Abruzzo — Francavilla Foro to Tortuga Montesilvano

Francavilla ForoPescara PortanuovaMadonnina di PescaraTortuga Montesilvano

1. 

   Francavilla Foro

   sea · beginner ok

   Francavilla Foro is the Adriatic beach on the Foro stretch between Francavilla al Mare and Ortona, shared by kiters and windsurfers.

   intermediatemedium rigging room

   In seasonMay to Sep

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 10.3 kt in April, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   Francavilla Foro: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Francavilla Foro

   It is a south-wind spot. No proper wave forms here, and rocky breakwaters about 120 m out hold flat, lagoon-like water behind them, so on the right day it rides like a slalom course. Look at the gaps between those breakwaters before you go out through them. Summer is the real limit: the beach clubs and umbrellas take the sand and leave very little room to lay a kite down safely. It is one of the Abruzzo lesson beaches too, used from April to October alongside Porta Nuova and Madonnina depending on the wind. No average wind figures have ever been published for this beach, so the forecast is all you have to go on.

   Getting on the water

   Sandy beach on the Foro stretch between Francavilla al Mare and Ortona. The launch is medium-sized, and in summer the beach clubs leave very little of it.

   If it goes wrong

   Nothing kite-specific and no safety boat. The concession beaches have to run an organised lifeguard service through the bathing period, with at least one qualified assistente bagnanti per 150 m of beach front; the maritime-district ordinance on file for this coast sets that as 1 June to 15 September, 09:00 to 19:00, plus the last two weekends of May and of September from 09:30 to 18:30, dates written for the 2024 season and not confirmed for 2026. Outside those hours, and on the free beach, there is no cover. At sea the number is 1530, the coastguard's free emergency line, or 112.

   Rules and access

   Abruzzo's 2026 ordinanza balneare sets the bathing period as 23 May 2026 to 20 September 2026 and prohibits occupying beach areas with surf, windsurf and kitesurf equipment except in designated racks or authorised areas. The maritime-district safety ordinance for this coast reserves the first 300 m from the shoreline for bathing from 1 May to 15 October and bans transit and anchoring by any craft inside it, leaving launching and landing to an authorised launch corridor: a kite corridor must run at least 500 m offshore, be 30 m wide at the water's edge, widen to 80 m between 250 m and 500 m, be marked with yellow or orange buoys on a floating line, carry white flags at its seaward mouth, and be authorised by the comune. Bathing, separately from kiting, is banned where rivers and streams reach the sea, which covers the Foro mouth, and within 3 m of coastal defence works such as groynes and breakwaters. Concession beaches must run a lifeguard service in the bathing hours. The copy of that district ordinance in circulation is written for the 2024 season, so the dates need checking against the current year's text.

   Everything on Francavilla Foro

2. Pescara Portanuova

   sea

   Portanuova is the city beach immediately south of the Marina di Pescara, with parking, food and toilets a short walk from the sand.

   intermediateadvancedmedium rigging room

   In seasonno month named for this spot

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 10.3 kt in April, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   Pescara Portanuova: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Pescara Portanuova

   It runs on south wind, and it runs in autumn, winter and spring: from June to August the umbrellas and bathers take the beach, and the Abruzzo bathing season is set from 23 May 2026 to 20 September 2026. Inside the breakwaters the water goes flat to choppy; nearer the tourist harbour, left-breaking sets form and it becomes a small wave spot. Wind is mostly light, below 10 knots, and the riding area is hemmed in by the harbour wall and the breakwaters, so staying upwind is the whole job. Concrete, the mole and the wave breakers are the reason this is an intermediate and advanced beach. Do not make it your first spot ridden alone. Best months are unresolved: May through August also appears on record, which contradicts everything else known about summer here.

   Getting on the water

   Sandy medium-sized beach immediately south of the Marina di Pescara / tourist harbour, around Lungomare Papa Giovanni XXIII.

   If it goes wrong

   Nothing kite-specific. Through the bathing season the concessions along this stretch must run a lifeguard service, at least one qualified lifeguard per 150 m of sea frontage, the station carrying binoculars, fins, mask and snorkel and a rescue can or tube; the district ordinance the city publishes sets those hours at 09:00-19:00 from the start of June to mid-September, with the last two weekends of May and of September also covered. Free beaches get that cover only where the city has organised it, and outside the season there is none, which is exactly when this spot is ridden. A local kite school runs its own support rib for its lessons, which is not a public service. Sea emergencies: 1530 free at any hour, 112, the Pescara Coast Guard on 085 694040, or VHF channel 16.

