MapIsraelAshdodIsrael

Ashdod

beginner-friendlysociablecar neededgear rentalmid-range

Under the radar

External renown — how known this place is in the kite world. Not a quality rating.

1 spot 4 schools

When to comeMay to SepWindiest modelled monthFebruary · 7.8 kt · Ashdod / Kshtot BeachThe short answers

On this page

The feel of the place

Ashdod is a working port city 32km south of Tel Aviv, not a resort town - you go for the wind and the wide open sandy coastline, not for atmosphere. It suits kiters who want space, a local (not touristy) scene, and easy day access to Tel Aviv rather than a holiday base in its own right.

The short answers

The essentials before the detail

When to come

May to Sep

The spot here is in season then

January, 0 spots in season.
February, 0 spots in season.
March, 0 spots in season.
April, 0 spots in season.
May, 1 spot in season.
June, 1 spot in season.
July, 1 spot in season.
August, 1 spot in season.
September, 1 spot in season.
October, 0 spots in season.
November, 0 spots in season.
December, 0 spots in season.

Filled months: the season the spot here names.

Windiest modelled month

February · 7.8 kt · Ashdod / Kshtot Beach

The month the wind model rates highest; the season above is when riders and schools go.

modelled

the month's average wind in February at Ashdod / Kshtot Beach, the strongest month any spot here models

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. What it holds here is the month's average wind, month by month; it does not count how many days carry a three-hour window at 12 kt.

What it costs

mid-range

Cheap snack meal from about ₪15

Schools

in the directory

Getting there

1 airport

car effectively required

Getting there & around

Permits & rules

1 spot

with a rule of its own for permits, zoning or the bathing season, on the conditions below

The rule at each spot

Where to ride

1 spot

mixed water

Levels this spot suits

beginnerintermediateadvanced

The conditions in full

Good to know before you go 2

Public transport and most businesses close for Shabbat (roughly Friday afternoon to Saturday evening) - a day-trip from Tel Aviv on Shabbat is much harder to arrange.
The port is a working freight port, not a tourist harbor - don't expect a marina scene here.

Conditions

1 spot · Ashdod / Kshtot Beach

Getting on the water Rules & access Wind Water

Location and water

HaKshatot is Ashdod's central city beach and a real kite launch, with a water-sports club on the sand and surf schools either side of it. This is open Mediterranean riding: chop and waves, no lagoon, no long shallow shelf, and you are past standing depth quickly.

Seasonal timing

The strongest case for a season is May to September, when the count of days over 12 kt is highest, though other spot pages put the best months elsewhere. Summer days run on the afternoon sea breeze; outside summer you are waiting for a front.

Facilities and navigation

The beach itself is a declared Blue Flag bathing beach with lifeguard hours in season, toilets, accessibility, paid parking, restaurants behind the sand.

Israel's largest commercial port sits immediately north, which is the thing to have clear in your head before you go downwind. Ask the Ashdod kite club or Waves where people are launching that day, because there is no marked kite corridor to fall back on.

Getting on the water

The launchSandy urban beach on Ashdod's central promenade, with restaurants and beach-sport areas behind the sand, night lighting, showers, changing rooms and paid parking.Zones and rulesA surf club sits at Mapkura 6 and a water-sports club at Mapkura 1. The declared bathing beach here is a defined box: 150 m of shoreline extending 200 m out to sea. Launching and riding have to happen clear of it and clear of the people in it, and on a busy weekend that leaves less room than the beach's width suggests. Do not pump up without a clean, empty corridor.

If it goes wrongMunicipal lifeguards during the bathing season only, covering the declared bathing beach, and they are not a kite rescue. 2026 hours run April 08:00-16:30, May-June 07:00-18:00, July-August 07:00-19:00, September 07:00-18:00 and October 07:00-17:00. Nothing kite-specific exists: ride with somebody, plan the downwind exit before you launch, and know that the national ambulance number is 101 and police 100.

Room to rigok

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no Ashdod municipal kite zoning, permit or kite-specific seasonal ban was found. What binds you is national law. HaKshatot is a declared bathing place under the 2004 bathing-places order, defined there as 150 m of shoreline extending 200 m seaward. Inside a declared bathing place the 2016 orders-and-prohibitions order bans wave boards and sail boards outright (section 28) and confines sport to areas allocated for it (section 26); kites are not named in either clause, which is why local practice is to stay well outside the bathing box rather than to rely on a written kite permission.

The same 2004 order separately prohibits bathing at Ashdod Port, Ashdod Marina, Metzuda, the stretch south of Riviera Beach and the Nahal Lachish sections.

Check the day's arrangement with local riders or a beach club before rigging.

