Pack for a Red Sea kite safari as if the nearest shop is four hours away by boat, because it is. The core list is a two-kite quiver, a spare bar and lines, a full repair kit, two pairs of booties, serious sun protection and soft luggage. Everything else is comfort. This list assumes a seven-night northern route out of Hurghada between May and September.
Kite equipment: what to bring and what to leave
Bring a quiver that covers 15 to 30 knots honestly. For a 70 to 80 kg rider that is a 9 m and a 12 m; lighter riders can run a 7 m and a 10 m; heavier riders should add a 14 m. Spring departures justify a 7 m for everyone.
The essentials:
- Two kites, packed in a single soft board bag if the airline allows it
- A complete spare bar and set of lines. This is the item people skip and the item that ends weeks. Lines get cut on coral and bars get lost overboard
- One twintip board, plus a full set of spare fins, screws and a fin key
- Harness, plus a spare spreader bar or hook if you have one
- Pump with a spare hose and spare pump leash
- Repair kit: adhesive canopy repair patches, spare inflate and deflate valves, valve tool, spare pigtails, a few metres of line, cable ties, electrical tape and a small multi-tool
- Impact vest and helmet. On a safari these are not optional in the way they are on a shallow beach
Leave behind: a third and fourth kite you will not touch, hard board bags that no boat has room to store, and anything you have not used in a year. Storage space on a liveaboard is genuinely tight.
Sun, reef and skin
The Red Sea in summer runs a UV index of 11 or 12 and you will be on deck or on the water most of the day for a week. This is where people get properly hurt on a safari — not from kiting.
- Two pairs of water booties. One pair never dries out overnight and salt-soaked neoprene on raw feet is miserable
- Two long-sleeve rash vests, minimum. One is always wet
- A 3/2 mm shorty even in summer. Three sessions a day chills you eventually, and it protects your skin from coral and harness rub
- Reef-safe SPF 50, more than you think. Two large tubes for a week is realistic
- Zinc stick for nose, ears and lips, and an SPF lip balm
- A wide-brimmed hat and polarised sunglasses with a retainer strap
- Rash cream or barrier balm for harness chafe, which appears on day three of every safari
Cabin and boat life
Cabins are small and the boat is wet. Pack soft and pack light.
- Soft duffel or holdall only. Hard-shell suitcases cannot be stowed and crews will not thank you
- Quick-dry towel plus one normal towel
- Flip flops for deck, plus soft-soled shoes if you plan to walk on sandbanks
- Two or three sets of dry evening clothes and something warm. Nights at anchor in a stiff northerly are cooler than you expect, particularly in May and October
- Dry bag of 10 to 20 litres for the tender, because everything that goes in the tender gets wet
- Earplugs and an eye mask. Generators, compressors and anchor chains are not quiet
- A carabiner or two for hanging wet gear on deck rails
The non-kite essentials
Documents, money and insurance
- Passport with adequate validity, plus a photocopy or phone scan kept separately
- Travel insurance that names kitesurfing explicitly and covers medical evacuation from a vessel at sea. Standard holiday policies frequently exclude both
- Your VDWS licence card or equivalent proof of level, since some boats and rental operations ask for it
- Cash. Egyptian pounds in small notes for anything ashore, plus euros or dollars for the crew tip. There is no card machine at sea and often no working terminal at the marina
- The operator's contact details saved offline, not only in an email you cannot open without signal
Electronics and power
Egypt uses 220 V with type C two-pin sockets, the same as most of continental Europe. UK and US travellers need an adapter.
Power on board comes from generators and is not unlimited. High-draw devices such as hairdryers are often prohibited outright, and sockets in cabins may only be live at certain hours. Bring:
- A power bank, ideally 20,000 mAh, so your phone survives days when cabin power is off
- One multi-socket extension strip, which makes you popular in a cabin with two sockets and four devices
- Waterproof phone pouch
- Head torch, because deck lights go off and cabins are dark
- Action camera mounts if you use them, plus far more memory and battery than you think
Connectivity varies enormously between vessels. Some boats have satellite internet, some have nothing once you pass Gubal. Assume nothing and tell people at home you may be uncontactable for a few days.
Medical kit and seasickness
The boat carries a first aid kit and the crew are trained, but a personal kit saves everyone time.
- Seasickness tablets, and start them the evening before departure rather than after the first swell. Once you are seasick, tablets are much less effective
- Antihistamines for jellyfish and insect stings
- Antiseptic cream and waterproof plasters. Coral grazes get infected quickly in warm salt water
- Ibuprofen or equivalent, and rehydration sachets
- Any prescription medication in original packaging with enough for the full trip plus a few days
- Tweezers, genuinely useful for urchin spines
- Ear drops if you are prone to swimmer's ear, which is common with three sessions a day
What not to bring
- Drones. Egypt has strict rules on importing and operating them and confiscation at customs is common. Not worth the risk
- Excessive clothing. You will live in swimwear and a rash vest
- Anything valuable and unnecessary. Cabins have limited security and the boat is a shared space
- Glass bottles, which crews often discourage on deck
- A rigid expectation of the itinerary. Wind and sea state move the route, and the crew changing plans is the boat working properly
A last-check list before you leave for the airport
- Kites, bar, spare bar, lines, pump, board, fins and screws, harness
- Repair kit and multi-tool
- Two pairs of booties, two rash vests, shorty, helmet, impact vest
- Sun kit: SPF 50, zinc, lip balm, hat, polarised sunglasses with retainer
- Passport, insurance documents naming kitesurfing, licence card, cash in two currencies
- Adapter, power bank, extension strip, head torch, dry bag
- Seasickness tablets started, personal medical kit packed
- Soft luggage only
If you can tick all eight, you are better prepared than most people who step onto the boat.
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