If you want guaranteed wind, warm water and an endless coast to explore, northeast Brazil is the place. Along the state of Ceará and its neighbours, the trade winds blow almost every single day for months, the water is bath-warm, and the whole culture is built around the downwinder: launch, ride 20 kilometres down the coast with the wind at your back, and catch a buggy ride home. For many riders it is the most dependable kitesurfing region on the planet.
The wind: the Alísios
The wind is the Alísios, the southeasterly trade winds that sweep along Brazil's northeast coast. From roughly August to December they blow with astonishing consistency, side-onshore and steady, typically 18 to 28 knots and topped up by an afternoon thermal. The dry-season skies stay clear, the wind fills in through the morning and holds until sunset, and you can book a two-week trip and reasonably expect to ride every day. That relentless, downwind-friendly wind is what sets the region apart. A steady 18 to 25 knots is classic 9 and 12 metre territory.
Cumbuco and Taíba: the classics
Cumbuco, about 40 minutes from Fortaleza, is the gateway and the most developed spot: a long beach, the freshwater Cauípe lagoon for flat-water freestyle, schools everywhere, and easy access. Down the coast, Taíba and Paracuru are quieter, with their own lagoons and a more laid-back scene. These are the spots most people ride first, and the jumping-off point for downwinders heading up the coast.
Jericoacoara and Preá: the dream
Further northwest, Jericoacoara is the iconic one: a former fishing village set among giant dunes inside a national park, no paved roads, sunsets watched from the sand, and a famous mix of wave and flat. The wind funnels hard here. Right next door, Preá is the flat-water counterpart, a long beach of butter-flat water that has become a freestyle and foil magnet. Together they are the classic Ceará pilgrimage.
The flat-water lagoons
For pure flat water, the region is unmatched. Ilha do Guajiru and Icaraí de Amontada sit on enormous lagoons that go mirror-flat at low tide, drawing freestylers and foilers who want to train without a scrap of chop. These are the spots that turn a wind-sure holiday into a proper skills camp.
When to go
The season runs July to January, with the most reliable wind from August to December and the strongest in September and October. It is, once again, the northern-hemisphere off-season, which is why Ceará fills with European and North American riders through the autumn. The water is warm all year, around 26 to 28°C, so you ride in boardshorts or a shorty with no wetsuit.
Before you go
Fly into Fortaleza for the Cumbuco and Taíba side, then transfer up the coast (around five hours by road, or a short regional flight) for Jericoacoara. The buggy-and-driver downwind culture means you rarely need your own car: schools and pousadas arrange transfers and downwind pickups. Bring a mid-to-large quiver, since steady 18 to 25 knot wind suits a 9 and a 12, with a 7 for the windiest October afternoons.
Check the live Cumbuco forecast or the Jericoacoara conditions to see how the Alísios are blowing before you go.