Wind

Charactermixed wind

TypicalIt starts working around 12 kt and is best between about 16 and 24 kt. May to September delivers 26-30 days a month over 12 kt; January, November and December drop to 7-9. The raw monthly average of 5-6 kt is not a planning number, because it averages in the calm nights and the flat mornings.

Dominant directionN is rated the best direction and arrives side-onshore; the warm-season sea breeze is W to NW. N, S, SSW, SW and W/NW are all listed as usable, and winter and spring fronts add stronger S and SW.

Angle to shoreSide-onshore. The coast here faces west, so the warm-season sea breeze from W to NW comes in onshore to cross-on, and the northerlies that are rated best run side-onshore along the beach.

Fills inAn afternoon spot in the warm season: the sea breeze is what makes it rideable, so plan for the second half of the day rather than the morning. Frontal wind outside summer follows the system rather than the clock.

Kite sizesOn the 16-24 kt days worth driving for, a 75-85 kg rider is on a 12 m through the lower half of that band and a 9 m through the upper half; a 7 m only comes out when a front pushes past 25 kt.Below about 14 kt it is a foil or big-kite afternoon rather than a twin-tip one.Chart-derived planning sizes for the spot's wind band, not published local club practice.

QualityAfternoon sea breeze through the warm season, and less predictable frontal wind outside it. The exact onset hour here is unconfirmed, because no local school or federation publishes one.

Best monthsMay · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep

SeasonMay through September is the strong run: 26-30 windy days a month on a 12 kt threshold, which is 4 Bft. The monthly average wind-speed table for this coast says 5-6 kt, but it leaves the thermal out and is no use for planning.A rival reading puts the best months at January-June plus November-December, on both thermal and frontal wind, which does not square with the May-September peak. Check the forecast and a live station before driving, because this open coast goes light or gusty outside the thermal window.

Water

Typemixed water

Standing depthVariable depth straight off the beach, with rock and reef in places. There is no lagoon and no long shallow shelf here - you are past standing depth quickly, which is part of why the spot is rated for intermediates rather than for a first independent session. No measured standing depth is published.

TidesTide is not a planning factor. The Mediterranean range here is about a foot. High water gets called the marginally better state, but the swell, the wind and the state of the bathing zone decide the session.

Summer, °C: 27.6
Winter, °C: 19.2

WetsuitBoardshorts or rash vest in peak summer; a spring suit or 3/2 is commonly sensible for winter sessions when average water is about 18–19 °C and wind chill matters.

CurrentsWeak at the beach itself, under 1 kt over a sandy bottom. The real drift hazard is structural rather than tidal: the commercial port to the north, the marina, and the groynes and rock on the adjacent beaches.

NotesAn open Mediterranean city beach with chop and waves that run from small to big. There is no lagoon here whatever the tags say, and no shallow shelf at the launch.Water averages 27.6 °C in summer and 19.2 °C in winter, with August at 29.2 °C and February at 17.7 °C.HaKshatot is a declared Blue Flag beach:toilets,accessibility,fitness gear,paid parking,cafes,restaurants behind the sand,lifeguards through the bathing season.

Schools

4 in the directory

SkyLight SeaSchool

IKO

Doeslessons · camp

RidesAshdod / Kshtot Beach

SpeaksHebrew

skylight-seaschool.com

Kite Station Ashdod

Doeslessons · rental · shop

RidesAshdod / Kshtot Beach

SpeaksHebrew

kitestation.co.il

Waves Surf Club Ashdod

Doeslessons · rental · storage · camp · shop · wing

RidesAshdod / Kshtot Beach

SpeaksHebrew

waves-il.com

Ashdod Marine Kite Surf Club

Doesrental · storage

RidesAshdod / Kshtot Beach

SpeaksHebrew

Getting there & around

Nearest airports

Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), about 40 minutes by car or train

Car

Car neededNot essential for the city itself, but useful for reaching the beach with gear and for day trips; no dedicated ferry/cruise passenger service (the port is mainly freight).

Transfers

Train runs roughly every 30 minutes from Tel Aviv to Ashdod Ad Halom station, with local buses onward to the beach/downtown; direct buses also run from Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beer Sheva to the central bus station.

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.

Your airline

Checked so far for Israel:Qatar Airways Emirates

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

Practical

LanguageHebrew primary; English generally understood, especially with younger locals and in tourist-facing businesses.

VisaMost Western nationalities (EU, North America, Australia, etc.) use the electronic ETA-IL, valid 90 days, applied for online.

Costsmid-rangeCheap snack meal from about ₪15Mid-range restaurant meal ₪40-100Beachfront hotel rooms around ₪250-300/night

Seasons beyond windShabbat (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) shuts down public transport and most shops/restaurants - plan around it. Peak Israeli domestic tourist crowding is July-August.

Cash & cards

MoneyIsraeli new shekel (ILS); cost of living in Israeli cities is high by regional standards.

