Choosing a spot for kitesurfing on the Crimea Peninsula. My experience in four places

Crimea is a huge peninsula in the Black Sea, which is known for its beautiful nature, including mountains and sea, and excellent wine. But not everyone knows that on the sea you can not only sunbathe but also engage in various types of recreation, the most appropriate of which is kitesurfing. And although the kite season in this part of the world this year is almost over, in this post I will help you to choose one of four famous kitesurfing spots for the next year.

Masha Shapovalova, an author and web specialist from Moscow, Russia. Her favorite sports are kitesurfing, which she has been doing since she was 12 years old, and alpine skiing, which she got into even earlier, at age three

Kite spot Mezhvodnoye

Konstantin Dyadyun / Unsplash

This is the most famous kite spot in the Russian-speaking kite community, and therefore the busiest. It is located on the very west of the Crimean peninsula, in the Black Sea area. Mezhvodnoe is also considered to be the best place to learn kitesurfing in Crimea.

The spot is located on a long spit: on the one hand — Yarylgachsky Bay with a very gentle approach — for 150 meters from the shoreline depth to a maximum waist, on the other side of the spit — a shallow lake with a muddy bottom, which is always ideal flat (the perfect smooth surface of the water, on which there are no even small waves) and deep to the waist — an excellent place to practice jumps.

Wind on the spot is mostly north, sometimes turning slightly to the east or west, and on a windless hot day it may blow thermal wind (thermic in Russian - wind, which is formed when there is a large temperature difference between land and water).

There are a large number of kite schools, a small canteen, and a coffee house.

How to get to Mezhvodnoyе in Crimea: from Simferopol 170 km to Mezhvodnoye by cab along the Yevpatoria highway.

Spot info

Kite season: May — October
Water temperature: In summer you can ride without a wetsuit, in spring and autumn you need 4/3 (the thickness of the neoprene from which the wetsuit is made: the first digit indicates the thickness of the body, the second - the thickness of the arms and legs)
Wind direction: N, NE, NW, thermal wind (thermic in Russian)
Water conditions: Flat, Chop
Depth: 0.5 — 2 m

Mezhvodnoye weather forecast

Kite spot Olenevka

Jeremy Bezanger / Unsplash

The spot, located 30 km from Mezhvodnoye is also one of the most popular places for campers (and kiteboarders) in Crimea.

It is also a small spit, which is washed by the sea on one side and by Liman Lake on the other. On the sea shoreline, there are umbrellas, small cafes, and cabins, so the area for launching and landing the kite is very small, plus 50 meters from the shore is the power line.

The entrance to the sea is sharp, almost near the shore is already deep. Also, be careful when crossing from the sea to Liman with a kite — it’s shallower there.

During the period from July to September to kitesurf in Olenevka will be difficult because of the large number of tourists, so it’s better to choose the beginning and end of the season.

How to get to Olenevka in Crimea: from Simferopol 130 km to Olenevka on Evpatoria Highway by cab.

Spot info

Kite season: May to October
Water temperature: In summer you can ride without a wetsuit, in spring and autumn you need 4/3
Wind direction: W, S, SW
Water conditions: Flat, Chop (the water is blown by the wind, which causes small waves to appear)
Depth: 0.5 — 2 m

Olenevka weather forecast

Kite spot Belyaus

Konstantin Dyadyun / Unsplash

Another popular spot is Belyaus Beach. It is located on the spit of the same name about 20 kilometers from the Chornomorskoye village.

It is one of the longest beaches in Crimea — its length is more than 10 km, but it is not popular with tourists, as it is ideal only for “wild recreation”. There are no hotels, canteens, restaurants, and so on — only sea and sand. So you need to bring everything with you.

The width of the spit is 200 meters, it divides Donuzlav Lake and the Black Sea. You can ride from both sides, but note that on the lake is almost no place to land a kite. On a windy day on a 5-meter square, there may be 10-20 kites, which makes it very difficult to land.

As for the wind, it mostly blows north, but because of the large number of obstacles on the shore, the wind on the lake is quite torn. It also sometimes blows a not very strong south wind — at this time you can comfortably kite at sea on a large size. (You can read how choose kite size in Textbook)

How to get to Belyaus Beach in Crimea: from Evpatoria 50 km in the direction of Chernomorskoye village.

Spot info

Kite season: May to October
Water temperature: In summer it is possible to ride without a wetsuit, in the spring and autumn you will need 4/3
Wind direction: S, SE, SW
Water conditions: Flat, Chop
Depth: 0.5 — 2m

Beliaus Beach weather forecast

Kite spot Tartarskaya Bay

Tim de Winter / Unsplash

This is one of the most remarkable spots in Crimea, as it is washed not by the Black Sea, but by the Sea of Azov. The beach is 25 km long, so it is definitely not crowded.

By infrastructure, it is very similar to Belyaus — the same paradise for the “savages”.

There is a lot of wind and it blows often — the only difference is the strength and direction. Unlike other spots where there is a choice between a shallow lake or a deep sea, there is only one option — it is right away deep. And in a strong wind waves rise up to 1 m!

How to get to Tatarskaya Bay in Crimea: from Kerch, 50 km in the direction of the Shchyolkino village.

Spot info

Kite season: May — October
Water temp: In summer you can ride without a wetsuit, in spring and fall you will need 4/3
Wind direction: N, NW, NE
Water conditions: Flat, Chop, small waves
Depth: 0.5 — 2m

Tatarskaya Bay weather forecast

Besides Crimea, Masha also visited many other kite spots in the world: Russia: Anapa, Blagoveschenskaya village; Turkey: Gokovo, Pattara, Fethiye, Chelish, Dalaman; United States: Long Beach, Venice Beach, San Diego; Egypt: Hurghada, El Gouna; Spain: Tarifa; Philippines: Cuyo, Boracay, Porta Princess, and others.

Go to her author's profile by the link below to ask for advice.

Learn more about how to read the surf / swell forecast in a special Windy.app presentation with examples and tips from professional surfers with many years of experience of riding the biggest and best waves on the planet.

Text: Masha Shapovalova, an author and web specialist from Moscow. Her favorite sports are kitesurfing and alpine skiing.

Cover photo: Sameplayers / Unsplash