Kiteboarding Travel Guide: South Padre Island, USA - Destinations EP 19

With a world full of epic kite spots to visit, it's easy to forget about the ones closer to home... But here in the USA we have no shortage of selection when it comes to windy beaches.
In this edition of Destinations, we're heading south to the State of Texas for the warm water paradise of South Padre Island.
As far as American kite spots goes, this is one of the greats. Similar to the kiteboarding hotspot of Cape Hatteras, this barrier island features flat water on one side and waves on the other. It's not just a solid kite spot, it's a place where you can bring the whole family. Best of all? It's easy to get to.
In this article, we'll share all the need to know info on kiteboarding in South Padre Island - when to go, where to kite, and everything else you need to know before you go!

[@BarryWind]

Cool that SPI got mentioned as one of the best places to learn kiteboarding. A couple comments: Vid says Gulf can be colder in the winter. The Gulf is usually warmer in the winter because the Laguna Madre is shallow and cools off faster. The opposite is true in the spring/summer - the Laguna Madre heats up faster than the Gulf. They also mention the best place to kite in the Gulf is Beach Access 5/6[?]... Depends on wind direction. Typical SE wind makes for awesome kiting at the Isla Blanca jetty, which filters the wind driven swell for some potentially nice waves. For cold fronts, one normally drives as far north as possible to setup for a nice and long downwinder. A similar video guide needs to be done for Corpus area too...

[@michaelfarrell3446]

Thanks for the review of our great little piece of paradise.

[@lupine617]

Never knew about SPI until now, & so well relayed by your review, & share... Thank you

[@rodi2004]

You have one of the best jobs on the planet

[@marydelgado168]

I live here and loved your video! It's spot on!

[@alexperezdavid]

Great video, very informative! Corpus Christi/Port Aransas just north of SPI about 2,5 hours is also a great option, larger city...

[@MACkiteboarding]

Thank you, Alex-glad you found some value in this one! 🤙🏽

[@Lumaport]

Thanks!

[@oligopolyxyz8456]

thank you!

[@glennhuber]

I absolutely love SPI!!! I've been to Bonaire and it's great but SPI is way better. Check out ProKitesSouthPadre they have all the lessons, equipment, and answers you will need. Definitely, at least a bucket list item, but you'll probably become a frequent flyer like me.

[@MrHoffmann007]

How shallow is the water?

[@MACkiteboarding]

Thanks for asking, MrHoffman. 🤙🏽 Water depth in Laguna Madre is quite often around knee to waist deep. Hope you make the trip down there, my friend. -Aaron

[@omerigon]

The flats are so shallow (calves level almost everywhere) that it is quite dangerous for advanced kiters if you do tricks or jumps. The ocean side has a very strong side current and the surf is pretty bad with 3s intervals that mushes for 5 seconds. Moreover you have no dedicated launch zone so it made it very dangerous to launch with beachgoers everywhere (especially as I was traveling alone). SPI is a really ugly place full of trashy and uneducated people. It was quite underwhelming. The heat and humidity is excruciating. Eating there was as well a problem, all the places serves mostly burgers and deep fried stuff with a very low quality ingredients (a pity when next to the ocean) and 75% of the people are obese which was quite a cultural shock.

[@worldwarwhatever2436]

east beach galveston sounds a lot better tbh