Internet & working

SIM & internetLocal SIM cards widely available; Type H power outlets.

Health & safety

SafetyNo specific concerns noted for Ashdod itself in general travel sources; check current regional travel advisories given the wider security situation.

What riders say

8 recurring claims

The tag says how far the riders who mention it agree; the figure is how many mention it.

The season here runs the wrong way round from the brochure: the beach is worked from November through June, the big days are winter frontal storms, and high summer is the lighter, thermal half of the year
consensus4 riders
It is a wave beach when it matters - chop on an average day, medium to big surf on the storm days - and strapless wave riding is what people actually film here
consensus3 riders
Israel's kite season runs roughly April-October, peak May-September, driven by the NW thermal sea breeze locally called 'Erez'
strong2 riders
Wind direction is all over the compass here - north, south, southwest and south-southwest all work - which is why the beach gets used across so much of the year
majority2 riders
Space is not the problem, timing is - the beach is big and sandy and quiet midweek, then fills up at weekends, and swimmers rather than hardware are the hazard people flag
majority2 riders

Show all 8 claims

Practicalities are unusually easy for a city beach: parking sits right in front on the north side of the marina, and there are showers plus a gear and repair shop at the beach itself
majority2 riders
Wind probability is generally considered better further south in Israel (e.g. Eilat) than around Tel Aviv/Ashdod, riders report
mixed1 rider
Whether tide matters is genuinely disputed - one set of entries calls the spot tide-independent, another says it is best at high water
contested2 riders

The trade-off

Pros

Wide open sandy coastline with plenty of space, unlike more built-up Tel Aviv beaches
228 windy days/year cited regionally, with ~30 usable days in August alone
Consistent thermal wind pattern in season

Cons

Working port city, not a resort - 'you go for the wind ... not for atmosphere'
Limited dedicated community/school presence found specifically in Ashdod versus Tel Aviv or Eilat
No hazard-specific or crowding information recovered

Wind micro-knowledge

Through the season · Gusts

Through the seasonApril-October season, May-September peak.

GustsDescribed as thermal sea-breeze ('Erez'), typically NW, 15-25 knots in season - not described as gusty/squally in sources read.

Scene & life

VibeLocal, low-key, working-city feel rather than an international kite-travel hub.

Must try

Standard Israeli beach fare - falafel, shawarma, hummus
Beachfront restaurants along the promenade

Activities8km of city beaches · Ashdod Museum of Art · Philistine Culture museum/heritage sites · glass-bottomed boat tours · sand dune areas

Day tripsAshkelon (~16km/10 miles south) · Tel Aviv (north) · Jerusalem via train/bus connections

Pairs withTel Aviv (short hop north) or Ashkelon National Park to the south.

Itinerary idea

Best treated as a day-spot from a Tel Aviv base rather than a standalone trip unless you specifically want quieter water and cheaper lodging.

FAQ

What's the water like at Ashdod?

Riding is open sea rather than lagoon conditions, with chop and waves and no confirmed standing-depth area.

Is there a kite club?

Yes, a local kite and watersports club is based at Kshtot Beach, with several surf schools nearby.

Do I need a car?

Not essential for the city itself, but a car helps for reaching the beach with gear and for day trips; Ashdod is also reachable by train from Tel Aviv roughly every 30 minutes.

Should I plan around Shabbat?

Yes - public transport and most businesses close from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening, which makes a Shabbat day trip from Tel Aviv harder to arrange.

How this place scores

Scores out of 10, compared with other places. The data figure under each label is how much of this record that score had to work from, so a high score on thin data is a thin score.

Off the waterdata 87%7.9
Wavesdata 100%6.4
Kite communitydata 75%5.6
Safetydata 88%5.0
Flat waterdata 100%4.8
Familydata 89%4.4
Ease of accessdata 27%4.0
Beginner friendlydata 88%3.9
Room on the waterdata 62%3.0
Wind reliabilitydata 0%not scored
Affordabilitydata 0%not scored
Long staydata 0%not scored

A paler bar was scored from less than half of the record.

Scores by trip type

Kite and workdata 20%5.6
Wavesdata 70%5.5
Family tripdata 100%5.1
Learning to ridedata 90%4.8
Freestyle and flat waterdata 55%4.1

Nothing here carries a figure for a long stay, affordability and wind reliability, so every line above is built without them.

Still open

Things we could not verify. If you have ridden here, you can help.

Show the 3 open questions

What do local or visiting riders say about crowding, water quality or launch gotchas at Kshtot Beach?
No rider testimony on hazards, crowding, or local etiquette at Ashdod specifically was recovered
This is a near-empty record for genuine rider voice - flagged rather than filled in

When to go and nearby places

Last updated: 6 September 2026