Awe!!!!
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Langebaan is 1h drive from Cape Town. Big lagoon to kite and teach. Flat water and strong wind blowing all day long. Langebaan is a small village with great kitesurfing and sailing atmosphere though.
KITE SPOTS
Main Beach: most famous and bussy. Side shore, S-SE. Walking distance from town. Wide, sandy and long beach to land and launch your kite.
Shark Bay: if the wind is strong you can kite in this spectacular bay. Waist deep water, on-shore wind. If the tide is down you will have no problems to set up the kite, but when the tide is high the beach is really narrow and full of bushes so be careful landing and launching the kite. It’s 4 km frome Main beach so you will need a car to get there.
- Shark Bay
LOCATION
SAFETY
Safty on water:
There is a competent safety boat at Main Beach. Thanks Wiliam and Pierre!! If you are kiting with no instructor assistance and they rescue you or your board you will have to pay 350R.
You have to pay attention on the sand bags at at Main Beach when the tide is going out.
LEVELS
Begginers: good wind condition, bussy place for learning. Main Beach has deep water. If the wind is too strong at Main Beach you’ll have the lessons at Shark Bay with waist deep water. Maybe the best spot to learn in South Africa. Private lessons are forbidden at Main Beach, so if a friend of you is going to teach you, go to Shark Bay.
Intermediated: very good spot to improve your upwind riding skill, but remember that the tides at the lagoon are strong. You should kite far from the shore because it’s full of students. Don’t go kiting when the rescue boat is out from the water.
Advanced: amazing spot to kite if you like strong winds. In the middle of the lagoon there is a small island full of birds and seals. The best spot to improve your tricks is the little bay in front of the island with absolutely flat water. You also would lovecto practice tricks at Shark Bay.
Take a picture of your board and write on it your name and cell phone number. If you lose it, let the rescue boat people know. If they can’t locate it, visit de kitesurf schools and show them the picture. They have a whatsapp group. You can post your lost board picture on facebook “Second hand gear Cape Town”.
Get up early in the morning and go to the beach beyond Mykonos Resort and you may find it. In fact, I found two boards!
WIND SEASON
October to April: 17 – 25 knots, S – SE
High season: December – January.
There is a downwinder event on the first week of January with more than 300 kiters and windsurfers.
WETSUITS
16°C water temperature all the season so 5:4 mm wetsuit is recommended. Water shoes no needed. Wind stopper and buff are recommended to teach.
And as Casey said in the review of this post; if you have 2 wetsuits bring them.
When the tide goes out the water is warmer because of the sun effect. On the other hand, you will have the Atlantic cold water when the tide is coming in.
WAVES
Not at Main Beach neither at Shark Bay. You can find waves in front of Mikonos Resort and at Cape Sport Center. If you like surfing there are some spots close to Langebaan.
TIDES
Be aware of the strength of the tides. When it is coming in it is very easy to ride upwind and recover your board. On the other hand, it is easy to lose the board when the tide is going out.
SEA LIFE
Sandy beach with few shells so you can walk barefoot inside and outside the water.
There is some jellyfishes but they don’t sting.
You’ll see a lot of seals while you are kiting. They are totally harmless so enjoy kiting with them!
FEES TO KITE
You can kite at Shark Bay and Main Beach for free. If you don’t know to kite upwind you better introduced yourself to thecrescuecboat team and let them know which is your kite so they will be able to keep an eye on you.
WHAT TO DO ON WINDLESS DAYS
Walking on the beach is amazing and Bree street has nice of bars and shops. There are several kitesurf schools that also rent SUP’s, hobbie cats and kayaks. If you are keen on fishing this is a very good spot. You can also visit West Coast National Park.
NIGHT LIFE
There is a lot of bars and pubs in Bree street open until 1:30 am. Most of them have from 6 to 7pm happy hour.
Thursday: BBQ night at Sand Bar (R60).
Sunday: Kolmer Karma night party.
TRAVELING WITH FRIENDS/FAMILY WHO DON’T KITE
Highly recommended. A lot of things to do!
RECOMMENDED READING
Long way to freedom. Nelson Mandela.
KITESURFING SCHOOLS
The salary here is really low comparing with others kitesurfing schools around the world. It’s a pity that the kitesurfing schools compite with the prices of the lessons, insted of puting the prices down they should rise them.
Most of the schools do not get comissions when your students buy equipment.
