MapIsraelAshdodAshdod / Kshtot BeachAshdod

Ashdod / Kshtot Beach

South District · Ashdod · Ashkelon Subdistrict

also known as Hakshatot Beach, HaKshatot Beach, Kshatot, Ashdod Arches Beach, Hof HaKshatot, Gandhi Beach

Part of Ashdod →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlyhigh 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

May–Sep

Months riders and schools name

How windy

5-6 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

27.6 °C in summerAn open Mediterranean city beach with chop and waves that run from small to big

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jul Aug Sep

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

35 min

Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)

When it fills in

An 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.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Herzliya Marina / HaTzuk
Bat Yam / Tayo Kite Beach
Jeep Beach / Palmachimno page yet
Nitzanim Beachno page yet
Ashkelon / Delilahno page yet
Zikimno page yet

The spot

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.

The wind

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

Side-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.

Dominant direction

N 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.

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

On 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.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Typical strength

It 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.

Afternoon 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.

May 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.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season

No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, and whatever the series does hold is in the table below.

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

Every figure, month by monthKnots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	7.7 kt	W	13.9 °C	18.3 °C
Feb	7.8 kt	W	13.9 °C	17.2 °C
Mar	7.4 kt	W	16.1 °C	17.2 °C
Apr	6.9 kt	W	18.9 °C	18.9 °C
May	6.8 kt	W	21.7 °C	21.1 °C
Jun	7.1 kt	W	24.4 °C	24.4 °C
Jul	7.2 kt	W	26.7 °C	26.7 °C
Aug	7 kt	W	27.2 °C	27.8 °C
Sep	7.1 kt	N/transitional	26.1 °C	27.8 °C
Oct	7.1 kt	N	23.3 °C	26.1 °C
Nov	7.3 kt	N	19.4 °C	23.3 °C
Dec	7.5 kt	W	15.6 °C	20.6 °C

About these figuresriders' months

Riders and schools name these months. The model reads lower here, and both are shown rather than averaged.

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.

Ashdod (WeatherSpark modeled climatology) · weatherspark

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Variable 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.

Tides

Tide 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.

Temperature

27.6 °C summer · 19.2 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 17–28 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts 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.

Currents

Weak 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.

Conditions

An 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.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

The level tags for this beach contradict each other: advanced in one place, beginner through expert in another, any level in a third. Take it as lesson-friendly only with a school or a rescue plan behind you. It is open Mediterranean water with swimmers, chop, waves, plus a large commercial port immediately north.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridebump-and-jumpwave ridingwingfoil

Urban local scene: HaKshatot is one of the city's best-known and loved beaches, with cafes/restaurants, beach sports and Saturday promenade activity; Ashdod has a strong surf and watersports culture. Expect the bathing beach to be busy in summer and on weekends.

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: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

2 spots nearby

All 2 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

Municipal 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.

Launch

Sandy 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.

Hazards riders report 16 reported

Crowds and zones

large commercial port immediately north (largest port in Israel) - stay clear of shipping lanes/harbor approach
Swimmers and beach users at a declared city bathing beach; launch only where local kite users/schools say it is permitted and safe.
Commercial Ashdod Port lies immediately north of the city beaches; stay well clear of port approaches, vessels and restricted harbor areas.
No kitesurf rescue service; lifeguard hours apply to municipal bathing supervision only.
large commercial port immediately north - stay clear of shipping lanes/harbor approach
The declared bathing box at HaKshatot - 150 m of shoreline extending 200 m to sea - with swimmers and lifeguard control inside it during the season; stay outside it and out of the way of bathers.
Crowding: an urban beach with beach-sport areas, other surfers and obstacles behind the sand. Do not launch without a clear, safe space.
No kite rescue service exists here; lifeguard cover is swimming supervision on the declared bathing beach only.

Bottom

Variable depth close in with rock and reef in places.

