A Day in the Life of a Kitepower El Gouna Instructor

From the morning wind check to recording the student's demonstrated IKO skills. A typical day of a kite instructor at Kitepower El Gouna.

People sometimes ask me what it’s like to be a kite instructor in Egypt. They imagine it’s a permanent holiday — all day on the beach, a bit of teaching, and then cocktails. The reality is a little different. It’s a job we love, but it’s still a job.

Here’s a typical day for one of our instructors during peak season.

7:30 – Morning

Alarm. Coffee. Check the forecast. This is the first thing every instructor does — see what’s blowing, from where, and how much. Based on that, they know which kites to prepare and how to plan the day. (We have our own weather station on the beach, so the wind data we work from is measured right here, not pulled from a generic model.)

In peak season the wind blows almost every day. In the cooler winter months it’s well over half the days. But even when the forecast looks perfect, you verify the conditions in person at the beach in the morning — the lagoon always gets the final word.

8:30 – At the Center

Arrival at the Kitepower center. Blue instructor vests go on first — they’re our identifier on the water and on the beach. Students need to be able to spot their coach instantly.

Then the morning briefing with the team: who has which lesson, how many students, what levels. In peak season we run a team of up to 25 instructors, and coordination is everything. We cap every lesson at a maximum of two students per instructor, so each person gets real attention.

Then equipment preparation. You inflate kites, check lines, bars and safety systems. Every kite is inspected before a lesson — no shortcuts. You select suitable available equipment based on the student’s weight, level and measured conditions. More than 250 Flysurfer kites and 60+ boards give the team broad options, but equipment and sessions still depend on availability and safety.

9:00–9:30 – Morning Briefing

Students arrive. Beginners are nervous — and that’s completely normal. The instructor explains what to expect: how a kite works, the safety rules, the signals, bar handling. This is the dry part, but it’s absolutely crucial.

For advanced students the briefing is shorter. You review where you left off yesterday, what you want to improve today, and what the plan is.

9:30–12:00 – Morning Session on the Water

This is the core of the day. After a short safety briefing and rigging on the sand, the instructor takes the student straight into the water — that’s where you actually learn. The beach is only for setting up the kite and assisting with launch and landing.

For beginners: kite control in the water, body-drag, and the first water starts. For advanced riders: edging and riding upwind, jumps, or the transition onto a foil.

The key tool is the two-way BB Talkin Bluetooth helmet. Every student wears one, so the instructor can both talk to you and hear you in real time, right there on the water. “Pull a little more with the left hand. Look forward. Now press down with your heel.” — and you can ask questions back without coming to the beach. That instant, two-way feedback is the single biggest reason our students progress so fast.

The instructor works with the student in the first roughly 800 m knee-to-waist-deep teaching area and follows their progress as they ride farther from shore. Rescue support is available during operating hours, but continuous boat presence and a specific response time are not guaranteed.

The morning session runs roughly 2–2.5 hours. Then it’s break time.

12:00–14:00 – Lunch and Break

Lunch at our beach club. Instructors sit with their students, answer questions, and talk through what went well and what to work on. These informal conversations are often just as valuable as the lesson itself.

Some take a nap. Some go for a swim. Some check the afternoon forecast. Rest matters — teaching kitesurfing is physically demanding. You’re standing in water, handling kites, helping students up, walking the beach for hours.

14:00–17:00 – Afternoon Session

The second session of the day. Afternoons are often windier thanks to the thermal effect — the sea breeze tends to build through the day. That’s great for advanced students who want more power.

Matching equipment to conditions is something we do automatically: a slightly different kite size in the afternoon than in the morning, depending on what the student needs. Students notice, and they appreciate it.

At the end of the afternoon, the instructor summarizes the day — what the student achieved, what still needs practice, and the plan for tomorrow.

17:00–18:00 – End of Day

Packing up. Kites are deflated, folded and stored. Bars are coiled, boards are rinsed and put away. Then the records: the instructor logs the IKO skills and level each student actually demonstrated that day.

Certification is the record of what happened on the water, not a reward for buying a set number of hours. Kitepower is an IKO Pro Center, so the instructor records the IKO skills and level each student actually demonstrates, with no separate certification fee. An independent-rider record can support a later rental request, but every centre still checks the rider’s skills, local rules, conditions and equipment availability. See the honest progression guide in how long it takes to learn kitesurfing.

After Work

Some instructors go kiting themselves — after a full day of teaching, they finally get to enjoy the water on their own. Others sit at the beach club, have a beer, and chat with guests. Some head to the go-kart track or Downtown.

Most of our instructors live in El Gouna year-round. They have an apartment, friends, and a routine here. It’s not a seasonal gig — it’s a lifestyle. And that shows in the teaching. When you learn from someone who loves what they do and lives where they do it, the quality is simply different.

What Makes a Good Instructor

After taking over the oldest kite school in El Gouna — running on this coast since 2004 — I know what sets a great instructor apart from an average one:

1. Patience — teaching beginners takes endless patience. You repeat the same thing a hundred times, and you have to say it with enthusiasm every single time.

2. Communication — being able to explain technique simply and clearly. Not every great kiter is a great teacher.

3. Attentiveness — watching the student, reading their body language, recognising when they’re tired, frustrated, or ready for the next step. (Our how we teach page goes deeper on the method behind this.)

4. Safety — never making compromises. Never sending a student onto the water in conditions they can’t handle.

That’s our standard. And it’s a big part of why so many guests — around eight in ten — come back.

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Want to experience what it’s like to learn from our instructors? Take a look at our kite courses or wing courses. And if you’re curious about the method behind the lessons, read about how we teach.