Andalucía mediterránea · Almería city · Almeria

El Zapillo

also known as Playa El Zapillo, Playa de San Miguel

advanced onlyhigh 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 Playa de Costacabana 6 km · Retamar 12 km · Las Salinas 14 km · Playa de Cabo de Gata 26 km · Punta Entinas-Sabinar 28 km · Los Genoveses 30 km · Almerimar 33 km · straight-line distance

SeasonApr to Octthe months riders and schools name How windy18-35 ktsynoptic Launchbigaccess rules on record, below Watersea25°C in summer · 6 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools4named at this spot From the airport10 minAlmeria Airport (LEI)

When it fills in

Poniente here is synoptic, not thermal, so there is no fill-in hour to wait out. When it is in it usually runs through the day; when it is not, sitting on the beach rarely pays. No measured local onset time.

El Zapillo is Almeria's city beach and a real kite spot along Avenida Cabo de Gata. Poniente is the wind: W, WNW and SW, onshore to side-on, and a strong Poniente runs 18 to 35 knots and holds all day.

The water is chop and small waves, flat by the groyne with waves off to the left, calmer near the breakwater and rougher outside it. You can stand at both high and low tide, and the session does not depend on the tide.

The launch is big, with food and parking behind, but so is the crowd: a concrete promenade, a breakwater to the west, and bathers everywhere in season. Kitesurfing is prohibited from 15 June to 15 September (2026), which removes most of the summer.

Water is about 25 C in summer and 15 C in winter, and the best season is contested, April through October in one ranking and October to April in another.

The wind

locals call it Poniente

Direction

onshoreW

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

synoptic

fills in: Poniente here is synoptic, not thermal, so there is no fill-in hour to wait out. When it is in it usually runs through the day; when it is not, sitting on the beach rarely pays. No measured local onset time.

Typical strength

18-35 kt in strong Poniente; 18-35 kt is also given for windy Almeria days generally.

Strong Poniente is constant, and Almeria wind usually lasts all day.

No kitesurfing is allowed from 15 June to 15 September. The best months are contested: April through October in one ranking, October to April in another.

Also on record

19.4

The quiver, in words

No locally reported sizes. Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider across the 18-35 kt Poniente range: about 9 m at the light end, 7 m through the middle, 5-6 m once it pushes past 30 kt. Derived from the wind range rather than from local session reports.

Direction to shore

Onshore to side-on with Poniente depending on exact direction.

Dominant direction

W, WNW, SW

Forecast

Month by month

Jan21
Feb35
Mar29
Apr, riders' month35
May, riders' month34
Jun, riders' month32
Jul, riders' month13
Aug, riders' month19
Sep, riders' month33
Oct, riders' month26
Nov10
Dec6

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.

21%Jan16°
35%Feb16°
29%Mar16°
35%Apr18°
34%May20°
32%Jun22°
13%Jul26°
19%Aug28°
33%Sep25°
26%Oct21°
10%Nov18°
6%Dec17°

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	21%	35%	31%	9.8 kt	SW	16:00	13.1°C	15.8°C	62
Feb	35%	54%	46%	11.7 kt	SSW	17:00	14.3°C	15.5°C	57
Mar	29%	47%	39%	12 kt	SSW	15:00	16.1°C	15.7°C	62
Apr	35%	43%	38%	11 kt	SSW	15:00	18.3°C	17.6°C	60
May	34%	47%	44%	11.5 kt	SSW	15:00	21.4°C	19.5°C	62
Jun	32%	37%	35%	10.6 kt	SSW	15:00	25.9°C	21.9°C	60
Jul	13%	16%	15%	8.2 kt	SSW	15:00	28.7°C	26.1°C	62
Aug	19%	31%	21%	9.4 kt	SSW	15:00	29.2°C	28°C	62
Sep	33%	50%	43%	12 kt	SW	15:00	25.2°C	25.4°C	60
Oct	26%	31%	29%	10.5 kt	SW	16:00	22.1°C	20.7°C	62
Nov	10%	22%	18%	8 kt	SW	16:00	17.5°C	17.9°C	60
Dec	6%	19%	18%	7.9 kt	SW	16:00	14°C	16.7°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

You can touch bottom at both high and low water. The beach runs 1.5 km of fine sand and pebbles and shelves gently, so wading out is easy, but no depth at a stated distance from shore has been measured.

Tides

Kitesurfing conditions are reported not to depend on tide.

Temperature

25°C summer · 15°C winter

Wetsuit

Winter long wetsuit, summer shorty or shorts, rest of year shorty.

16–28°C water

Urban Mediterranean beach, chop and small waves. Flat by the groyne with waves off to the left; calmer near the breakwater, rougher outside it.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Intermediate, with enough for advanced riders. The calmer patch reportedly suits beginners, but the urban setting, the bathers, the breakwater and the seasonal prohibition leave beginner suitability unconfirmed.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridewaveurban sessionschopsmall waves

City beach with food and services behind the promenade. The bathers and the summer crowding are the problem here, not the wind.

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: big

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Playa de Costacabana, 6 km

Playa de Costacabana Retamar Las Salinas

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

Rescue

Beach lifeguard and rescue services run in Almeria's high season; no kite-specific rescue is published.

Launch

Urban beach launch along Avenida Cabo de Gata, with a concrete promenade behind the beach and a mole/breakwater to the west.

Space

big

Rules & access

2026: Kitesurfing at El Zapillo is prohibited from 15 June to 15 September.

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

Rider tips

Rig by the groyne for the flattest water and keep a buffer from the breakwater and the concrete promenade.
Park by the promenade off Avenida Cabo de Gata, between the mole and the point to the east.
Skip summer weekends and the middle of the day even outside the 15 June to 15 September ban (2026).
Look at how the beach is laid out before you pump; on an urban beach the rigging room disappears fast.

Getting there

Airport

Almeria Airport (LEI)

Route

Drive in on Avenida Cabo de Gata and park by the promenade between the mole and the point to the east. City bus line 30 links Almeria, the airport and Retamar/El Toyo.

Transfer

10 min

Staying

Beds and food sit directly behind the beach in Almeria city; no kite-specific lodging.

No-wind days

Almeria city, the port area, the Cabo de Gata views, the promenade and the beach services.

Photos

Immensity - Flickr - Angel Talansky — Angel Talansky, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at El Zapillo?

April through October is commonly listed as the best period, though the 2026 summer prohibition removes the peak months from independent use.

Is El Zapillo suitable for beginners?

It is rated intermediate with experts also enjoying it; the calmer area near the groyne is said to suit less experienced riders.

What is the wind like at El Zapillo?

Westerly Poniente from W, WNW or SW is the main wind, reaching 18-35 knots and typically blowing steadily all day.

Are there rules at El Zapillo?

Yes, kitesurfing at El Zapillo is prohibited from 15 June to 15 September 2026.

Are there kite schools at El Zapillo?

Yes, schools including Yourtimealmeria Kitesurf and Blue Surf Center operate nearby.

Last updated: August 2026