   Rules and access

   The Abruzzo bathing ordinance sets the 2026 season from 23 May to 20 September. Skipping Portanuova in summer because of the umbrellas and the bathers is practical local guidance, not a legal ban. The bathing-safety ordinance for the Pescara maritime district, protocolled 29 March 2024 and replacing ordinance 40/2023, is still the version published by the city; it sets what a launch corridor must look like where one exists: at least 500 m deep for kitesurf against 300 m for other craft, 30 m wide at the water's edge, 80 m wide from 250 m out and holding that to 500 m, bounded by yellow or orange buoys on a floating line, no mooring to them, with a sign at the head reading that the corridor is closed to bathing. Kitesurfers may not use the corridors serving the small-fishing and leisure-craft launching areas, and those launching areas themselves are closed to them. Day-to-day kitesurf rules during the bathing season are deferred to a separate specific regulation, not contained in that ordinance. One local rule bites right here: along the Pescara Sud stretch between the Sabbia d'Oro and Canarie establishments the bathing-water limit is cut from 300 m to 200 m because of the approach and departure routes for the Marina di Pescara.

   Everything on Pescara Portanuova

3. 

   Madonnina di Pescara

   sea · beginner ok

   Madonnina is Pescara's home spot, a free beach called Arena del Mare on the north side of the harbour with parking straight onto the sand.

   intermediatemedium rigging room

   In seasonSep to Apr

   The model here carries the month's average wind rather than a count of windy days: it reaches 10.3 kt in April, the strongest month it models for this spot.

   Madonnina di Pescara: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Madonnina di Pescara

   It works only when the wind has north in it: north, north-west or north-east, which in practice means Maestrale, Tramontana or Grecale. The port mole sits offshore and kills the swell, so the water stays flat with some chop and the odd small wave, and the depth is under 1 m a long way out. That makes it a flat-water and wakeboard spot rather than a wave spot, and the season is September to April, not summer. The catch is the beach itself, which is free, urban and often dirty, so walk it before you put bare feet or a kite down. Coached beginners do fine; a first-timer on their own less so, with harbour structures close by. Kites in use are mostly 9 m and 12 m. Makai runs lessons here when the direction and the season suit.

   Getting on the water

   Free beach at Arena del Mare / Madonnina, immediately north of the Pescara port area, with parking directly on the spot.

   If it goes wrong

   No kite rescue. Arena del Mare is a free beach, and on free beaches the rescue service is the comune's to provide, in the periods and hours the maritime authority sets; where it cannot, it has to sign the beach with a notice that bathing is unsafe for lack of a rescue service. The district ordinance, as published, carries the 2024 calendar: manned posts from 1 June to 15 September, 09:00 to 19:00, plus the last two weekends of May and of September, one qualified lifeguard per 150 m of frontage, each post carrying a rescue can or tube, a lifejacket, a boat marked SALVATAGGIO kept at the waterline and 200 m of floating line. September to April, when this spot actually works, falls almost entirely outside that. At sea the free blue number is 1530 and the general emergency number is 112.

   Rules and access

   Abruzzo Ordinanza Balneare 2026 sets the bathing period as 23 May 2026 to 20 September 2026. The Pescara Capitaneria di Porto maritime safety ordinance, covering the comuni of Pescara, Montesilvano and Citta Sant'Angelo, requires any kitesurf launch corridor to be authorised by the competent municipality, at least 500 m deep and 30 m wide at the shoreline, widening to 80 m from 250 m out and holding that to 500 m, marked with yellow or orange buoys on a floating line and signed on the beach at its mouth. Kitesurfers are barred from the separate corridors and water areas reserved for launching small fishing and leisure craft. On free beaches the comune must provide the rescue service in the mandated periods and hours or post a notice that bathing is unsafe for lack of one. Day-to-day rules for kitesurf and the other recreational water activities during the bathing season are referred to a separate specific regulation not contained in this ordinance.

   Everything on Madonnina di Pescara

4. 

   Tortuga Montesilvano

   sea

   Tortuga is a kite and wingfoil beach on the north side of Pescara, right on the Montesilvano boundary, at the Surfing Sports base at Stabilimento Balneare Tortuga, Via Aldo Moro 21. It runs on northern-quadrant wind, NW through NE, and on nothing else.

   intermediateadvancedmedium rigging room

   In seasonMay to Sep

   1. JanJ10
   2. FebF9
   3. MarM5
   4. AprA10
   5. May, riders' monthM2
   6. Jun, riders' monthJ0
   7. Jul, riders' monthJ3
   8. Aug, riders' monthA3
   9. Sep, riders' monthS5
   10. OctO8
   11. NovN12
   12. DecD13

   modelled: days with three hours in a row at 12 kt or more, between 06:00 and 19:00 local

   Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

   The model is wrong here

   The modelled series peaks at 13% of days and never reaches 15% in any month, at a place that is ridden all season. The figures are drawn rather than dropped, and they are not the answer — the months riders name are.

   Tortuga Montesilvano: the long version, the launch and the rules

   More on Tortuga Montesilvano

   The water is choppy with small wave sets coming in on your right, and there is enough distance between the shoreline and the rocks to manoeuvre, though the breakwaters along this stretch want a wide berth. It is an intermediate spot rather than a place to teach yourself: no rescue cover is confirmed and nobody has recorded the kite sizes local riders use. May through September is the season on paper, but the Abruzzo bathing period runs 23 May to 20 September 2026 and the kitesurf rules for that window sit in a separate regulation that has not been published in detail. Water is 26.6 C in August and 12.8 C in January, so the cold-season northerly days are full-wetsuit days.

