Tawila Island - Egyptian Maledives

In Europe, the weather is nothing special. Sure, the wind blows now and then, but with temperatures around 5–10°C, it’s time to escape somewhere warmer and windier. Jíťa got tied up with work that requires her to stay in Brno, so a family road trip was off the table.

Meanwhile, my buddy Madman kept attacking me with invitations to join him in Egypt. He added some fairy-tale story about a surprise for me and my whole family. I agreed on the condition that I’d go only with my son. His instructions were cryptic: send me your passport copies, don’t ask anything, and be in Vienna on Tuesday at 15:20 – that’s when our plane leaves.

The day before departure, I finally squeezed out of him where we were actually flying, just so I could at least pretend to prepare. Until then, I didn’t even know which kites to pack or whether to bring a wetsuit.

Tawila Island – where it is and what it looks like

Tawila (Winguru: Tawilla) is a small island north of El Gouna. There’s only one hotel complex on the whole island – that’s where we stayed. No roads, no other hotels, no sellers offering “good price, my friend”.

You get to Tawila by boat from El Gouna. It’s about an hour and a half from the marina. You might spot dolphins on the way; sometimes even sharks, apparently. We weren’t that lucky – and honestly, I’m not sure I’d get in the water after seeing a shark anyway. 😊

The resort, the price, and what you get

The resort offers top-notch accommodation in luxury bungalows right on the water. Prices start at 900 EUR per night per bungalow. Capacity: two people. Thanks to Besný’s charm and negotiation skills, we ended up squeezing in three adults and my 10-year-old son.

Resort website: tawila-island.com

The funny part? Until we boarded the boat, the resort manager had no idea there were four of us instead of three. Madman, in his eternal modesty, simply “forgot” to mention the kid and admitted it only when the captain asked what that child was doing there and tried poking him away with the stick used for pushing boats off the dock. I secretly hoped my son would somehow slip through unnoticed… but that’s impossible with a kid who greets everyone from ten meters away with a confident “Salam alaikum!” Well-behaved child. 😊

Yes, the price is high for a typical Czech kiter – but in return, you get absolute comfort and luxury. The staff is incredibly friendly, responsive, and they’ll drive you to the kitespot anytime you want, as many times as you want, and bring you back whenever you’re done.

Nothing is a problem. The driver will wait for you even two hours while you’re kiting… or, to be more precise, because he buried the car in the sand and needed two hours to dig it out. I offered to push four times – he refused every time. He wouldn’t dare rob the white sáhib of even a single minute of his precious vacation.

Food? Unreal. Full board, long meals, no pressure to finish within a strict slot. We were lucky – the resort was almost empty (high season is summer for Egyptians and New Year for Westerners). I ate so many macarons and chocolate slices that I’m ashamed to admit it. The seafood, salads, tahini, hummus… I haven’t stepped on the scale yet, but despite solid daily training on the water, I’m afraid I’m bringing home at least +5 kg.

Kitespots on Tawila

If you didn’t know: Tawila is the island visited on kitesafari trips from Hurghada and El Gouna. If you’ve ever drooled over kitesafari videos on YouTube at 1 a.m. like I have – this is the place.

The island is flat, so the wind comes in clean and strong. As everywhere in this part of Egypt, the wind is NW. On the south side of the island, you’ll find huge shallow lagoons – this is the main kitespot. The wind here is off-shore. There’s another off-shore spot on the island, but we didn’t visit because our main spot kept us busy enough.

Forecast is key. We planned our trip based on windguru.cz, and we were lucky – it blew the whole stay. Locals say islands out at sea get 1–2 m/s more than the mainland, which can make a huge difference when the forecast says 5–6 m/s.

Be aware: these spots are mainly for kiteboarders, not ideal for foiling. The deep area is far out, and you often have to walk over coral. But for sure, somewhere on the island there’s deep water right off the shore.

The main kitespot has three sections:

1. The main off-shore flatwater spot
   Unreal flat water, riding right next to the shore = butter flat. When a kitesafari boat arrives, they ride here. It gets busy.

2. A small lagoon
   Semi on-shore riding unless you go too far out. This is where kitesafari schools teach beginners.

3. The on-shore bay
   A lagoon with mild chop and huge shallows. Perfect bottom for training – soft sand, no reefs, no coral, no traps.

Those black spots you see on the map are coral or rocks – do NOT step on them. Most of them are at the main off-shore spot. That’s why kitesafari isn’t exactly newbie-friendly.

In the background, you can see a kitesafari from one boat. Once they hit full throttle (three boats and more), riding on the main flat basically becomes impossible. Luckily, there are plenty of other spots around — and they’re just as good.

You can ride anywhere around the island, but realistically, you want to stay where someone can see you in case things go wrong.

Our daily routine

Morning snorkeling at the bungalow (more on that later). Then breakfast. Departure to the spot around 9. Return for lunch at about 12:30, short break, then second session from around 2 until sunset. At 7, a long dinner, then daily evaluation, planning of the next day, and sleep. 😊

We had five kite days total:
– Three strong-wind days: 10–13 m/s. During these days, kitesafari boats arrived. First one boat, later three. It got crowded, but we always found our spots.
– Two low-wind days: 6–8 m/s, and we were completely alone.

Strong wind = training high straight jumps, higher rotations, adding grabs. At 10+ meters, grabbing your board is pure adrenaline. The big highlight: kiteloops. I think all of us pushed our limits way further than expected.

Light wind = I was training freestyle on the 13m Pulse, while the guys practiced everything they didn’t dare try in the nuking wind.

Best moments of the trip

I had three moments I’ll remember forever:

1. Sunset session with my son

Just the two of us on the water. Smooth surface, soft wind, golden light. I took him a bit upwind into deeper water so he could get used to riding outside the shallows. Watching him ride, turn, and try mini hops… I was the proudest dad alive.

2. Kiteloops with the boys

We pushed each other harder than ever. A few sketchy landings, but overall? Pure joy. After we finished, we walked around bragging like heroes. :-)

3. Last-morning snorkeling

Right in front of the bungalow. Water so clear you can see 10 meters down. Thousands of tiny fish moving like one giant swarm. A big needlefish checking us out up close. Then the grand finale: about eight massive stingrays. Each with a one-meter body and a 1.5-meter tail with a stinger. Buried in the sand until we swam over them. Stunning, but as a land mammal, I was a bit terrified. They swam calmly around us; we just floated there with open mouths, full of awe and adrenaline.

The Egyptian Maldives?

Yes, that fits.

Tawila is called the “Egyptian Maldives”. It’s accurate: insanely clear water, white sand, peace, isolation. One big difference, though: Tawila actually has wind. While the Maldives (according to my friend Roman) are “romance and relaxation”, Tawila is “ride hard, push limits, then relax”. 

You’re probably wondering the whole time how Venuta managed to pull this off! I got the chance to go thanks to the help of my good crazy buddy. I’m truly grateful for that. Thanks a lot, my friend!

Final thoughts – would I go back?

Those few days on Tawila reminded me why I love kiting: wind, water, warmth, adventure, friends, my son, and perfect conditions. Will I go back? We’ll see… maybe I’ll get lucky again.

Aloha – see you on the water, or maybe already on the snow.

Přemek