Kiteboarding Lessons - any recommendations?

Probably best to go to one of the schools you mentioned where all the instructors will be well-certified and trained. Make sure they speak your language well.
Avoid cheaper independent offers unless they can prove a good track record.

It's not cheap but I would always recommend lessons. (I learnt without and it was a long and painful process!)

It is my understanding that in order to kite board legally, you need to have a certification from accredited instructors. Kite Club, KiteExcite and Laurel Eastman are three to look into and make your decision.

its popular among tourist so it has become very expensive just for that reason.

Expensive for a Reason

zoomzx11 said:

its popular among tourist so it has become very expensive just for that reason.

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There are other reasons as well.
The kite, the board, the control bar, the lines, the harness,...all expensive equipment.
And a (certified) instructor wants his/her money, too.

donP

I have a 70 year old friend that does kiteboarding he reckons that anyone can do it - I dont actually like getting my head wet so I havent tried it

windeguy said:

It is my understanding that in order to kite board legally, you need to have a certification from accredited instructors. Kite Club, KiteExcite and Laurel Eastman are three to look into and make your decision.

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huh?? I can only imagine that you meant to say that to teach legally you need certification?
Anyone can kite

........ according to today's news, a deadly sport in the D.R.

German-woman-drowns-while-kiteboarding-cabarete

http://dr1.com/forums/north-coast/152279-german-woman-drowns-while-kiteboarding-cabarete.html

it's not a deadly sport. methinks the majority of kiteboarders live to tell the tale.

From my experience most of the schools and instructors tell you that you can learn it in a week, I don't deny some people (normally with previous experience in some useful field) might do that, but majority can not and will not learn to kite surf in a week.

Once you hooked you have to go on paying for a lot of lessons and who knows how long it would take you to do it well enough to enjoy it.

But most people pay for a week ($500+) and then are disappointed and leave it for good. Not sure if this is a good thing for the sport or not, but the schools make their money either way !?

Most people who get into kite surfing have a friend or someone who can help above and beyond the schools, they live somewhere they can do it regularly and they buy the equipment themselves and eventually after sometime progress to a descend level. Tourists who come for a week or two are not going to be kite surfers that quickly (even though pay for it handsomely)....

Uzin said:

From my experience most of the schools and instructors tell you that you can learn it in a week, I don't deny some people (normally with previous experience in some useful field) might do that, but majority can not and will not learn to kite surf in a week.

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Are you a kiter? I have been kiting for nearly 10 years and i would say that with a good instructor, most people can get the basics in a week. Certainly enough that they no longer need lessons, maybe just to pay one of the kids to keep an eye out for them in case something goes wrong.
No teacher that i know would encourage people to take more lessons than they needed.

If a seasoned experienced kiteboarder can get tangled in the strings then it could happen to anyone. Entanglement is a risk I would want to be ready for if it happens. If it only happens once and its you then it 100% fatal. Those strings are strong and you will not break them with wet hands while being drug. Its me I would certainly find a stainless steel string cutter or two and a float device of the kind that keeps your face out of the water if you are unconscious. I admit I am a just a tad bit safety obsessed.