Kitesurf at Sumatra, Banda Aceh

The island of Sumatra is one of the 4 largest islands in Indonesia in terms of land area. It is geographically close to Malaysia and Singapore. The main airport (for a kite trip) is Medan, in the northeast of the island, and then Banda Aceh, 45 minutes away from the kite spots. To get there, you can stopover in Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and then take an Air Asia flight to Banda Aceh. If you are coming from the south of Indonesia, you can pass through Medan.

General conditions for kiteboarding – Kite spots in Sumatra To kiteboard, you should head to the north of Sumatra, in the Banda Aceh area, particularly at the Black Sand spot. The water is warm, the scenery is beautiful (between jungle and mountains), and the kiteboarding conditions are optimal.

In terms of wind and seasons, it is best to choose the period from May to early October (the trade winds, called “Angin Barat”, blow from South to West and reach between 10 and 30 knots on some days, sometimes more). You can also consider a trip between January and mid-March: the Timor Padang wind blows between 10 and 25 knots, with a Northeast wind.

The Black Sand spot The Black Sand beach forms a nearly 6 km long arc, between sea, mountains, and jungle. The area near the beach offers small spaced waves, between which you can kite on large flat areas (often with side-on or on wind). A bit further out, you can try waveriding, in waves of about 1m high. When the swell is present, it is on the left side of the spot that you should go to ride bigger waves, with side wind.

Access to the beach is easy and you can rig/de-rig on the grass directly. There is also shade to rest between sessions.

Other spots You can also consider downwinds in the region (be sure to inquire beforehand as the tsunami has left traces and traps everywhere). You can also try the surrounding spots of Babaduah Beach (a paradise beach that works with west wind), Lampuuk Point (a flat spot navigable only at high tide), and Lhoknga Beach (a magical flat spot with a strong current).

For the quiver: an 8 and a 12 are a good compromise for an average size rider.