Depends... if you are getting a lesson for an IKO instructor it will cost more because of insurance and stuff but for a normal lesson about $140 for a 2 hour lesson with all equipment supplied. I only needed one lesson but i had wake boarded before so already had sufficient board skills.

See this thread

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=35978

Particularly the comments from Darren (Kitehard)

Hey drowned rat,
those prices as mentioned above are most likely in a group environment(2 people) being standard and pretty reasonable. In that setup you will normally need 6 hours or 3 lessons if done in 2 hour blocks which comes to around 450.

heres some food for thought, make sure they are iko, and seek out one on one, Schools who teach one on one generally charge 200 or 220 for 2 or 2 and half hours respecticvely. Heres the clincher though. Because its private, the lessons move much smoother, are safer and you will generally get to the same level in 2 lots of lessons as you do in 3 lots in a group. If you do the maths you will discover its slightly(ever so slightly) cheaper and you have an instructor to yourself. I personally beleive its a sport which can only be taught properly and safely in a one on one environment(opened up a can of worms here im sure). Ill admit now that I own a school and run it in the above manner. I taught for several years previous in group format from 2 to 4 students at times but wonder why I didnt go one on one way earlier. The benefits for students and schools simply just leaves any other format in the dust.

Just food for thought.

hi Rat
a couple of hours 1 on one to start with is an excellent investment.
you may also find that the kite shop where u buy your kite from will offer Free ongoing advice/training to help you progress. they are usually at the beach anyways - and can keep an eye on you - offer a few choice words of wisdom/advice to help.
this worked really well for me personally
however some newbs prefer the complete 'hand held' approach right thru to keeping upwind.
if you have previous board riding skills you may be happy to pay for a few hours instruction to learn the safety aspects, then get body dragging.
once u r on your feet the choice is yours.

Hey Foosh,

You're right, helmet radios are a great teaching tool. We have been using them for the last couple of years and they have completely changed the way we teach and the results we get.

They are essential as soon as you get up to body dragging level and beyond. As you drag away downwind, an instructor can't keep up with you which means you no longer have a clear communication with your instructor.

We can correct bad form as the lesson is progressing in "real time" whilst the student is making mistakes rather than waiting for the student to catch up with the instructor and explain the mistakes he made and then go and have another go. It cuts lesson 2 and 3 in half in respect of time taken to achieve the same results with the non radio method.

If we have radio trouble or a battery goes flat and we have to go back to the old method, even for 5 minutes whilst we change batteries, it creates stress for our instructors as we can't offer that instant calming instruction to our students to "talk them through" difficult situations, like a tangled bridle and a looping kite for instance.

For us, it's the only way to go.

Good winds,