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Sardegna · Gonnesa, south-west Sardinia · Sulcis Iglesiente · Gonnesa

Funtanamare

also known as Fontanamare

advanced onlymedium crowds
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Nearby Punta Trettu 14 km · Spiaggia La Salina 16 km · Spiaggia Grande 18 km · Is Solinas 25 km · Porto Botte 26 km · Coequaddus 28 km · Porto Pino 38 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Decthe months riders and schools nameHow windy10-40synopticLaunchWide sandy beach. No formal launch corridor is reported.access rules on record, belowWatersea25°C in summer · 10 things riders flagLevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level sectionSchools4named at this spotFrom the airport60 minCagliari Elmas Airport (CAG)

When it fills in

Maestrale is a weather-system wind: it can be blowing at any hour and can hold for days. Ponente is the one that behaves more like a sea breeze from spring to autumn and works best under clear skies, which points to afternoon heating rather than a fixed start. No local onset or drop times are documented.

Funtanamare, also written Fontanamare, is a west-facing open-sea beach on the long Gonnesa bay in south-west Sardinia. It is a wave spot: Maestrale from the north-west is the wind that makes it, and Ponente and Libeccio also work.
The sand is wide, but the bottom is not clean, with rock in the first 10-20 m and more of it about 100 m out, and those outer rocks are what shape the waves. When Maestrale builds hard the sea goes big and messy and the water moves, which is the reason this is not a place to learn.
Beginners get sent to Punta Trettu instead. There is no launch corridor, and the honest reading is winter use, 30 September to 30 April, because of summer bathers, though summer kiting is sometimes tolerated when the beach is empty.

The wind

locals call it Maestrale, Ponente, Libeccio

Direction

beachwater
cross-onNW

Kite sizes

4567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

synoptic

fills in: Maestrale is a weather-system wind: it can be blowing at any hour and can hold for days. Ponente is the one that behaves more like a sea breeze from spring to autumn and works best under clear skies, which points to afternoon heating rather than a fixed start. No local onset or drop times are documented.

Typical strength

10-40

Maestrale is the best wind but can arrive strong enough to make the sea large, messy and choppy.
Funtanamare is primarily an autumn-to-spring/winter wave spot; Ponente reportedly works from spring to autumn, especially with little cloud.

The quiver, in words

No local size table is published. Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider: 10-12 m in the low to mid teens, 8-9 m at around 20 kt of Maestrale, which is already enough to stand waves of 2-3 m up, and 6-7 m once it blows harder.Being overpowered is the wrong side to err on here, because the sea turns big and disordered quickly.

Direction to shore

Maestrale enters side-onshore from the right and is the wind that builds the wave, though it goes disordered as soon as it strengthens or holds for a few days. Ponente comes straight in off the sea with a messier wave. Tramontana arrives gusty and side-on from the right.Libeccio is side-onshore from the left.

Dominant direction

NW, W, SW

Forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan, riders' month54
  2. Feb, riders' month45
  3. Mar, riders' month58
  4. Apr, riders' month53
  5. May, riders' month31
  6. Jun, riders' month49
  7. Jul42
  8. Aug46
  9. Sep, riders' month49
  10. Oct, riders' month42
  11. Nov, riders' month50
  12. Dec, riders' month43

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

  1. 12Jan15°
  2. 12Feb15°
  3. 12Mar15°
  4. 13Apr17°
  5. 10May19°
  6. 11Jun23°
  7. 11Jul25°
  8. 11Aug26°
  9. 11Sep25°
  10. 10Oct23°
  11. 12Nov20°
  12. 12Dec17°

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

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan54%12.4 ktNW10.9°C15°C
Feb45%11.5 ktNW11°C14.6°C
Mar58%12.4 ktNW12.5°C15.4°C
Apr53%12.8 ktNW14.6°C16.5°C
May31%9.7 ktNW18.4°C19.2°C
Jun49%10.9 ktNW23.7°C22.7°C
Jul42%11.2 ktNW27.2°C25.3°C
Aug46%11.4 ktNW26.4°C26.3°C
Sep49%11.4 ktNW23.7°C24.7°C
Oct42%10.2 ktESE20.8°C22.9°C
Nov50%12 ktNW16.1°C20.2°C
Dec43%11.6 ktNW12.5°C16.7°C
modelled

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

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. 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.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

sea

Tides

not reported as tide dependent

Temperature

25°C summer · 15°C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or shorty in summer; full wetsuit in winter.