   Getting on the water

   Beach at Stabilimento Balneare Tortuga on Via Aldo Moro, at the Montesilvano-Pescara boundary by the Surfing Sports centre, with enough distance between the shoreline and rocks to manoeuvre.

   If it goes wrong

   Nothing is organised for kitesurfers. What exists is the bathing-season duty the maritime ordinance places on beach concessions: at least one qualified lifeguard per 150 m of sea frontage, more where groynes block the view, a station placed to see the whole stretch it covers and equipped with binoculars, fins, mask and snorkel, a rescue can or tube, and a rafting-type helmet for interventions near breakwaters and groynes, which is what this shoreline is made of. In the 2024 edition of the ordinance the duty ran the last two weekends of May, then daily 09:00-19:00 from 1 June to 15 September, then the last two weekends of September; those dated weekends shift each year. When the service is off, a red flag goes up and a sign warns that swimming is unsafe. At sea the numbers are 1530 for the coastguard and 112.

   Rules and access

   The document that governs launching here is the maritime safety ordinance for the Pescara district, signed in Pescara on 29 March 2024 and covering the comuni of Pescara, Montesilvano and Citta Sant'Angelo. A launch corridor needs a municipal authorisation, and one usable by kitesurfers must run at least 500 m offshore, measure 30 m wide at the water's edge and 80 m wide from 250 m out to its seaward end, be marked with yellow or orange buoys joined by floating line at intervals of no more than 20 m over the first 100 m and no more than 50 m beyond that, carry white flags on the outermost buoys and a sign ashore reading that bathing is prohibited and the corridor is reserved for craft in transit. Inside the corridor, swimming, stopping, mooring and anchoring are banned, sailing craft including sailboards must pass with maximum care, and motor craft are held to 3 knots. The slipway areas municipalities set aside for launching small fishing and leisure boats, and the corridors serving them, may not be used by surfers or kitesurfers at all. Day-to-day rules for windsurf, kitesurf and the rest during the bathing season are left to a separate regulation that this ordinance does not contain. The Abruzzo regional bathing period for 2026 runs 23 May to 20 September 2026.

   Everything on Tortuga Montesilvano

• Abruzzo Airport (PSR), Pescara — about 4 km from the city centre; Ryanair, Wizz Air and Luxair routes (2026)

Kite bag rules for your airline

Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.

Known for Italy:RyanaireasyJet

Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →

1. Summer is the weak season for wind, not the strong one. The thermal here rarely gets past 10-15 knots and the more dependable thermal belt sits further south around Fossacesia and Vasto, so a July or August week on this strip can end with two or three sessions and a lot of waiting.

   consensus×4 riders

2. In July and August the beach is the constraint, not the wind. The strip is packed, at Francavilla the beach clubs leave almost no space to rig, and the free-beach launches only really function outside those two months.

   consensus×4 riders

3. Breakwaters define the riding and irritate everyone. South of the harbour there are long rock barriers you have to stay upwind of, and at Francavilla the barrier roughly 120 metres out turns the inside into a shallow flat lagoon with gaps of about 30 metres if you want to get through.

   consensus×3 riders

4. The wind splits by town, so the answer is to move the car rather than wait at one beach: Pescara city runs on the garbino coming off the land, Francavilla wants scirocco, and the maestrale end of the deal is down at Fossacesia and Vasto.

   majority×3 riders

5. The Madonnina next to the harbour is the reference launch for northerly quadrants, and it stays flat because the harbour breakwater kills the swell; when it does build a metre of shore break the local move is to cross to the other side of the port, which is more sheltered.

   majority×3 riders

6. As a place to fly to for a wind holiday it gets talked out of: the standing counter-suggestion for anyone planning a week is the Gargano or the Conero, both a few hours away and both with more summer wind.

   majority×2 riders

7. The local scene is small, friendly and worth using: the repeated practical tip for a first visit is to get to the Ponte del Mare and ask the people already there how the launches and corridors work, rather than guessing off a map.

   majority×2 riders

8. Water and sand quality is not uniform and the accounts do not line up: the sand by the harbour is often dirty enough to be worth watching where you put your feet, while the Montesilvano end comes out as clear and the stretch south of the harbour merely clean.

   contested×3 riders

• Pescara was almost entirely destroyed by Allied bombing in WWII and rebuilt as a modern city, which is why it has little historic old-town architecture compared to other Adriatic towns.
• Francavilla al Mare was a late-19th-century artists' colony around painter Francesco Paolo Michetti, who hosted Gabriele D'Annunzio there.

What we could not settle. Ride here? These are the gaps worth filling.

• Is 'Abruzzo — Francavilla Foro to Tortuga Montesilvano' the name riders actually use for this area?
• No sourced example accommodation or food prices for the 2026 season.
• Which venues along Corso Manthoné do riders go to?
• No confirmed rider-specific hangout (kite school or shop) for the social scene.