Soma Bay (Ras Soma)

About this spot

Soma Bay is a wide, shallow crescent of sand on the Red Sea coast between Safaga and Hurghada, and one of the most reliable flat-water kite spots in the world. The wind here is thermal: the desert behind the bay heats up, the sea stays cool, and air pours down off the mountains from the north and north-west from mid-morning. It typically runs 15–25 kn from April to October, often 2–5 kn stronger than the forecast because the models miss the thermal, and summer water temperatures reach 29–30 °C.

The riding splits with the tide and the reef. Close in, the water is waist-deep and butter-flat over sand for hundreds of metres — the classic learning and freestyle playground, with a few deeper channels where the water turns choppy. Further out the sandbanks drop away to the reef and it deepens fast. The catch is that the working northerly blows side-offshore: that is exactly what holds the surface glassy, but if you crash and cannot self-rescue, the wind will not bring you back to the beach. Every school here runs zodiac rescue for that reason, and riding outside the stations' marked areas is a bad idea.

The bay is lined with resorts and dedicated kite stations — KBC Ras Soma, 7 Bft KiteHouse, Tornado Surf, Hawa Safaga — with rental, storage, floating platforms and shuttle boats out to the sandbanks and downwinders across to the small island. Hurghada airport is about 50 km north, a 45–60 minute drive. Bring reef shoes and far more sun protection than you think you need: coral cuts and dehydration are the two things that actually end sessions here.