Map › Italy › Barletta Freekite Beach & Margherita di Savoia › Barletta Freekite Beach

Puglia · Litoranea di Ponente, Barletta · Barletta

Barletta Freekite Beach

also known as Barletta Kitesurf - Gigi Beach, Spiaggia dei surfisti, Ponente beach

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Margherita di Savoia 9 km · Zapponeta 27 km · Molfetta 34 km · Giovinazzo 40 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJun to Augthe months riders and schools name How windy15-20 knotsmixed Launchlargeaccess rules on record, below Watersea26.6°C in summer · 7 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools2named at this spot From the airport42 min

On the clock

14:00 · 17:00 · 19:00

The thermal window is about 14:00-17:00; school lessons run 14:00-19:00.

The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.

Freekite Beach is the Ponente side of Barletta, a long, broad fine-sand strip on Lungomare Pietro Mennea, and the kite area begins past the bathing establishments toward Margherita di Savoia. June to August is the documented season and the day has a shape: the Levante (E) thermal fills in around 14:00 and runs to about 17:00, usually 15-20 knots.

That thermal is easy to miss, because forecasts under-read it; Levante averages up to about 20 knots, the afternoon can also settle from NE, and Grecale comes onshore around 13-18 knots. A 75 kg rider is on a 12 m in that band and wants a 9 m in the bag for the stronger days.

Water is chop with the odd small wave, held under about 0.5 m by summer Levante, and bigger further out when Tramontana or a stronger Maestrale is in; it runs 26.6 C in summer and 12.6 C in winter.

Ponente is offshore and Libeccio side-off, both gusty and inconsistent, and neither is a day to ride unless the rescue dinghy is on the water. Swimmers through the season, the road and concrete behind the sand, the harbour wall at the east end and shells in the water are the rest of the list.

The wind

locals call it Levante, Grecale, Tramontana, Maestrale, Ponente, Libeccio

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

7891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: The thermal window is about 14:00-17:00; school lessons run 14:00-19:00.

Typical strength

15-20 knots in the main summer thermal; Levante averages up to about 20 knots and Grecale runs around 13-18 knots

Summer Levante carries a strong thermal component that forecasts tend to under-read. Offshore Ponente and side-off Libeccio are gusty and inconsistent.

June to August is the window with documented conditions, but the school on this beach runs April through September and that is the wider season locals use. Beach users are on the sand June to September.

From 1 May to 30 September the first 200 m of water is reserved for swimmers, so a summer session means getting out through the corridor and then staying off that band.

Thermal or synoptic

thermal and synoptic

The quiver, in words

12 m commonly used for a 75 kg rider in 15-20 knots; bring 9 m for stronger days.

Direction to shore

Levante side-on; Grecale onshore; Tramontana side-on; Ponente offshore; Libeccio side-off.

Dominant direction

Summer Levante from the east, with an afternoon thermal that settles from NE

Forecast

Month by month

Jan27
Feb25
Mar21
Apr20
May18
Jun, riders' month15
Jul, riders' month15
Aug, riders' month11
Sep28
Oct18
Nov32
Dec31

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

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

27%Jan13°
25%Feb12°
21%Mar14°
20%Apr16°
18%May20°
15%Jun25°
15%Jul29°
11%Aug29°
28%Sep26°
18%Oct23°
32%Nov18°
31%Dec14°

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	From	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	27%	53%	37%	11.8 kt	WSW	11:00	9.8°C	12.5°C	62
Feb	25%	30%	30%	10.1 kt	WSW	11:00	10.6°C	11.6°C	57
Mar	21%	45%	39%	11.8 kt	WSW	14:00	11.8°C	13.9°C	62
Apr	20%	45%	33%	11.8 kt	WSW	13:00	14.7°C	16.3°C	60
May	18%	37%	26%	10.5 kt	E	15:00	19.5°C	19.8°C	62
Jun	15%	47%	32%	10.7 kt	WSW	15:00	24.8°C	24.6°C	60
Jul	15%	47%	34%	11.2 kt	ENE	15:00	28°C	28.6°C	62
Aug	11%	40%	21%	10.9 kt	WSW	15:00	27.2°C	28.9°C	62
Sep	28%	47%	40%	12.1 kt	WSW	15:00	23.2°C	26.4°C	60
Oct	18%	31%	29%	10.4 kt	WSW	16:00	20.1°C	22.8°C	62
Nov	32%	45%	40%	12.4 kt	WSW	13:00	14.8°C	18.3°C	60
Dec	31%	55%	40%	11.8 kt	WSW	11:00	11.6°C	14.1°C	62

modelled

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

Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. 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.

High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024

The water

Type

sea

Standing depth

Shallow near shore on a gradual seabed slope; the exact depth range is unconfirmed.

