Flyboard Activities around the Bay

Flyboard in Puerto Vallarta:  If you see someone attached to a hose flying around out on the water, you’re not losing your mind. It’s called hydrolifting and it’s done on a flyboard, the apparatus on which the flyer stands. This is a crazy sport that has caught on fast in Puerto Vallarta. The approximate cost is around $100 per person for a half hour session but this differs, depending on where you are along the coastline. You really don’t want longer than a short session, unless you’re in remarkable physical shape. You can attain heights of ten feet above the water, which doesn’t seem like a lot until you’re flying along looking down. It’s not for those afraid of heights, anyone with neck, back or knee problems, and pregnant women. Locally one must be 12 years of age and minors accompanied by an adult and you also can’t weight in excess of 250 pounds (114 kg).

Hydrolifting hasn’t been around for too long. It was invented in 2012 by Franky Zapata, a French water enthusiast who apparently wasn’t getting the thrills he desired on his Jet Skis. He devised boots on a board like a snowboard, with jet nozzles underneath that thrust the rider into the air, where they can dance around and dive headfirst into the sea, using underfoot propulsion and hand stabilization. The massive jets make you feel like you’re surfing in mid-air.

If you’re determined to give hydrolifting/flyboarding in Puerto Vallarta a try, we have some tips: Keep your feet level and lock your legs letting the water pressure raise you off the surface. Keep your distance from the Jet Ski and stand in the water with the flyboard directly beneath. Allow yourself the patience to practice and remember to point your toes down to go forward and up to head backward. These are simple moves but easily forgotten once you’re moving up in the air. Lifting knees is the key to moving to the left and right. You can’t make yourself go higher; the instructor will increase your height by increasing the water pressure, when they think you’re ready.  Once you’re up, focus on something in the distance. It will help keep your balance.  If you know you’re going to crash, and you will be immediately aware, dive headfirst, just like you learned in early swim classes. Do your best Greg Louganis impression and you’ll lessen the shock to your system crashing through the surface of the water.

Enjoy the adrenaline rush and don’t overdo; you don’t want to be aching while on vacation in Puerto Vallarta.

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