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Fornells

Balearic Islands · Menorca

also known as Bahia de Fornells, Ses Salines

Part of Menorca →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

flat waterbeginner-friendlymedium 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

Nov–Apr

Months riders and schools name

How windy

10 kt

Character: synoptic

Room to launch

tight

access rules on record, below

Water

flat

26.3 °C in summerFornells Bay is a long, protected bay with flat water even in strong wind

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to intermediate

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jul Aug

Schools

none named here

From the airport

Menorca Airport (MAH)

Transfer times under Getting there

On the clock

10:00 · 11:00 · 13:00 · 17:00

There is a daily curve on top of whatever synoptic wind is running: mornings are the lightest hours, it picks up from about 10:00-11:00, and the steadiest stretch is early to mid afternoon, roughly 13:00 to 17:00, before dropping away in the evening. A full Tramontana blows through the night as well and does not follow that pattern.

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.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Sant Tomasno page yet
Es Grauno page yet

The spot

Fornells is a real but specialist kitesurf spot in the protected bay on Menorca's north coast, with the practical launch area at Ses Salines.

Water and wind

The draw is flat, enclosed water that stays sheltered from open-sea waves, which makes it the safer Menorca venue next to wave-exposed Son Bou and Cala Tirant. The main wind is the north Tramontana/Tramuntana, and November-April is the useful kite season for the bay.

Limitations

The catch is the bay itself. Its wind is gusty, land space is limited and summer water traffic is heavy, so this is not a casual high-season kite beach.

No rental or schools

There are no kitesurf schools and no kite-rental centers anywhere on Menorca, even though Fornells has strong windsurf, sailing and wing-foil operators.

Before you rig

Bring your own gear, check the Ses Salines kite zone on the ground before you rig, and give way to the sailing-school traffic and anything moving through the harbour.

The wind

locals call it Tramontana/Tramuntana

Direction

Direction to shore

sheltered bay flattens most directions

Dominant direction

N to NNE in the station record; the named kite wind here is the Tramontana out of the north.

Character

synoptic

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

A discontinued observation station at Ses Salines / Club Nautic Fornells recorded an annual average of NNE 4 kt with 5 kt gusts for 2018-12-01 to 2022-04-30. Summer days over 10 kt and 15 kt are counted elsewhere, but no simple kite-season average is published in text.

Typical strength

Kite sessions here are Tramontana sessions. The bay is enclosed by land, so it runs gustier and generally lighter than the open north coast, and across the April-October season only about half the days in any month reach 10 kt or more for at least two hours. That is why summer on this water is mostly light-wind foiling. A proper kite day normally needs a firm Tramontana, most often between November and April, and no station average exists for the bay itself.

Sheltered and flat, but locally reported as gustier than Menorca's open-coast kite spots because the bay is enclosed by land.

Fornells Bay is a very good easy, sheltered winter-season spot from November to April. Summer kiting is not very advisable because of limited land space and heavy water traffic, and the light-wind foiling sports take over the bay instead.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

13 ktJan14°
13 ktFeb14°
12 ktMar14°
11 ktApr15°
9 ktMay18°
8 ktJun21°
8 ktJul24°
8 ktAug26°
9 ktSep24°
11 ktOct22°
13 ktNov19°
13 ktDec16°

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

Modelled monthly averages. Highlighted: the months riders and schools name (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr).

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	12.8 kt	N	10.6 °C	14.4 °C
Feb	12.7 kt	N	10 °C	13.9 °C
Mar	11.8 kt	N	11.7 °C	13.9 °C
Apr	10.8 kt	N	13.9 °C	15 °C
May	9 kt	N	17.2 °C	17.8 °C
Jun	7.9 kt	N	21.7 °C	21.1 °C
Jul	7.8 kt	N	24.4 °C	23.9 °C
Aug	7.9 kt	N	25 °C	25.6 °C
Sep	9.2 kt	N	22.2 °C	24.4 °C
Oct	11 kt	N	18.9 °C	21.7 °C
Nov	12.7 kt	N	14.4 °C	18.9 °C
Dec	13.4 kt	N	11.7 °C	16.1 °C

How this is modelledmodelled

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.

Mercadal (Es Mercadal) · Weatherspark (MERRA-2 reanalysis model)

The water

Type

flat

Standing depth

Fornells Bay/Ses Salines is shallow and protected, but no kite-specific standing-depth map was found.

Tides

Small Mediterranean tidal range; 2026 Fornells tide forecasts show typical highs/lows around 0.05-0.26 m, so tides are usually a minor planning factor rather than a session driver.

Temperature

26.3 °C summer · 13.9 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 14–26 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or a shorty can work in high summer; a full wetsuit is appropriate in winter and spring because February average sea temperature is about 13.9 °C.

