MapAustraliaMelbourneAltona BeachMelbourne

Altona Beach

Victoria · Melbourne · Altona

also known as Altona Kite Beach, Apex Park, Port Phillip Bay / Altona Beach

Part of Melbourne →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

flat waternot for beginnershigh crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Oct–Mar

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-30 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

Small/narrow launch and landing area with nearby bushes, trees, houses and powerlines; assistance is strongly recommended.

access rules on record, below

Water

shallow Port Phillip Bay flat water with chop and bump-and-jump outside the sandbar

21.4 °C in summerAltona is generally calm by Port Phillip standards, with small waves mainly in strong southerlies

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jan Feb Mar Dec

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

30 min

Melbourne Airport (MEL)

When it fills in

Sea-breeze days build through the afternoon and hold into the early evening; mornings are usually the light part unless a synoptic southerly or a frontal system is already running.

Nearbystraight-line distance

St Kilda13 km

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Brightonno page yet
Dendy Street Brightonno page yet
Point Henryno page yet
Elwoodno page yet

The spot

Water conditions

Altona is the Melbourne west-side flat-water beach: a big sandbar holds the inside shallow and glassy, and outside it Port Phillip Bay turns into bump-and-jump chop.

Wind and season

The wind is the summer southerly sea breeze, in the afternoon, 15-30 knots and usually stronger than the other bay beaches; E, SE, S and SW all work, S straight onshore, the others side-on depending on where you rig. October to March is the season.

Launch area

The launch is the catch: a small patch at the west end of the Esplanade by Apex Park, hemmed in by bushes, trees, houses and powerlines, so get someone to launch and land you and expect to wait your turn on a good day, when it is as busy as St Kilda.

Shared water

Wind sports have the west side of Altona Pier; swimmers and the lifesavers have the east side, and the shared-zone rule lets you exceed 5 knots except within 50 m of vessels or swimmers.

Water temperature

Water is 21.4 C in summer and 10.9 C in winter, so a full suit in spring and autumn and a thick one in winter.

Tide

Whether high tide really is the flattest state is unconfirmed: the sandbar is real, the tide claim is thin.

Skill level

Not a beach for a first solo session, whatever the shallow water suggests.

The wind

locals call it Melbourne southerly sea breeze

Direction

onshore

Direction to shore

E, SE, S and SW work; S is onshore, SE and SW side-onshore depending on exactly where you launch.

Dominant direction

S to SW in the main warm-season pattern, with E and SE also working

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider on a twin-tip, derived from the spot's wind range rather than from a local quiver count: 12 m when the southerly is only 15-17 kt, 10 m at 18-20 kt, 9 m at 21-24 kt, 7 m once it is over 25.The average day sits near 20 kt, so a 9 and a 12 cover most of the season.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

Typical strength

15-30 knots in the warm season.

Usually stronger than the other bay beaches and dependable in the warm-season southerly, but crowded and hemmed in at the launch.

December-March is the southerly season Altona shares with St Kilda; Jan-Mar and Oct-Dec are the months listed as best.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month70
Feb, riders' month75
Mar, riders' month61
Apr43
May46
Jun55
Jul51
Aug65
Sep71
Oct, riders' month66
Nov, riders' month59
Dec, riders' month72

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Oct, Nov, Dec.

13 ktJan22°
13 ktFeb22°
12 ktMar21°
11 ktApr18°
11 ktMay15°
12 ktJun13°
12 ktJul11°
13 ktAug12°
14 ktSep13°
13 ktOct16°
12 ktNov19°
13 ktDec20°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2020-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	70%	12.6 kt	S	20.2 °C	22.1 °C
Feb	75%	12.9 kt	S	19.5 °C	21.7 °C
Mar	61%	11.9 kt	S	18.2 °C	20.6 °C
Apr	43%	10.9 kt	N	15.1 °C	17.7 °C
May	46%	10.6 kt	N	12 °C	14.9 °C
Jun	55%	11.7 kt	N	10.4 °C	12.5 °C
Jul	51%	11.8 kt	N	9.8 °C	10.9 °C
Aug	65%	13 kt	N	11.2 °C	11.8 °C
Sep	71%	13.6 kt	N	12.7 °C	13.4 °C
Oct	66%	13.2 kt	SSW	14.1 °C	15.9 °C
Nov	59%	12.4 kt	S	16.6 °C	18.5 °C
Dec	72%	13 kt	S	18 °C	20.4 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2020-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2020-2024

The water

Type

shallow Port Phillip Bay flat water with chop and bump-and-jump outside the sandbar

Standing depth

Yes. Sandy shallows run a long way out to the sandbar and are standable at both high and low water, so expect a walk before it is deep enough to put the board on.

