best spot in NY to lean kitesurfing. the staff is great.

Amazing instructors and really great experience. They take you out on the great South Bay with a group of all levels. Beautiful boat ride and perfect scene. Excellent place to learn and/or touch up on your skills. Highly recommend kite center. read more

If you are reading this review, I'm pretty sure you are thinking about learning to kiteboard. Whenever I go someplace new, I generally read reviews first and see if that person's views are similar to mine. I'm 73 years old and my first concern was: "is it safe?" From the owner to the instructors, they go out of their way to always make sure you are in a safe environment. Five stars for safety. Secondly is it hard to learn? I guess that depends on a lot of factors but one thing that makes it much easier is where they teach you in the "Great South Bay". There are many places out there that you can stand up so you're not always treading water. I recommend that you do a two-person lesson because you do need breaks not only to catch your breath, but also to observe other students. That is how they teach at NY Kite Center. read more

These guys are the best! No pun intended. Kite boarding is fun, exhilarating, and more accessible than you think. Unfortunately in untrained hands it can also be quite dangerous. (Check You Tube for a reality check on how much power these kites can produce). But thankfully all us NY residents have one of the best schools and best locations right in our backyard; Best Kite boarding on the Great South Bay (backside of Jones Beach). I had seen kiters on the water and it looked like so much fun I had to try it. After little research, and with a bias toward pretty water in warm locales, I booked a trip to the DR to take lessons. Well long story short you can pick your dates, you can pick your location, but you cant pick your weather. So after a nice but windless vacation in I still couldn't kite. Fast forward to this winter. On a mild day I again saw some kiters on the water having so much fun it stoked the fire to learn again. I did a lot more research this time and realized that the Great south Bay is the perfect learning environment; shallow, protected water, windy, many islands, and most importantly a great school. So this time I jumped on the LIE (also LIRR accessible for those w/o cars) instead of a plane and enrolled in the Learn to Kite Clinic. The school is affiliated with Best Kite boarding, one of the major brands in kiting. And is IKO certified, meaning all the instructors are trained and teach to the IKO (Intl Kiting Organization) standards for safety. Everyone I've met at the center is great. John, the owner, is super knowledgeable and a great teacher. My instructor, Shaun , was awesome. He stayed within the framework but adjusted the speed and emphasis of teaching to suite my strengths & weaknesses. I'm a pretty average learner and fairly fit. After the Clinic (essentially the 1st 3 progressive lessons packaged) I was able to get up and ride one direction. Now its just time in the water to improve those skills and get the other direction. That said, learning the sport is exhausting. Its a full body workout like I've rarely had. And you will get tossed around a bit so while you don't need to be a strong swimmer and you do wear protective gear, you should be comfortable in the water. One caveat before you sign up. They sell wetsuits, at very competitive prices, but they don't rent them. So bring your own or be prepared to buy one. I recommend these guys without hesitation. Go try them, open your eyes to a new fun sport, and have a blast. I just found my new sport! read more

When moving from Florida in 2015, I was looking for an outstanding kite community to further my love of the sport. I came across NY Kite Center in Amityville and couldn't have been more impressed. They are a fun, informative and support group of professionals. I immediately felt like my goals were addressed, that they worked with me on a plan and that I was always included in any social events that are going on. I will always refer them anyone wanting to get involved in this amazing sport. I never realized all of the options in the NYC area to kite, learn and rent. I also found their retail options to be the best in the area. If I needed or wanted something they either had it, or found a way to make it happen. read more

If your looking for the short answer, this place is Amazing! If you have ever have ever saw someone zipping across the water under a kite and thought you would like to try that, you cant go wrong with John and the crew at NY Kitecenter. I was introduced to this sport more than ten years ago and have watched in amazement  until i finally decided to take lessons. I wish i hadn't waited so long!  From the first call the crew is committed to launching you (pun intended)into this amazing sport.  They can accommodate any schedule and want you to get the most out of your time with them. Their facility is a really cool seaside building which used to be an airplane hanger and perfectly located in the middle of Long Island on the Great South Bay. From the moment you walk in there your put into a great state of mind and surrounded by the people and quality gear to get u up and riding. The instructors enthusiasm is infectious and just talking to them will get you stoked go get in the water. Our waters are generally pretty shallow and flat which makes it ideal to learn in. There are many spots they can take you depending on wind direction,  so unless theres no wind they'll be able to get u out and riding most days. The lessons are fully supported by a fleet of boats and jetskis that ensure safety and maximizes your time at the spot. The instructors are fantastic, they genuinely care about your safety and progression in this sport. Ive trained with three different teachers so far which is good. Its given me a few different perspectives on how to better my technique and improve my riding. Ive only had a few sessions so far before winter set in but can't wait get back at it with them when the warm weather arrives. If you want to try this exciting, safe, challenging sport, dont wait. Come on out and learn from the best!  I will see you there!!!!! Kiteboarding is Fun! read more

Although they don't do what I called about (her ski rentals), the folks were so nice and directed me to another place for boat rentals. Since they were no nice, I'm referring them for our subletters in Kismet for kite surfing, which is way more fun. Customer service and kindness goes a long way.. read more

I've had three lessons at this kite center, with three different instructors. My knowledge of the sport is still very limited, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. The location and NY Kite Center's setup seem pretty ideal. They have a shop on the water and they take you out by jet ski or boat into the islands of the South Oyster Bay. The water there is never deep enough that you can't stand, and the water is pretty flat even when windy. Altogether, it seems like a very good place to learn to kiteboard. I've found the quality of the instruction kind of uneven. The first lesson was just handling the kite in the water without the board, and I found it very helpful. The second lesson was about getting up on the board, and the instructor's method was to guide the kite for you into a launching position and then just hand it to you. The result was being yanked violently forward, skittering across the water. In the third lesson, I was the only the student. The instructor, in addition to the lesson, was supervisor three other customers who came out and were kiteboarding on their own. (FYI this seems like an excellent service offered by NY Kite Center; I think it is nice they offer a system to supervise new kiters after they graduate from lessons but are still not completely proficient). The result was that I had a lot of alone time with the kite while the instructor was off with the other customers. Some might regard this as kind of annoying, but I actually found it very helplful to spend a lot of time guiding the kite. All in all, I would recommend this outfit if interested in learning to kiteboard. read more

the instructors have all the patience in the world and they needed it teaching me-their location utilizing the great south bay is a terrific location to learn-safe- steady winds - calm shallow water-no structures or buildings to deal with while launching or landing - now that I can ride and stay upwind -the bay is a lot of fun-no crowds -plenty of room for jumps and tricks(I am still working on this) read more