Conditions

Fornells Bay is a long, protected bay with flat water even in strong wind; the bay is also an active sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and boating area. The north Menorca marine reserve includes a special-protection area in Fornells Bay, and anchoring over seagrass meadows is prohibited.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for advanceds here

The flat, enclosed bay suits beginners and freestylers and is the safest, most sheltered kite spot on Menorca. The wind is gusty and launch and landing space is limited, so a true first-timer should not treat it as a self-teaching spot, and there are no kitesurf lesson or rental centers on the island to fall back on.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfoilfreeridewing foil

Who it suitsbeginner

Low-key harbour village and sailing-school bay outside peak season; busy and multi-use in summer, with many boats and watersports users on the water.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: tight

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

3 spots nearby

All 3 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

The rescue boats on this water belong to the sailing, windsurf and wing programmes based at Ses Salines and cover their own students; there is no public rescue service for independent kiters. Emergencies go through 112.

The bay is enclosed, so a failed session normally ends on a shore of the bay rather than out to sea, though that shore may be a private mooring area or the side of a boat.

Launch

Use the enabled kitesurfer access area at Ses Salines in Fornells Bay; summer access is only from that enabled zone. The exact 2026 municipal map/signage was not found online.

Hazards riders report 8 reported

Wind

Gusty wind inside the bay compared with open-coast Menorca spots

Crowds and zones

boat/yacht traffic in the bay during high season
Heavy summer water traffic including anchored sailboats, dinghies, windsurfers, motorboats and general harbour traffic

Protected areas and rules

Marine-reserve and seagrass protection areas; do not anchor support craft on seagrass

Other

limited launch space in summer
no on-site kite rental or repair, so bring your own gear and spares
Limited land space for launching and landing
No on-island kitesurf school, kite rental or kite repair; bring complete gear and spares

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: summer kiting in Fornells Bay is only permitted from the enabled kitesurfer zone at Ses Salines, and the bay is not advisable in summer because of water traffic and the shortage of land space; no municipal beach ordinance or permit text for Fornells could be located online in 2026, and the Es Mercadal town-hall site does not publish an indexed beach ordinance.

Marine reserve zones

2026 north-Menorca marine reserve zoning: a special-protection area inside Fornells Bay bans every extractive activity, including fishing, and scuba diving with tanks; anchoring over seagrass meadows is prohibited across the reserve; a separate recreational-fishing closed zone runs between Cap Gros and ses Penyes Blanques, where fishing from the shore or from a boat is not allowed.

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

Bring your whole quiver plus repair spares: there is no kite rental or kite repair on Menorca.
Ask at Wind Fornells or a local sailor where the Ses Salines kite access sits before you rig; the zone is confirmed but no official 2026 map is published.
Skip July and August unless someone local tells you otherwise, because the bay fills with anchored boats, dinghies, windsurfers and motorboats.
Aim the session at early afternoon: the bay's daily curve is steadiest roughly 13:00 to 17:00 unless a full Tramontana is running.
Expect gusty wind rather than smooth. The bay is closed in by land on almost every side, so the flat water is the reward and not a sign of easy air.
For open-coast waves in Tramontana, compare Cala Tirant nearby; for south and west systems, compare Son Bou.
If you have no kite gear with you, wing foil kit can be rented and taught locally instead.

Getting there

Airport

Menorca Airport (MAH), near Mahon

Route

Drive or taxi north from Menorca Airport to Fornells/Ses Salines; public transport usually connects via Mao bus station rather than a direct airport-Fornells bus.

Transfer

27-35 minutes by car/taxi; about 2 h 10 min by bus via Mao (2026 routing data).

Cost level

medium

Staying

Small hotels, apartments and holiday rentals in Fornells/Playas de Fornells; larger resort choice is elsewhere on Menorca.

No-wind days

Wing foil, windsurfing, dinghy sailing, SUP, kayaking and boat trips in Fornells Bay; hiking/cycling on the Cami de Cavalls and north-coast beaches such as Cala Tirant, Cavalleria and Pregonda.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Fornells?

Local operators call November to April the good sheltered winter season; summer is discouraged because of limited land space and heavy boat traffic.

Is Fornells suitable for beginners?

The flat, enclosed bay looks beginner-friendly, but the wind is gusty and space is tight, and there are no verified kitesurf schools or rental centers on Menorca.

What is the wind like?

The Tramontana blows from the north; one local station recorded an annual average of only 4 knots with 5 knot gusts, so conditions can be light.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Summer kiting is only permitted from the enabled kitesurfer zone at Ses Salines, and anchoring over the bay's protected seagrass meadows is prohibited.

Is there kite rental or gear available locally?

No, there is no verified on-island kitesurf school, rental or repair source, so riders need to bring complete gear and spares.

The bigger pictureEverything about Menorca

Last updated: August 2026