- Cape Sports Center: located far North from the beach beyond the sand bags. Big shop. Team of 4-5 easy going instructors. The only school that doesn’t use trainer kites, they teach as IKO standars rules : short lines. It is the best paying school of all, 40% of the lesson price if you are L1 instructor and 50% if you are L2. Very nice school with best atmosphere of Langebaan, located in front of a big green area and next to Kalmer Karma bar, where you have live music or parties on Sundays. They also offer windsurf lessons, SUP and kayak. Very nice people with best vibe and relaxed atmosphere. Is the only kitesurfing school where you can get your IKO courses.
- Constantly kiting: the school is far from Main Beach so they go to the beach by van. You will have everyday 5h lessons, with lunch time included. You will eat on the beach. Good atmosphere boss-instructors. They pay R250/h. They use Airush equipment. They have shop and accomodation.
- Kitelab: I worked here in 2017. The best located school in Langebaan and best organized. They let you know your schedule the previous day and sometimes even before. You work 6-8h/day .The instructors have their own equipment (3 kites, bar, leash…) and they update all the equipment several time during the season so the students always have new equipment. Every day you must go at 8:30am to have all the equipment ready and at the end of the day you have to put everything back in the storage room. So it would be good to live nearby. They have a big shop and the staff that works on it is just awesome!!! The instructors have their own private area wich is great. I was very happy working there and the team was amazing. They use radios for teaching and Cabrinha equipment. You get payed 200R/h. I made 1700€/month.
- Siren: located in front of Main Beach. They pay R230/h. They have just open another school in Zanzibar.
- WindChasers: I worked here in 2016-2017 for 1 month. Nice kite school and guest house. They also have a shop. Totally reccommended if you are looking for kiting lessons and cheap accomodation. 6 instructors and not enought students for all of us. From 2 to 4 working hours per day most of the instructors. Teaching session is 2h. The school is not walking distance from the teaching area so the driver will take you to the beach (2min by car). After this 2h session you come back to school to rinse the equipment and wait for the next student. The boss is on the beach keeping an eye on the classes. You will know your schedule the same day in the morning and you are expected to be on call for the “walk ins” so it’s hard to plan your day. Working with radios. Nobile equipment. The owner will arrange the accommodation for you which is really helpful for a place as Langebaan where finding accommodation is dificult. You will have to pay around 300 €/room /monthly. My boyfriend worked there as a driver in exange of a salary and kiting lessons and he was happy working there. They pay 220R/hour. I made 900€/month.
- Windtown: great location. It has a nice restaurant and resort. Bar offers discounts for instructors. You can work around 7h/day so it’s a good option for earning good money. Good working atmosphere. North gear equipment.
KITESURF INSTRUCTORS
Langebaan is a good spot to work and kite. Good atmosphere with the other instructors on the beach and outside of the water. Nice night life. It isn’t the spot to safe a lot of money, just to have a nice experience. You can go walking to the beach pretty much from all the schools. I would not chose this spot for my first teaching experience because of water conditions (tides and deep water). But if you are experienced instructor I would recommend you to check this spot.
There is no days off during high season so I recommend you to talk about this during your interview. You are supposed to get commissions if you sell equipment but is a point you have to get clear on advanced. Look at this tips for your skype interview.
The kite schools usually don’t pay for food or accommodation. You get paid per hours. You can find accommodation for 300€/month. You usually work 4-5h per day so you can earn 1000€/month. Most of the students come from South Africa and Europe so don’t expect tips.
You should join this facebook group to find accomadion, motorbikes or wherever you need: Langebaan News and Info.
Remember that when you arrive in South Africa from Europe or from the States you get 3 months visa. You can extend it for 3 more months paying 100€ and doing some paperwork in Cape Town and maybe you will get it. Be awere that you have to go 2 times to C.Town to do the paper work, so maybe it’s better have some days off and buy a cheap flight ticket and go to another country (no border contry) and come back, so like this you have 3 more month. I applied for the extension and I only got 21 extra days. For further information: www.vfsglobal.com.
Have a lekker day!!
Laikitespots 
25 August, 2017 at 5:16 am
I worked in Langebaan for 2 months as a kite instructor for Kitelab in Nov & Dec 2014. The main beach was our regular spot we taught at unless the wind was above 25 knots then we would teach at shark bay. Main beach was always super crowded, so much so you would have to pack your kite down to walk back upwind and start again in the LINE-up. I found the wind very gusty if you come to boost then bravo you are in the right place but I think for beginners it’s not so easy, with the choppy water, gusty strong wind and crowded it is not pleasant at all. I would totally agree with you that it is not such a good place for an instructor to teach for their first place. Shark bay is a lot better, but the wind has to be very strong in order for you to have a good session, I think if I remember rightly if it’s under 20 knots it’s not good, it can get very crowded there too as this is the most desirable place to go out of the two spots in Langebaan.
