KITE ATLAS / CHASE THE WIND

Want to ride.
Not sure where?

Start with your travel month. See the spots with the most qualifying days in ten years of wind history.

Find my next spot

Bozcaada · Paros · El Gouna · Limnos

01 / YOUR NEXT SESSION STARTS HERE

Where could you ride?

Pick a month and a wind window. We will show the strongest historical matches from the destinations we have analyzed.

80 SPOTS
10 YEARS OF HISTORY
More filters

Level and water filters include only descriptions supported by the profile sources. Unverified spots do not pass these filters. Beginner lesson settings are conditional; check the specific launch with a local operator. Temperatures are regional estimates.

A qualifying day has at least 15 kn at 10 m during daylight for the selected window. These are regional ERA5 estimates, not measured beach conditions or a future forecast. Local wind can differ from the model. Historical peaks and source details are available in each spot’s details.

Finding spots…

Local thermal breezes, terrain and wind direction can change the ride at a beach. Check local conditions before you travel. Favorites are saved on this device.Explore the full wind calendar
80 SPOTS · 10 YEARS OF HISTORY
WIND THRESHOLD
≥ 15knots☀ in daylight
MINIMUM DURATION / DAY

Loading historical hourly records…

Updated on the 1st of every month. Last update:

02 / WIND CALENDAR

Top 10 destinations

Days meeting your threshold · 10-year monthly average

REGIONAL ERA5 RANKING Local breezes and wind acceleration can change the actual ranking of spots. View methodology and station checks

Eligible days + average wind in kn. Avg. air temperature = 24-hour average; avg. water temperature = regional sea surface temperature, in °C. Averages for 2016–2025. — = unavailable. Choose your ranking metric above.

03 / SEASONALITY

When should you go?

Compare days with a wind window, month by month.

Select a spot name to highlight its line. Select it again to show all selected spots.

Days / %: your ≥15 kn, 5–6 hour filter. Kn: average across all daylight hours, including below 15 kn. Avg. air temperature: 24-hour average. Avg. water temperature: NOAA monthly sea surface averages. Tap a month for values; these are historical averages.

04 / HOW MUCH DOES IT VARY BETWEEN YEARS?

Spot history

The average does not tell the whole story. These are the counts for each year.

The min–max ranges describe the 10 analyzed years; they are not confidence intervals and do not include model error.

05 / BEHIND THE NUMBERS

One rule. A fair comparison.

Reproducible calculations from hourly data. Sources and limitations explained.

ERA5 · 0.25° · 2016–2025
01

What we count

A day qualifies when wind speed at 10 m stays at or above 15 kn for a 5- or 6-hour window between sunrise and sunset. We use wind speed, excluding gusts.

For 6 hours we require 7 consecutive hourly values above the threshold; for 5 hours, 6 values. These span 6 and 5 hours respectively, without establishing conditions between samples. Cumulative mode adds one-hour intervals with both endpoints meeting the criteria.

02

How we compare

The same model is used for all 80 analyzed destinations. A monthly average equals qualifying days in that calendar month across 2016–2025, divided by 10. The annual total is the sum of the 12 monthly averages.

Average kn is the arithmetic mean of wind speeds across all daylight hours, including below 15 kn. It is independent of session duration. The annual average is weighted by valid hours rather than a simple average of the 12 monthly means.

Records use each spot’s local day, including time zone and daylight saving time. Rankings update for the selected month, duration, region and sorting metric. Favorites are saved locally on each device. The Canary Islands are always included in the catalog and grouped under Europe / Spain for browsing. Search “Canary Islands” to find them. Coverage now includes North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The selection is curated and does not represent every kite beach in these regions.

03

What the numbers mean

Regional reanalysis estimates, not days measured on the beach. The ERA5 grid, approximately 25 km, can miss thermal breezes, terrain effects and acceleration in straits. Actual grid coordinates are shown for each spot.

Values are not adjusted to match a spot’s reputation. A low result at Garda, La Ventana, Paracas or El Médano may reflect model limitations. The filter does not assess direction, waves, cold, access or excessive wind.

Air & water · 2016–2025

Air: ERA5 temperature at 2 m, averaged over 24-hour days. Water: NOAA/NCEI OISST v2.1, 120 monthly means from daily sea surface temperature analyses, distributed by NOAA PSL. Monthly, annual and per-year means are weighted by the number of days represented. Months use UTC; temperatures are independent of the 15 kn threshold and session duration.

For water we select the nearest marine grid cell with all 120 months valid, within the spot’s 3×3 neighborhood and no further than 50 km. Coordinates and distance are shown in the details. SST is a regional reference: lagoons and nearshore water may differ. The marine series does not describe Lake Garda, so we show —.

Air source: ERA5 / Open-Meteo · Water source: NOAA/NCEI OISST v2.1 / PSL

Raw temperature data & calculation script · ZIP
Sources consulted & their roles
Cross-check with national station observations

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE ATLAS

Built by kiteboarders.
Driven by the wind.

Kite Atlas grew out of shared sessions, conversations on the beach and a simple question: where should we ride next?

Rooted in the AKA kiteboarding community, we bring that curiosity to every spot we explore.

In collaboration withAKA — natural born flyersExplore The Spot