Ilha do Guajiru

The wind usually starts around June and blows up until February, but the peak wind season is from August until December when you can generally count on between 20 and 35 knots depending on the day. Generally at this time you don’t need to look at a forecast, just get up in the morning, look out the window to check the strength, and go kite! The rest of the year you can still be lucky and score some light wind kitesurfing sessions, but really you want to visit in season as there’s not a lot else to do other than kitesurf here. It’s a great place to learn kitesurfing as there are vast shallow areas, so you don’t feel uncomfortable and out of your depth. 

There are a number of spots here ranging from butter flat to chop, the main lagoon out front of the pousadas can get very shallow and unkiteable at low tide, but at medium and high tide it’s great. If it’s low you’ll just have to walk out a bit further to get kitesurfing, head to another part of the lagoon by boat, or get a taxi upwind to do the downwinder. You can also kitesurf on the ocean side where you’ll find some small waves, but most people visit here for the lagoon as there are better wave spots nearby, like Paracuru. Planning your trip you should take into consideration the tide table to make sure the lagoon is rideable throughout the day. Rule of thumb: 3h after low tide you can ride.

Kitesurfing is really the only thing to do in Guajiru, there aren’t a ton of other activities, but you can go quad bike or rent a buggy to blast around the beaches and dunes if you fancy it. Other than that it’s kite, eat some delicious seafood, drink Caipirinhas and hang out with other kitesurfers, sleep, repeat. What’s not to love? There are also regular parties organised by the pousadas so there’s generally a good atmosphere among all the visitors. Do not be surprised seeing many Germans there. Ever since Jörg opened the 7beaufort Pousada it became a hot spot for German kitesurfers with their beloved Core Kites.

If you fancy a change Jericoacoara is a popular spot to go hang out for a few days and party, and there are plenty of other kite spots dotted up and down the coast of Ceara, so if you get bored in Guajiru you can always move to another place.

Fly into Pinto Martins airport, Fortaleza (FOR) and from there it’s around 3 hours to Ilha do Guajiru. You can either organise a taxi in advance with your accommodation or trip provider, or rent a car from the airport. If you hire a car be careful not to leave valuables inside, and watch out for potholes on the road particularly as you get further from Fortaleza.