Brazil is a popular place to travel to, especially for Europeans. In general, you are likely to meet other kiters from Europe: Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Poland — and also from South America, especially Argentina. You will also meet a lot of locals — Brazilians, that is, from local fishermen to buggy drivers, shop and restaurant owners, city people from Rio and São Paolo, and local kiters!

Brazilians love kiting!! Kiting is probably much more popular in general in Brazil than in the U.S., and people have a very positive attitude about kiting. In the states, I often get a bit of a question mark when I talk about kitesurfing with strangers; in Brazil it is a known sport, and widely considered as a variety of sailing, and something that most people who live on or near the coast are familiar with.

Some of the most popular spots like Cumbuco and Paracuru and the various freestyle lagoons can be quite busy, but the places that we go on our long distance trips are pretty empty. We often see other kiters when we pass a known spot like Jeri, Tatajuba, and Barra Grande, but we see very few people in between.

Brazilians are known to be a warm and welcoming people. If you are respectful of their culture they will likely embrace you like family and help you with anything you need. In most cases, Brazilians are very fond of Americans, as the two countries share several cultural similarities — including a love of music, shopping, the outdoors, food, political turmoil, and sports.

Kiters who visit Brazil with Surfin Sem Fim generally find Brazil to be a very safe country (more so than some other kite destinations such as Hawaii and Mexico, for example). It is important to understand that Brazil is a very large country, and it is always important to know where you are and where you are going. There are some remote areas, in the Amazon for example, where it is better to travel with a guide or a local that can help you get around without any problems. You do not need such a guide in the areas where we travel for kitesurfing. The larger cities of Brazil can be compared to cities of any other country in the world: it’s always a good idea to be careful. Pay attention to where you are going and your surroundings. Try to avoid bad neighborhoods at night, and respect the culture of the country that you’re visiting. With these tips you can safely and easily travel through Brazil without any problems.

You may have heard that ‘Portuguese is hard’ — and it does tend to be trickier than Spanish, for example. That said, you do not need to speak Portuguese to travel in Brazil. In the north you will meet people from all over the world, and the standard language for all travelers is… English! Surfin Sem Fim also operates primarily in English, so our captains, guides, drivers and staff all speak English. Of course, please do take the opportunity to learn a little Portuguese; languages are fun!

Overall, the weather is great! In the north of Brazil, the weather is very consistent and is generally about 75-85°F with no rain and mostly sunny, windy days. While it is the tropics, northern Brazil is breezy and not overly humid, and you are often on the water during the warmest parts of the day.

Brazil is a very large, incredibly diverse and vibrant country. It’s just about as large as the United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, and has a population of more than 200 million. You can find all types of landscapes in Brazil, and the population has history in indigenous people as well as immigrants from Africa, Europe, and Asia, resulting in a very very diverse and cosmopolitan culture. In my experience, Brazilian people are friendly, open, helpful, well educated, well traveled, and interested in meeting and interacting with visitors to their country. For more information, check out the wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil

It blows every day in Wind Land! Incredibly beautiful tropical coastline with miles and miles of sandy beaches Warm, friendly, welcoming, diverse culture Warm climate (boardshorts!) Kitesurfing is a known sport, and people love it!

This FAQ was written primarily by Bowen Dwelle, a kitesurfer from San Francisco who has visited Brazil several times, starting in 2008. Bowen is a brand ambassador and on-the-water guide for Surfin Sem Fim.