My time here came to an end very quickly as myself and my partner could not get along with the owner of the school. I was meant to stay for 6 months but our experience ended after just 2. This is the first place I felt that I had to leave immediately and I was extremely disappointed. The wages are really not worth it, in my opinion, long hours, cold water, harsher conditions for less money and an ungrateful owner. We were given the role of managers but was micro managed the whole time, he could not leave us to our responsibility which we were more than capable of. I remember on several occasions being screamed at in front of customers for absolutely no reason and from what I’ve heard this was normal but not for me. I had many bad experiences with this guy and even after 3 pay rises to try and keep us there it still wasn’t enough to put up with. so I urge you do do your research if you want to work for the schools there, there are many nice ones but also a few bad!
Your post has lots of good information, it’s great! maybe just a few added suggestions – I think it’s really important to have your own vehicle, Cape town is spread out widely and on days off if you do not have transport you will not go anywhere, also after Christmas, all car rentals were fully booked and we were without wheels over the holidays, so book in advance!
Wetsuit – Bring a wetsuit or 2! many times our wetsuits did not dry from the night before until the morning and many times putting on a cold wetsuit to start your day will only start in freezing! if your riding you cant get away with less but for teaching 100% 5/4mm and get a poncho 😉
Visa – there were so many complications with visa and many people didn’t get the 6 months they had hoped for! so do not plan for the whole season and do your research for visas well in advance.
may the wind be with you
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11 September, 2017 at 11:54 am
I was an instructor for windchasers in langebaan, 2016-2017 winter. Loved their location and they had a nice place for students or other kiters to stay. The family that owns it was great, they were very welcoming to all guest. I learned alot while i was teaching.
The owner liked lessons to be taught exactly the way he would teach it. If it was a beginner, the 1st 2hrs are landbased, you dont get in the water at all. The 2nd 2 hrs were just body dragging and we would use radios (best thing ever!) .the last 2 hrs was getting on the board, great technique, i think it worked well.
Conditions were the hardest for me to teach. Not use to a strong current, the wind is very strong and gusty, busy busy beach, this place made me work extra hard. I would also wear a wetsuit jacket over my 5/4 wetsuit.
The owner made me feel like a horrible instructor, he would take the radio from me and take over my lessons. Most of the time he will be around in view or hidden just watching the lesson and will talk to you or the student about it.
This is the first location i taught in where all the kite schools got along. It was nice having other great instructors around that would scoop up your students board or help you in sticky situations.
Beautiful place! Beautiful people! Wind everyday!
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13 September, 2017 at 10:19 am
I had the great opportunity to spent 2 seasons working in langebaan wich is an hour drive from cape town.
I was working in cape sport center who was located on the beach and i was teaching kitesurf and windsurf.
Conditions was light wind in the morning and picking up after lunch time.
Is not the easiest spot to learn but you have guaranty that the wind is always on.
If it gets super windy you have shark bay wich is the paradise for beginners.
Amazing team in capesport, Anthony and Esti are nice with everybody and jani responsible for the kite running the school with a very good knowledge.
I was very grateful to met them.
To get your visa is one of the hardest part in your experience in south Africa.
Warm clothes is also a must and 2 wetsuits for the cold water.
Good surf around the cost is also a good reason to go as well.
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15 September, 2017 at 11:50 am
I had the pleasure having Laya as my colleague at Kitelab Langebaan. We had an amazing team there! Everything you write about Langebaan is true, Laya. In high season Main Beach is so overcrowded with students. That is stressful for both student and instructor. You do learn a lot as an instructor, you can’t afford to let your attention down for one second. If you wait until you have enough safe space for your student you can wait for weeks! But this is only in december and January. For November, February and March are smoother. Langebaan is just the right size: not too small and not too big, to get a realy nice atmosphere among the instructors. I made a lot of friends there. When the wind is good, Shark Bay can be the most beautiful spot to kite and to teach. I saw seals and flamingos every day. Sometimes dolphins and once there were 2 orcas swimming by. Nature is great out there.
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20 November, 2017 at 12:48 am
Beautiful spot in the lagoon, unfortunately not enough wind when I was there. Main beach was a good backup though to practice and test some new equipment. The water is pretty cold but my wetsuit did an amazing job!
Nicely located outside of capetown, definitely worth a visit in South Africa.
Not too much of a nightlife, but some nice restaurants around. And pretty good people to hang out and have dinner with.
You can get to langebaan by bus, but a car is a plus in that village.
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