Waves and currents

Open Mediterranean beach with chop and waves; no flat-water or standing-depth training area.
Nearby marina/groynes/rock structures affect adjacent surf beaches; avoid downwind drift toward hard structures.
Groynes and rock structures on the adjacent surf beaches; avoid drifting downwind into them.

Protected areas and rules

open beach, no lagoon protection
Israel's largest commercial port sits immediately north, and bathing is prohibited along its whole frontage; stay well clear of the approaches, the shipping lanes and the restricted harbour area.
Ashdod Marina and the Metzuda section north of the beach are also prohibited bathing zones with hard structures; do not drift into them.
Open Mediterranean beach with chop and waves and no lagoon protection - no flat-water or standing-depth training area.

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.

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

Check a dedicated Ashdod wind page before you drive. The monthly averages of 5-6 kt understate a thermal season that gives 26-30 days a month over 12 kt from May to September.
This is an afternoon spot in summer. The sea breeze is what makes it work, so do not turn up at nine expecting wind.
Stay outside the declared bathing box, 150 m of shore by 200 m out, and out of the way of the bathers in it.
Do not drift north toward the port or the marina. Bathing is prohibited along both and the structures are unforgiving.
Arrive with enough daylight to read the flags, the beach-sport areas and the downwind exit before you pump up.
First time here, do not go out alone. Talk to riders on the beach or to a club first.
There is no lagoon and no shallow shelf, so treat it as an intermediate spot rather than somewhere to ride independently straight out of a course.
On a 16-24 kt day a 75-85 kg rider is on a 12 m through the lower half of the band and a 9 m through the upper half; below about 14 kt it is a foil afternoon.
Lifeguard hours in 2026 run 07:00-19:00 in July and August and 08:00-16:30 in April, and that is swim cover, not kite rescue.
Plan the downwind exit before you launch and ride with somebody. Save 101 for an ambulance and 100 for police.
Boardshorts do it in peak summer; take a spring suit or a 3/2 in winter, when the water sits around 18-19 C and the wind chill does the rest.
Park behind the beach and expect to pay for it. The Mapkura end is where the clubs are.
In summer the heat, the sun and the crowd cost you more than the wind does.
Tide is not a planning factor here, about a foot of range, so read the swell and the bathing zone instead.

Getting there

Airport

Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)

Route

Drive from Ben Gurion Airport to Ashdod is about 47 km and roughly 35 minutes in normal traffic. By rail, go via Tel Aviv HaHagana to Ashdod Ad Halom, about 1h13m, then taxi or local bus to the marina and HaKshatot promenade area. Paid parking sits behind the beach.

Transfer

35 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Ashdod has beachfront hotels and apartments around the marina and southern beaches; Leonardo Plaza Ashdod and other beach hotels are listed near the coast, while apartment rentals cluster around the marina/promenade.

No-wind days

Ashdod promenade and HaKshatot cafes/restaurants, Ashdod-Yam fortress/archaeological area, Ashdod Yam Park, city beaches, surf/SUP lessons, the dune reserve and local museums.

Photos

Kshatot Beach Ashdod, exact name match — FireSky / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Ashdod beach coastline, closest at 45m — FireSky / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Kshtot Beach?

May to September has the highest count of windy days, driven mainly by afternoon sea-breeze and thermal wind, though winter can also bring usable frontal wind.

Is it suitable for beginners?

Yes with caution: the beach hosts a kite club and surf schools, but it is an open sea beach with chop and swimmers, so beginners should use a local school and confirm the launch area first.

Are there kite schools or rental?

Yes, a kite and water-sports club and several surf schools operate directly at the beach, including Waves Surf Club and the Ashdod Marine/Kite Surf Club.

What are the main hazards?

The commercial Port of Ashdod lies immediately north, and there is no verified flat-water zone, so riders should avoid drifting toward the harbor and stay clear of swimmers.

Are there rules or restrictions?

No official municipal kitesurf zoning or permit requirement was found for 2026, but riders are advised to confirm the allowed launch zone with the local kite club before rigging.

The bigger pictureEverything about Ashdod

Last updated: August 2026