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Phan Rang, Vietnam Kiteboarding Tips

12/11/2016

10 Comments

 
​Phan Rang is one of those spots that are off the beaten path, no infrastructure for kiteboarding (this is changing fast) and no large community of kiters to enjoy your sessions with or show off to.  But that is the charm for a spot like this, you have to travel off the beaten “kite” path for some amazing kitesurfing conditions.  The main windy season is November - April and even has wind during the spring/summer time too. The closest international airport is Cam Rang, which is only an hour drive to Phan Rang.  However, you may make the trip from Mui Ne as this is the base for Vietnams kiting community.  In Mui Ne you will find some good partying, great food and a nice welcoming kiting community.  With new road improvements the drive down to Mui Ne now takes 2 hours, rather then the 4 hours when I was living in Mui Ne.  
Kiteboarding and kitesurfing Phan Ran Mui Ne Vietnam, windy, guide, map, comekitewithus, guide, map
But the real gold for kiteboarding is north a 2 hour drive from Mui Ne if you do not fly into Cam Rang, you can get there by a kiteboarding tour, moto rental (which I did and loved) or rental car.  I have mapped out all the locations for kiteboarding flat water or waves.  Some of the flat water is tide dependent and on a low tide you may have to walk out or wait for the tide to come in.  I would recommend staying more than 5 days for exploring and kiting. These are my top 5 tips for one of the best kiteboarding spots in Vietnam.  
Phan Rang kiteboarding view of the bay of waves and flat water. Kiteboarding

KiteWorld Article Phan Rang

Kiteworld article on kiteboarding/kitesurfing Phan Rang, Vietnam, flat water, waves, wind, mui ne, comekitewithus
Kiteworld article on kiteboarding/kitesurfing Phan Rang, Vietnam, flat water, waves, wind, mui ne, comekitewithus
Chris Bobryk stalling on a fishing boat kiteboarding/kitesurfing Phan Rang, Vietnam, mui ne, windy, comekitewithus

It’s Windy!!!  Check the forecast

​This spot can blow like Cape Town and I think red bull should consider having the big air contest here.  That being said, if the forecast is showing a lot of wind make sure to bring you smaller kites or rent one.  On the strong days you can use a 5-6m and the average size is 9-10m.  
Phan Rang Vietnam kiteboarding kiteboard kitesurfing mui ne comekitewithus tour windy
Phan Rang Vietnam, kiteboarding spot and amazing clear limeston rocks windy kitesurfing kiteboarding kiteboard kite comekitewithus

Rent a Car or Moto, they are inexpensive

​Yes, you can drive there with a motorcycle and its quite fun for exploring.  But if you’re the less adventurous or have a crew, get a car or do a kiteboard tour that takes you in a large bus with other kiters.  On the way there check out the famous Sand dunes and in Phan Rang make sure to visit the temples, Dinh Cape and Vinh Hy.  The drive to Phan Rang from Mui Ne takes about 2-3 hours.  There is no designated parking at some of the spots to kite, so make sure that you choose a nice off the side of the road place to keep your vehicles.  Sometimes you may get police who come out and want a bribe to kite at a beach.  Refuse at first, if they do not go away give them a dollar or so to kite at a particular beach.  But you shouldn’t have much of a problem with the local police, as the KTA had a large kiteboard competition in the area and makes for the populace more aware of the sport.     

​Visit all the kiteboarding spots in Phan Rang

​There are a large number of spots to kite with flat water to great surfing waves.  Make sure you take time to visit them all, as each has slightly different conditions.  Check out the map I made with all the spots to visit and kite.   The kiteboarding beaches near town can be a bit gusty due to the wind coming over the land and into the bay. That is why the kiting spots that you are out of the bay have much cleaner wind.  During lat spring/summer time though the wind switches to other spots for the thermal wind to start kicking in.  It seems that Dam Vua is the go to spot for flat water in town for this time period.  

Stay near the center of town

​Currently the options for restaurants and food are only near the center of town.  If you stay outside near one of the flatter water spots, be prepared to not have many options for eating out.  However, hotels in town are nice and very inexpensive.  Don’t be afraid to try street food in Vietnam, it’s amazing!

​Bring friends

​This is still an up and coming kiteboarding destination and does not have a large community.  so, I would recommend to bring some folks with you for some fun exploring, kiting and general good times.  

KTA Vietnam, Phan Rang 2016 from Kiteboard Tour Asia on Vimeo.

