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Kitesurfing in Ilha do Guajiru
Waist-deep flatwater lagoon on the Ceara coast, where a first-timer and a freestyler can ride the same water.
Why here
Ilha do Guajiru is the safest booking in Brazilian kitesurfing. The lagoon is waist deep for hundreds of meters, which means a first-timer doing their first water start and a freestyler landing rotations are on the same patch of water, and neither is in the other's way. October is peak: the trades and the afternoon thermal stack on top of each other and the month averages 16.6mph against April's 9.1, an eighty-two percent difference. If you have one week and you want the wind to simply be there, this is the row to book.
Best months
Wind here is two systems working together. The southeast trades run through the Brazilian spring, and the land heats through the day to add a thermal on top, so the afternoon is reliably stronger than the morning. October sits at the top of that curve. The lagoon fills and empties on the tide, so the flat water moves through the day and the schools work around it rather than fighting it. Standing depth over most of the riding area is the reason this place teaches so well, and also the reason advanced riders come: you can try something stupid and put your feet down. Water is warm enough that nobody wears rubber.
Getting there & around
Fly into Fortaleza, then drive roughly three hours northwest to Itarema. Almost everyone arranges the transfer through their pousada or school, because the last stretch is not obvious. Accommodation is pousadas and kite houses clustered near the lagoon rather than a town, so pick where you sleep based on which stretch of water you want to walk to. Instruction runs in Portuguese, English and Spanish depending on the school. This is a single-purpose place: there is the lagoon, there is food, and there is not much else, which is either the appeal or the problem depending on who you are traveling with.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
7 Beaufort Brasil
SchoolVDWS certified school and kite house directly on the Guajiru lagoon, with lessons, rental, beach service and compressor, running Core, Ion, Nobile and Future gear. Organizes downwinders and excursions beyond the lagoon. Season runs mid-June to mid-January.
Isla Kite Center
SchoolKitesurf and wing school on the Guajiru lagoon teaching one-to-one only, no group lessons, with over 350 students since 2023. Runs beginner through advanced instruction plus downwind expeditions, on Naish equipment.
Also good for kitesurfing in August:
Torn between Ilha do Guajiru and Tarifa for August?
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