Tides

Port Phillip's range is small here and the sandbar holds the inside shallow through the cycle, so the tide has little effect on where you can ride and the flats stay standable at both high and low water. That Altona is flattest at high tide remains unconfirmed.

Temperature

21.4 °C summer · 10.9 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 11–22 °C

Wetsuit

Full wetsuit in spring/autumn and thicker winter suit for cold Port Phillip water; summer can be lighter but many riders still use neoprene.

Currents

None recorded for Altona Beach.

Conditions

Altona is generally calm by Port Phillip standards, with small waves mainly in strong southerlies; the western side of Altona Pier is the kite side and the eastern side is the swimmer/patrolled side.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Intermediate and up: the launch and landing space is small with obstacles close. Assisted beginners do use it, but the tight launch is the repeated hazard, so it is not a beginner recommendation.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreestylefreeridefoilingbump and jump

Established Melbourne west-side kite community with a local freestyle/freeride scene; can feel as busy as St Kilda on good days.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

4 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: Small/narrow launch and landing area with nearby bushes, trees, houses and powerlines; assistance is strongly recommended.

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

1 spot nearby

St Kilda13 km

The one spot within 40 km is under Nearby

Rescue

No kite-specific rescue. Volunteer lifesavers patrol a flagged swimming area about 100 m east of the pier, most weekends and public holidays from late November to around Easter; the 2026-27 season opens 21 November 2026. That is the swimmers' side, not the kite side west of the pier, and nobody is watching the water you ride. Emergencies: 000.

Launch

Use the dedicated wind/water-sports area at the western end of the Esplanade/start of Bay Trail West/Apex Park side, west of Altona Pier; parking and grass/sand rigging are nearby.

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: kite on the western side of Altona Pier. The eastern side is the designated swimming-only zone and kiting there is prohibited; the patrolled flags sit about 100 m east of the pier from late November to around Easter.

Parks Victoria's Shared Wind Sport Area rule lets kiteboards exceed 5 knots except within 50 m of vessels and swimmers, and the Hobsons Bay coastal plan puts the wind-sports area on the western portion of the beach.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Get an assisted launch and landing; the rigging patch is tight and the powerlines and trees are close.
Rig on the grass at the western end of the Esplanade by Apex Park, west of the pier, and park there.
Walk out through the shallows on the sandbar before you get on the board; you can be a long way from the beach edge before you power up.
Stay west of Altona Pier and check the boating and swimming zone map; the swimming-only zone starts at the pier.
Wait for an afternoon southerly and expect a queue on a good summer day; do not launch alone in a crowd.

Getting there

Airport

Melbourne Airport (MEL)

Route

Drive west/southwest from Melbourne or Melbourne Airport to Altona; public transport uses Altona Station plus a short walk to the beach, and buses serve Pier Street/Blyth Street.

Transfer

30 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Best based in Melbourne or inner-west suburbs; Altona has local apartments/hotels but the broader city has the widest accommodation choice.

No-wind days

Altona Pier, Hobsons Bay Coastal Trail, cafes on Pier Street, Truganina Coastal Parklands, Williamstown waterfront and central Melbourne.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kitesurf at Altona Beach?

January through March and October through December are the listed best months, with the warm-season southerly sea breeze typically filling in during the afternoon.

Is Altona Beach suitable for beginners?

Launch and landing space is small and bordered by bushes, trees, houses and powerlines, so the spot favors intermediate and advanced riders over independent beginners, though assisted beginners can use it.

What is the wind like?

South to southwest is the main warm-season pattern, with east and southeast also working; typical strength is 15 to 30 knots.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Kiting is confined to the shared wind-sport area on the western side of Altona Pier, while the eastern side is reserved for swimmers and patrolled by Altona Lifesaving Club in summer.

Are there kite schools at Altona Beach?

AUSKites and KiteLife Melbourne have both been reported teaching at Altona Beach.

The bigger pictureEverything about Melbourne

Last updated: August 2026