Welcome to the real world..
I gotta say head up north, soon ,all the way up to Ants Kite surfari.
Pretty much guaranteed wind, shallow warm water, plenty of beach to practice launch/land.
No crowds. Ant ( or really any one up there ) will be happy to give you pointers
Last time I was there this Kiwi chick was up and riding after two days, she put the effort in.
You need constant steady wind to get a quick idea of the sport.
Cheers Billy.

I'm an experienced kiter but if I was recommending :Exmouth kite centre: I'd put a good instructor ahead of a location, top instructor in a top spot,

You want big flats so when you crash you can stand up and get your board.
Learning while my being able to stand is the worst

welcome to our sport Fos.

Dedicating a whole week to learning to kite is an excellent idea, as long as you get the right conditions as well. Unless you are in far far North QLD in winter or in WA in the middle of summer it's pretty hard to garantee a whole week of quality wind.

shallow water locations are obviously easier to learn in and also where most schools will operate anyways. The issue with the majority of kite schools who operate in shallow water is they specialize in cutting corners and their main priority is to get you on the board. They also often offer group lessons which isn't an efficient way to learn.

So far with a lack of regulations with regards to the teaching approach schools are free to teach as they please. In theory all schools should teach each of their student to become a safe and independ kiter capable of coping with deep water environments and capable of getting out of trouble. In practice it's a whole other story...

You can measure that quality of your training by how independently and how safely you can practice the sport once your lessons are over and NOT only by how many meters you can ride the board without falling

As Cauncy said a good instructor is more important than "the best location". A good instructor would refuse to teach you in a bad location or in bad conditions.... Where as cheap popular schools would teach you in crap winds... And often In groups and in overcrowded areas.

Christian

for the reasons that Christian (cbulota) pointed out
give melbourne a miss
my woman tried to learn there
the lessons kept getting postponed
then they had her out in a crowded beach in gusty winds

You can't go past WA in the summertime
west oz wind near rockingham is a great school in a great location
but if you wanna go zero to hero in a week
the only guy that can get you there is Christian.
He teaches at Pinnaroo point

Also don't worry about your gear,
all the schools will lend it to you while you're learning

cauncy said..
I'm an experienced kiter but if I was recommending :Exmouth kite centre: I'd put a good instructor ahead of a location, top instructor in a top spot,

Thanks for the recommendation kind sir We do indeed have perfect conditions for you to learn in, warm, flat water with steady cross-on wind almost everyday in season. We can even tailor you a holiday package that means all you have to do is fly in and we will fully look after you. If you are interested and want to hear more just give me a call or get in touch through the website at www.exmouthkitecentre.com.au

Tom

Hi again been in negotiations with the minister for war and finance.

Sorry but Exmouth is too far north and the overnight temps would not be appreciated by her.

So it looks like I can get away with Perth probably want week December before school holidays.

Thanks everyone for your comments

It all depends whether you want quantity over quality. I know people who have taught kitesurfing in Mui Ne and have heard of some shocking practices.

I wouldn't go to mui ne if I were you, I went a little further north of Mui Ne in February because it's supposedly better. but it was crap, the wind was inconsistent,
I would say not a suitable environment for learners

Go to Vietnam for a holiday, it's a bit like thailand
Come to Perth to learn kiting, you won't regret it

FoS said..

Sandfoot said..
Also came from windsurfing, had lessons and then trial and error style learning, wasted time in hindsight, I would go wa or too someone like kite right in cairns, basically pick the best month for wind for the location. Some mates went to mu nai in Vietnam for two weeks and came back riding, small jumps, gybes. confidently no probs, what too me about a year to learn

Been looking at this
I can get 2weeks in mui ne for same price as perth
anyone else got input?

I spent 3 weeks in mui ne (and similar perth & exmouth) and I can say a few things:

Exmouth - stunning blue water/white sand & reef location - well worth the visit. Gotta go once in your life, up there with aus's best.
Cons - getting there, beer very expensive.

Mui Ne - great food, great beach bars, kiteboys with compressed air on beach etc makes it pretty nice.
Cons - pretty dirty in general, whole area stinks of fish, likely to get bali belly, loud bars etc depending on where you stay, russians, etc. I almost stepped on syringe on beach. Beach is very thin, especially at high tide & where you are on the strip, launching kites over beach furniture etc. Brown water.

I saw some dodgy learning practises there. Really tough way to learn. Beginners in big puffy pfds launched off the upwind end of the beach in 25kts and big chop, on their own till they'd send a rescue boat when they were disappearing out of sight up the other end.