Bonaire Kiteschool

This is a good place to learn rather than only to ride. The instructors are certified and teach at every level, and the conditions do half the work: flat water, side-offshore wind that blows all day, and enough space that a beginner is not dodging anyone. Reckon on three days before you are riding independently — that is what it takes almost anywhere, and Bonaire simply removes the excuses of cold water and unreliable wind.

A three-hour first lesson runs around two hundred and ninety dollars and a three-day course around six hundred and seventy, with all equipment included; private tuition is roughly eighty to a hundred and twenty dollars an hour. The wind season is January to July, best from April. The school is open daily through the season, roughly from 09:00 to 17:00, and lessons are arranged around the wind rather than a fixed timetable — the strongest breeze is in the afternoon. Bring reef-safe sunscreen, a rash guard and more water than you expect: there is no shade on that beach.