Tides

No material tide dependence is documented.

Temperature

26.6°C summer · 12.6°C winter

Wetsuit

Summer is warm-water; winter water is cold and requires a full wetsuit.

12–29°C water

Wide sandy Adriatic beach with choppy water and the odd small wave. Summer Levante usually keeps the waves below about 0.5 m; Tramontana or a stronger Maestrale can build larger waves further offshore.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Flat and chop days in Levante are workable for a beginner. Offshore and side-off winds, and the crowded summer beach, are for experienced riders only.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridefreestylehydrofoiltwintipstraplesssummer thermal sessions

An organized local school and club scene on the Ponente beach, with swimmers and beachgoers added through the tourist season.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: large

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Margherita di Savoia, 9 km

Margherita di Savoia Zapponeta Molfetta

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

Freekite runs a dinghy for rescue among its services, and the school end of the beach advertises a launch corridor and a marked kite zone. Do not ride Ponente or Libeccio unless that boat is on the water.

For anything serious the free Coast Guard line is 1530 and the European emergency number is 112; the Barletta harbour office is on 0883 531020. Staffed beaches carry one qualified lifeguard per 150 m of frontage in season, but that cover is aimed at swimmers close in, not at a kiter half a kilometre out.

Launch

Wide sandy launch on Barletta's Litoranea di Ponente / Lungomare Pietro Mennea, past the bathing establishments toward Margherita di Savoia, in the Lega Navale and Spiaggia dei surfisti area. The sand here is dark and iron-rich rather than pale.The school end has a launch corridor, a marked kite zone, parking, changing rooms and a bar, and it is the busiest patch of the beach with local riders.

Space

large

Rules & access

2026: kitesurfing is not named anywhere in the local rules, so what binds you is the bathing regime. The Barletta harbourmaster's bathing-safety ordinance no. 21/2026, covering Bisceglie, Trani, Barletta and Margherita di Savoia, reserves the sea out to 200 m from the shoreline on low coast (100 m on cliff coast) for swimmers from 1 May to 30 September, prohibits sail-powered craft inside that band, and allows it to be crossed only inside a marked launch/landing corridor. Puglia's regional bathing ordinance of 15 April 2026 sets the bathing season itself at 23 May to 13 September, 24 hours a day, and makes the coastal municipality responsible for building and maintaining those launch corridors to the harbourmaster's specification. The school end of the beach advertises a launch corridor and a marked kite zone, but no published document fixes where they run, so line yourself up on the flags on the day. On staffed beaches the ordinance requires one qualified lifeguard per 150 m of frontage.

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

Rider tips

Ride the Levante days: side-on is the most straightforward setup this beach gives you.
Aim for 14:00-17:00, when the thermal is at its best; school lessons run 14:00-19:00.
Launch from the Spiaggia dei surfisti / Lega Navale end, not among the bathing establishments.
Skip Ponente and Libeccio unless you are experienced and the rescue boat is out.
Pack a 9 m alongside the 12 m for the stronger afternoons.

Getting there

Airport

Bari Karol Wojtyla is the practical major airport; exact transfer distance and time are unconfirmed.

Route

Bari Karol Wojtyla (BRI) is the airport: about 52 km and 42 minutes by car. By rail, get to Bari Centrale and take the hourly train to Barletta, 29 to 50 minutes depending on the service. At the coast, follow Litoranea di Ponente / Lungomare Pietro Mennea toward Margherita di Savoia and keep going past the bathing establishments.

Transfer

42 min

Staying

Barletta is a coastal city with ordinary urban accommodation; kite-specific lodging is unconfirmed.

No-wind days

The old town, the castle, the cathedral and the Colossus are all walkable in Barletta; Trani and the UNESCO-listed Castel del Monte are the Puglia Imperiale trips inland.

Photos

Gabriel at Ribelli beach, Barletta, Italy (PPL3-Altered) julesvernex2 — Jules Verne Times Two, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Barletta Freekite Beach?

The best documented season is June to August, when an afternoon Levante or NE thermal builds, usually in the 14:00-17:00 window.

What is the wind like?

Summer wind runs about 15-20 knots from Levante, with Grecale around 13-18 knots; the thermal component can be missed by generic forecasts.

Is Barletta Freekite Beach suitable for beginners?

Flat-to-chop Levante days are beginner-friendly, but offshore Ponente and side-off Libeccio winds are for experienced riders only.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Barletta Kitesurf, Freekite and PKA Puglia Kite Academy operate on this stretch of beach.

What hazards should riders know about?

Summer swimmers, the concrete promenade edge, the harbour wall at the east end and gusty offshore Ponente or Libeccio winds are the main hazards.

Last updated: August 2026