alvor, Portugal

Alvor Kitesurf Center

This Kitesurf paradise is located in the fishing village of Alvor in the Algarve, Portugal. With beautiful views over the harbour and river at sunset, Alvor is the ultimate European Kitesurf get-a-way you have been looking for.

Location

Alvor has everything anyone could ask for from a large flat water lagoon to a gently curving sandy beach. The lagoon is where most of the kitesurfing takes place and is part of the Alvor River (Ria de Alvor). At different states of the tide, sand bars and even a little ‘desert island’ create super flat water, perfect for learning waterstarts or nailing that handle pass you’ve been working on! With enough space to accommodate everyone who wants to ride, there are no crossed lines or near misses. Just next to the lagoon is the popular Alvor beach which every now and again receives nice fun little swells; so it’s time to grab your surfboard with or without kite and carve away. The prevailing cross offshore wind holds the face of the wave nicely and allows you to ride it with ease.

Conditions

High season spans June, July and August, with good but less consistent wind either side of these months. As the wind starts to pick up at around 1pm, you might start with a 10m but switch to a smaller kite by around 5pm when 7m kites are the most common (typical wind 18-25+kts). There is sand everywhere in the kiting area of the lagoon so you can get rid of your wetsuit booties! Water temperature in the lagoon in high season is usually warm but for those wanting to kite all day, a shortie or summer suit is perfect.

Accommodation

The Alvor Kite Center offers you the full kitesurf package, providing everything you need for the ultimate experience! Once you land in the nearby airport of Faro, we can pick you up in our pimped out minivan or larger if there’s a big group of you. We will then transfer you (45 minutes) to your apartments.

Standard Accommodation:

Newly built luxury apartments just next to the centre of Alvor. These are fully equipped with kitchen (dishwasher, washing machine etc), flat screen TV and maid service every day. There are 3 or 5 person rooms available. There is also a refreshing pool and gym at your disposal.

Premium Accommodation: (minimum stay 5 nights)

Three bedrooms (1 kingsize, 1 double, 1 medium), 2 bathrooms. Fully equipped kitchen, shared pool. Central heating & air con, satellite TV. Maid service each day.

Listed prices are per night and are subject to change depending on availability, please get in touch with number of people to make bookings on info@alvorkitecenter.com, bookings require 30% payment to be confirmed.

To see where the accommodation is located please click here: (goo.gl/maps/XQPz ) for the map of alvor with the accommodation, school, spot and other important locations.

Once you have settled into your apartment, you’ll want to head down to Kitesurf HQ at the school and meet the whole crew. No matter what level you are, from beginner to pro, we will make sure you have all you need. After feasting on a typical filling Portuguese dinner, there is plenty at night to keep the fun minded busy from buzzing bars in Alvor to pumping clubs in the nearby Praia de Rocha.

School

For beginners we offer lessons from our experienced IKO qualified instructors in groups of up to 4 people with full insurance. We teach on the super friendly Best Kahoonas and all the latest kit from Best. Lessons run for 4 hours a day and take place in the lagoon where you are surrounded by nothing but sand and water; no buildings, trees, rocks etc. The beginner course is 3 days of lessons, by which stage students are usually up, riding short distances and bitten by the kitesurf bug! Advanced lessons are also available for those wanting to learn how to jump, unhook, kiteloop or just ride upwind. Prices include all safety equipment including harness, helmet, impact vest and wetsuit. We also have a safety boat for transport to the spot and rescues at high tide. Below is an idea of what you will learn in your lessons but we are flexible and can tailor the lessons to any ability and level if you have had lessons before or for learning at your own speed.

Rental & Storage

We can also rent all the kit you need and offer reduced rates for longer periods. For those of you with your own kit, you are free to store it in the school so you don’t have to carry it back to the apartments. If you have any breakages we carry out most repairs in house but can also organise more severe repairs with the local factory with a quick turnaround too. We also stock the latest kites, boards, harnesses etc in our shop if you are looking to buy whilst you’re here.

Shop

We have 2012 kites, boards, bars, harnesses and accessories from BEST KITEBOARDING available in our shop with a selection of second hand equipment.

No wind or tired of kitesurfing every day?!

For these rare occasions we have lots of other fun activities. In the morning or on the no wind days when the lagoon is butter flat, we head out for wakeboarding at the super cheap rate of €25 for 20 minutes. Anyone can come along, beginner or pro. If there’s swell we grab the surfboards and head to the beach just next to the school or we roadtrip to the west coast for the real deal. Just around the corner is a secret picturesque beach that only a few know of; here we can chillout and swim through caves and crystal clear water, completely undisturbed. We regularly organise chilled out BBQs at the school where the fine Portuguese meat emerges endlessly from the grill and beer is in abundance. You might also be around for our infamous Kitesurf Parties either in the most popular bar in Alvor, Sports Café or in the local Praia de Rocha club if you’re up to the challenge of partying till sunrise!

So get in touch and see you soon!

Website: www.alvorkitecenter.com
E-mail: info@alvorkitecenter.com
Telephone: 00351919395150
Facebook: AlvorKite SurfCenter