in the Florida Keys is some of the best flat-water riding in the entire country. Through Islamorada, Marathon and Key West, the small chain of islands are connected with an intertwining web of sandbars and ‘flats,’ the knee deep playgrounds for Florida Keys kiteboarders. The consistent wind and shallow, clear, warm water is ideal for learning to kiteboard, whether its your first kiteboarding lesson or that last guided session you need to make you an independent rider.
Below you will find our kite service offering. Sessions run daily (wind dependent) at 9am and 1:30pm for approximately 3 hours. Our windy season typically runs from October-May.
We shuttle by boat to an exclusive flat that provides ideal learning conditions; lots of shallow water and very little kite traffic.
oTHErside’s Kiteboarding Lessons & Packages:
BEGINNER COURSE - Wind theory, wind-window, set-up, safety, launching, landing, kite control, water relaunch, self-rescue, board skills. $389 for one-on-one instruction. Add a second person for $100. (participants must be within 40lb of each other to share a lesson) For those students who are coming into kiteboarding with limited board skills, our instructors highly suggest a Cable For Kite session at Keys Cable Park
PRIVATE INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED - What do you need to work on? Private instruction to pick up where you left off. $389
SITTER SESSION – For intermediate riders that just need a few pointers. Riders must be able to stay upwind to qualify for this option. This is not a private lesson. It can be a downwinder, or a stationary session in which your instructor will be kiting with you. Their objective is to ‘keep an eye’- To be there if help is needed, act as a guide, or offer tips to enhance your riding experience. Our gear- $209. Your gear- $169. Disclaimer: If a sitter session turns into a lesson, based on the instructors discretion and their comfort level with your kiteboarding skills, the full $389 lesson rate will be applicable.
CABLE FOR KITE, a coached cable session - Specifically for board skills. oTHErside is the very first kite school in the world to operate their own cable park as a kiteboarding training facility. Our two-tower systems simulate kiteboarding better than anything else. Its has created an opportunity for kiteboarding students to practice board skills in a controlled environment with the same upward lift that is generated by the pull of a kite. Your coach can take you through basic beginner kite board skills including water starts, riding switch, heelside, toeside, upwind carving, and transitions, all the way through load and pop jumps and advanced inverts. A session at Keys Cable is not mandatory, but highly recommended for new kiteboarders coming into the sport with little to no board-riding experience. ($199, 1.5 hours, up to two people)
CANCELLATION POLICY - When booking a kiteboarding lesson, or to reserve a spot on a boat trip, credit card info will be taken as a security deposit. The card will not be charged until after the lesson, or not at all if you choose to pay cash. In the event that there is no wind, or unfavorable conditions and oTHErside cancels the booking, no fee will be charged. All other reservations must be cancelled 24hrs in advanced. No-show reservations will be charged in full, as our instructor have allocated their time, and missed an opportunity to teach another student. Lessons cancelled with less than one days notice will be charged 1/2 off the appropriate lesson fee.
