diff --git a/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go b/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go
index f4e0064d0f..99f0043346 100644
--- a/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go
+++ b/cmd/kops/create_cluster.go
@@ -442,7 +442,11 @@ func RunCreateCluster(f *util.Factory, out io.Writer, c *CreateClusterOptions) e
 			}
 		}
 		if cluster.Spec.CloudProvider == "" {
-			return fmt.Errorf("unable to infer CloudProvider from Zones (is there a typo in --zones?)")
+			if allZones.Len() == 0 {
+				return fmt.Errorf("must specify --zones or --cloud")
+			} else {
+				return fmt.Errorf("unable to infer CloudProvider from Zones (is there a typo in --zones?)")
+			}
 		}
 	}