I’m Craig Aasen, the founder of Adventure Travel Company.
My wife gave me my first kite as a birthday gift years ago. I had no idea at the time that it would change how I travel, how I spend time on the water, and eventually what I would build professionally.
This started the way a lot of kite stories start — with a kite.
The Origin
Why I Built This
After enough trips you start to notice the pattern.
The wind might be great. Everything around it often isn’t.
Long drives to launches. Gear crammed into rental cars. Trying to figure out where to rig or who to ask about conditions.
Sometimes it’s the house itself — too many people sharing too little space, six people waiting on one bathroom, or unclear expectations about meals and group logistics.
Other times it’s the spot. You arrive somewhere new and spend half the day wondering if you’re even allowed to ride there. Are there local rules? Do you need a pass or a key to access the launch? Is there a gate you didn’t know about?
The harder I tried to create a great week of riding, the more time I spent solving logistics instead of actually riding.
My professional background is in systems and data engineering. Most of my career has been spent building systems that need to function reliably even when conditions change. At some point I realized adventure trips could be designed the same way.
Launch access close to where you stay. A dedicated rigging area ready to go. Clear communication before guests arrive. A small group of riders who understand why they’re there.
Adventure Travel Company grew out of that idea. Not a rental house. Not a lesson package. A purpose-built environment for riding, learning, and meaningful time on the water.
The Kite Journey
How Cape Hatteras Became Home Water
Like most riders, I started out just trying to figure it out. Over time kiteboarding became the thing that shaped how I travel and where I spend time.
Cape Hatteras, and the sound in Avon in particular, kept pulling me back. It’s one of the rare wind destinations where beginners, progressing riders, and experienced kiters can all ride in the same week and still find the conditions they need.
Spend enough time there and you begin to understand the rhythms of the place — the wind patterns, the launches that work in different directions, and the weeks when everything seems to line up.
That local experience turned into something larger: an environment where other riders could have the same kind of week without spending half their time solving logistics.
The Design
What the Experience Is Designed to Do
Adventure Travel Company experiences are structured around one idea: remove the friction that gets in the way of a great week on the water.
Launch access is simple. The home base is calm and organized. The group stays intentionally small. And the week is structured to make good use of changing wind conditions.
Independent riders ride on their own schedule. Learners join a structured Immersion week, with instruction through Outer Banks Kiting. Either way, your time goes to the water rather than the logistics.
Two Ways to Join
The Immersion Experience
For first-time and early-stage riders. A structured week of coaching that starts where you are.
The Soundfront Experience
For riders who already ride on their own. Launch from the property, rig on-site, and ride when it’s on.
The Philosophy
I Don’t Promise Perfect Wind.
No honest kite host does. What Adventure Travel Company is designed to do is make good use of whatever conditions show up.
The home base, the launch access, the structure of the week, and the host presence are all built around that reality. When the wind is on, you’re already where you need to be. When it’s not, you’re still somewhere the week feels worthwhile.
We design experiences that remove friction and uncertainty so guests can focus on meaningful time, real progression, and a great week on the water.
The Hosting Model
A Hosted Environment
Every week includes a dedicated host whose job is to keep the experience running smoothly — from reading local conditions to keeping the rhythm of the house and helping guests make the most of their time.
Sometimes that host is me.
As the company grows, you’ll also see trained hosts running weeks with the same structure and playbook the experience was built around.
The goal has always been bigger than one person hosting trips. The goal is an environment that works.
Our Partner
Instruction by Outer Banks Kiting
Every Immersion week is coached by Outer Banks Kiting, a kiteboarding school based in Avon and led by owner Jay Crawford. Their instructors are certified and fully insured, and the school has been in the kiteboarding industry for 18 years.
I chose them because they teach the way I want our guests to learn: small sessions, the right equipment, boat and jet ski support on the water, and coaching that starts from where you are.
Certified, fully insured instructors. Local knowledge of Hatteras wind and water. 18 years in the kiteboarding industry.
Ready to See What a Week Looks Like?
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