Kitesurfing Center · Ras Sudr · The Red Sea Atlas
Soul Kitesurfing
Soul has been the anchor of kitesurfing in Ras Sudr since 2009, on the Gulf of Suez beachfront at La Hacienda Resort, a couple of hours from Cairo and a world away from it.
It is the spot that taught a generation of Egyptian kiters. Flat, shallow water in a protected bay, consistent thermal wind off the desert, and a culture that is more community than commerce. People come back for the place as much as the sport, which is the highest thing you can say about a kite center.
The Wind & The Water
A forgiving lagoon, a steady thermal
Ras Sudr sits on the Gulf of Suez, where NNW thermal wind funnels down the gulf across flat, shallow water. The lagoon at Soul has a long, sandy walk-out: waist-deep for a stretch that forgives every beginner mistake, with real depth beyond it for riders who want to open up. It is the reason Ras Sudr became Egypt’s most accessible place to learn, the standing weekend escape for Cairo.
The season runs long, with the strongest, most reliable wind through the warmer months. Two competition events a year are held on this water, which tells you the conditions hold up well past the learning stage.
Atlas Note
The Gulf of Suez has its own wind character, distinct from the Red Sea proper. As a learning destination it is hard to beat. Expect a different feel from Dahab or El Gouna, gentler water, a slower pace.
Learning To Kite Here
IKO instruction, small groups
Soul runs IKO-certified courses with instructors who have spent years on this beach, the head instructor with more than twenty. Lessons are kept small and tailored to the rider, with safety run tightly: this is a school that takes people from their first drag in the water to riding upwind on their own.
Bring your own gear for a beach fee, or rent a full range of kites and boards on site. Either way the team rigs, reads the wind, and is on the water with you.
More Than A School
Why people stay for the place
The kiting is the reason you book. The atmosphere is the reason you come back. Soul built a whole lifestyle around the beach, relaxed and unpretentious, the kind of place reviewers call a “soul feeding place” without irony.
The kitchen
Charbroiled burgers, wraps, pasta, pizza and tacos, salmon, salads and vegetarian plates, smoothies and fresh juice. Reviewers single it out as much as the kiting, and the portions are generous.
Sunset yoga
Yin, hatha and vinyasa sessions on the beach as the wind drops, the quiet end of a windy day.
Live music
Contemporary sets from visiting musicians, the reason the evenings run long and the place earns the name.
Between sessions
Beach volleyball, racket ball and tennis, backgammon, cards and board games, and a small library for the no-wind hours.
The Founders
Sherif Soliman & Morgan Fahey
Soul was started in 2009 by Sherif Soliman, Egyptian, and Morgan Fahey, from New Zealand, who set out to build a kite center for the community rather than the brochure. More than fifteen years on, that is still what it is. The center grew up alongside Ras Sudr itself, and it remains one of the few places on the coast that feels run by the people actually standing on the beach.
Key Facts
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A free account opens every kite center and dive site guide, the marine life library, the weather and wind pages, and the full Red Sea Atlas. Free to join, always.
Join free to keep readingFrom The Log
The Red Sea Wind: Why It Blows, Where It Blows
The meteorology behind the wind that makes Ras Sudr work: the gradient systems, the thermal cycle, and where the gulf funnels the air. Worth reading before your first session.