Picture
10 Comments
Mark
12/13/2016 07:07:28 pm

Seems like you tried to kite in this area one time and are publishing a guide based on that single experience. Or maybe you have not been there for awhile.

1. Cam Ranh International Airport is the closest airport. less than an hour drive. Several international flights arrive direct. Flights from Saigon cost about $25.
2. Road improvements have made the drive from Mui Ne less than 2 hours.
3. The spot where the KTA was held has some of the best spring/summer wind in Asia. Neil Pryde chose the location for their first CR:X event in August. A late season storm from the north caused the bad conditions during the KTA. In fact, if you watch that KTA video, the solo kiteboarder at the end (4 min mark) was filmed the day before the event when conditions at that location were perfect.
5. You missed several good spots to the north.
6. Ninh Chu Bay Beach Club has opened Dam Vua to kiting. This will now be one of the best flat water spots in SE Asia.

Reply
ComeKiteWithUs
12/13/2016 08:01:47 pm

Thanks Mark!! Do you have a website with more information that I can link to? It has been quite a while since I was there last and I waited to publish this info until now. This is good information. My tips/guide were more of just my experiences a while back and not a detailed guide. If you have a detailed guide, please share this and it will help our readers out greatly?!

1. That is great they have flights to international flights to Cam Ranh. I will update my info!
2. 2 hours?! wow that is much shorter then when I have driven it.
3. So, the wind switches during the summer time then? Do you have links to wind data I can use? Or someones website that has more information on this data? A lot of my friends were there during the KTA event and were bummed out by the location and spot, until they moved it for the finals.
4. Wait there is no number four...?
5. If you have more spots, I would love to update my map or you can share one with me for readers to learn more about locations around Phan Rang.
6. I see Dam Vua, looks awesome for kiting. What time of year is this spot good to ride? Again, any information I can link to will help me out a ton to get the accurate information for a spot.

Again I appreciate the updates, keep them coming!!

Reply
ComeKiteWithUs
12/13/2016 08:28:42 pm

Okay, I took of the name "Guide". I didn't want to promote it as a detailed guide or add any confusion. but I hope someone could most definitely point me to a link that has detailed information on hotels, spots, seasonal data charts, directions, etc. etc. Thx

Reply
Mark
12/14/2016 08:44:01 am

Thanks for the kind reply. The wind shifts to the East late February and by March it is southeast and then south in the summer. The spot where the KTA was held had excellent wind starting the week after the event and the 3 days before were very good. During the summer it gets thermal winds every day beginning at 11am or so. Here is a link to their windguru station https://beta.windguru.cz/station/601. It was set up at the end of May, so it is possible to go back and look for last summer.

Another spot is Thai An which is another 10km or so north of the spot you show. It doesn't have as bad of a tidal issue. When there is too much wind in those locations, some people kite north of Vinh Hy Bay where it is a little more protected.

Dam Vua is new, it is just being set up now. It is a lagoon about 800 meters from the KTA spot. It is over 400,000 sqm of flat water with no tidal issues or rock/coral. It has the same winter wind as up north, although a few knots less. It is across the road from the ocean.

Hope that helps. I'd love it if you could change the "never kite here" to "kite here during spring and summer".

Here is a link to a video shot at that location during end of August. https://vimeo.com/184109834

Reply
ComeKiteWithUs
12/14/2016 08:47:11 am

Awesome Mark! This really helps a ton for folks looking to come kiteboard Phan Rang. I hope soon there will be more detailed information on a kiteboarding guide for Phan Rang. Spots for people to eat, kite, stay, taxi info, etc.

Reply
Mark link
12/14/2016 04:25:04 pm

thanks. I don't know if you want me promoting our website, but we arrange car transfers to the airport and guesthouse/hotel rooms for people. There is no specific guide on the page, but contacting us with questions is fine. www.ninhchubay.com

Mark link
12/15/2016 11:04:56 pm

I am creating a guide for kite surfing in Phan Rang. It is not finished yet, but it is a start. www.ninhchubaykitesurf.com.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Reply
ComeKiteWithUs
12/19/2016 03:28:53 pm

No way man.. you can promote it all you want :). Its good to have a guide online for the area. As I think Phan Rang has a huge amount of potential for a kiting destination!! We need more kite towns that have great kiting, night life, food, community, etc.

Reply
Robin Spinks
5/20/2018 09:46:05 pm

Great post

Reply



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    ComeKiteWithUs Blog is a collaboration between John and Ryan.

    We are kitesurfers, world travelers and photographers exploring the world one frame and wave at a time.

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