Nearby Cremia 3 km · Dongo 6 km · Colico 8 km · Domaso 9 km · Gera Lario 11 km · Valmadrera 25 km · straight-line distance
Breva
13:00 · 18:00
Tivano
10:30 · 11:00
Breva usually from about 13:00 to 18:00, switching on around midday and running to sunset; Dervio is where it first fills in on the upper lake. Tivano is the night-and-morning wind, from roughly three hours after sunset until 10:30-11:00. North wind is weather-driven, arrives at any hour and can hold for one to three days.
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.
The wind
locals call it Breva / Tivano / Vento da Nord / Ventone
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Breva usually from about 13:00 to 18:00, switching on around midday and running to sunset; Dervio is where it first fills in on the upper lake. Tivano is the night-and-morning wind, from roughly three hours after sunset until 10:30-11:00. North wind is weather-driven, arrives at any hour and can hold for one to three days.
Typical strength
Breva runs 15-18 knots on a normal afternoon and passes 15-20 on the upper lake, with 20-25 knot peaks when the thermal is strong. Tivano is the weaker one: 15-18 knots down the lake but much lighter up here, with a local reinforcement of only 3-4 knots at the Dervio promontory. Northerly Ventone events coming down from the Valchiavenna can reach 40 knots.
Thermal or synoptic
thermal and northerly post-frontal
Also on record
about 15-20 knots when the Breva is working; no independent Dervio station average
The quiver, in words
No size guidance specific to Dervio is published; indicative for a 75-85 kg rider. About 11-12 m in the standard 15-18 knot Breva and 9 m when it peaks at 20-25. Sizes of 15-17 m are used on the lake when the Breva stays light, and the gusty north wind is the day to go down, not up.
Direction to shore
The lake runs north-south here and the kite area sits on the east shore at the Varrone delta, so the southerly Breva comes up the lake along the shore, side to side-onshore at the launch, and northerlies come down the lake sideshore from the other end. Exact shore angles are unconfirmed.The launch strip is small and sits upwind of the river mouth, with big trees immediately upwind that can drop a kite and nothing safe to land on downwind, so you come back to where you started.
Dominant direction
southerly Breva in the afternoon; northerly winds possible in spring and after bad weather when not too gusty
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan16
- Feb11
- Mar15
- Apr, riders' month35
- May, riders' month26
- Jun, riders' month50
- Jul, riders' month40
- Aug, riders' month37
- Sep, riders' month28
- Oct, riders' month10
- Nov22
- Dec18
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 16%Jan
- 11%Feb
- 15%Mar
- 35%Apr
- 26%May
- 50%Jun
- 40%Jul
- 37%Aug
- 28%Sep
- 10%Oct
- 22%Nov
- 18%Dec
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16% | 31% | 24% | 8.6 kt | N | 12:00 | 7°C | 62 |
| Feb | 11% | 26% | 21% | 8.6 kt | S | 15:00 | 8.5°C | 57 |
| Mar | 15% | 60% | 42% | 11.4 kt | S | 16:00 | 9.8°C | 62 |
| Apr | 35% | 62% | 47% | 12.7 kt | S | 16:00 | 12.7°C | 60 |
| May | 26% | 74% | 66% | 12.4 kt | S | 16:00 | 17.2°C | 62 |
| Jun | 50% | 87% | 73% | 13.9 kt | S | 16:00 | 21.5°C | 60 |
| Jul | 40% | 77% | 65% | 13 kt | S | 16:00 | 24.7°C | 62 |
| Aug | 37% | 89% | 68% | 13.2 kt | S | 16:00 | 24.9°C | 62 |
| Sep | 28% | 55% | 40% | 11.9 kt | S | 15:00 | 19.5°C | 60 |
| Oct | 10% | 23% | 16% | 8.6 kt | S | 15:00 | 17.2°C | 62 |
| Nov | 22% | 32% | 28% | 9.2 kt | N | 11:00 | 10.4°C | 60 |
| Dec | 18% | 27% | 21% | 8.7 kt | N | 10:00 | 7.4°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
lake
Tides
none; freshwater lake
Temperature
Summer 23-24 surface water in summer for Lake Como
Winter 5-6 surface water in winter for Lake Como
Wetsuit
wetsuit needed for most of the season; summer water is warmer but still freshwater Alpine-lake conditions
Currents
no tidal current; river-mouth flow at the Varrone and wind-driven lake chop are the relevant water factors
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
6 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: limited to moderate; alternate Porto Vecchio access is more difficult
Somewhere else
Cremia, 3 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
The usual spot is at the Varrone river mouth. During the seasonal fishing-trestle closure in June-July the kite area moves beside Porto Vecchio, where entry and exit are harder.
Space
limited to moderate; alternate Porto Vecchio access is more difficult
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Check whether the Varrone-mouth closure is running before you plan a June or July trip.
- If the kite area has moved to Porto Vecchio, look at the entry and the rocky breakwater before you pump.
- Take boat or lift support if you are not fully autonomous on this lake.
- Treat north wind as the higher-risk day and check live local readings for gusts before you commit.
- The Breva switches on around midday and runs to about 18:00. Mornings belong to the Tivano, which is thin this far up the lake.
- Trees sit immediately upwind of the launch and there is nothing safe to land on downwind, so plan the session around coming back to the same strip.
Getting there
Airport
Milan Bergamo (BGY) is the nearest by distance; Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Milan Linate (LIN) are the other practical Milan-area options.
Route
Dervio is reachable from Milan by road and by rail down the east side of Lake Como, about one hour from Milan by car.
Transfer
about 60 minutes from Milan by road; airport transfers vary by airport and traffic
Cost level
medium
Staying
Dervio and the north/east Lake Como shore have lake-town apartments, hotels and camping-style accommodation; no kite-package accommodation is published.
No-wind days
trekking, mountain biking, windsurfing, SUP and wakeboard around Dervio, plus Lake Como sightseeing
Photos
FAQ
Is Dervio suitable for beginners?
The independent shore launch is for medium-to-high level riders; beginners are instead served through boat-based lessons with local schools.
When is the best time to kitesurf at Dervio?
April to October is the main season, with the southerly Breva thermal very constant from around noon to sunset.
What is the wind like at Dervio?
The Breva commonly exceeds 15-20 knots here; north wind can also work in spring or after bad weather but is often gusty and less suitable for lessons.
Are there rules or restricted zones?
In 2025 a Dervio ordinance banned kitesurfing at the Varrone river mouth until 31 July during agone-fishing season, moving the kite area to Porto Vecchio; check whether the seasonal closure is active before June-July sessions.
Are there kite schools nearby?
Boarderline Surf School, Sports Paradise, Riderjona and 360 In Sport all operate at Dervio.
Last updated: August 2026