Currents

Strong flows and insidious currents, especially once waves and a formed sea set in.

15–26°C water
Open west-facing Sardinian beach with chop and waves. The seabed is sand and rock, with rocks in the first 10-20 m and more about 100 m offshore, and the outer rocks are what help the waves form.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced
Intermediate and advanced in one rating, advanced only in another. The waves, the flows and the seabed argue for the stricter reading.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavefreeridefoilwindsurf
A local and trip wave spot rather than a school beach. How busy it gets is disputed: crowds of summer bathers in one telling, an empty beach in another, with summer kiting sometimes tolerated.

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: Wide sandy beach. No formal launch corridor is reported.

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Punta Trettu, 14 km

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

Rescue

A lifeguard and rescue service appears among the spot facilities, but it comes only with a booked lesson or trip. There is no permanent public cover.

Launch

Launch from the broad Funtanamare/Fontanamare beach section of the Gonnesa bay, away from the more surf-oriented Porto Paglia end.

Space

Wide sandy beach. No formal launch corridor is reported.

Hazards riders report 10

  • strong and messy sea when Maestrale builds
  • summer swimmers
  • no launch corridor reported
  • no kite launch corridor reported
  • summer bathers
  • large messy choppy sea in strong Maestrale
  • rocks in the first 10-20 m of seabed
  • rocks about 100 m offshore
  • strong water flows and currents
  • wave conditions unsuitable for beginners
Rules & access
2026: there is no launch corridor, and the spot is treated as strictly winter use from 30 September to 30 April because of bathers. The 2026 Sardegna regional demanio ordinance sets the bathing season inside the wider summer season and leaves safety rules to the competent maritime authority and the municipality.

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

Rider tips

  • Ride here only if your self-rescue and your wave riding are both solid.
  • Walk the entry and look at the bottom before you launch; there is rock in the first 10-20 m.
  • For a lesson or early progression, go to Punta Trettu or another flat-water school beach.
  • Plan on the winter window, 30 September to 30 April; in summer, ask locally whether kiting is being tolerated that day.
  • Treat the current seriously once the sea is formed; the flows along this bay are strong.

Getting there

Airport

Cagliari Elmas Airport (CAG)

Route

From Cagliari take the SS130 toward Iglesias, then the SS126 and the signs for Funtanamare. Cagliari Elmas is the nearest airport, about 60 km away.

Transfer

60 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Stay in Gonnesa, Iglesias, Nebida/Masua, or at south-west Sardinia kite accommodation such as the Punta Trettu area for more school infrastructure.

No-wind days

Porto Paglia surf beach, Plage Mesu, Nebida and Masua coastline, Pan di Zucchero, Iglesias, and Sulcis archaeological/nature sites.

Photos

Elevated view of the wide sandy Funtanamare beach and bay in Gonnesa, Sardinia
Alex10 / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Funtanamare?

It is primarily an autumn-to-spring wave spot, treated as winter-only from 30 September to 30 April because of summer bathers.

Is Funtanamare suitable for beginners?

No, sources recommend it only for intermediate and advanced riders due to waves, strong currents and a rocky seabed; beginners are directed to Punta Trettu instead.

What is the wind like at Funtanamare?

Maestrale from the northwest is the best wind, though it can build a large, messy and choppy sea; Ponente and Libeccio also work.

What hazards should riders know about?

Rocks lie in the first 10-20 m of seabed and again around 100 m offshore, and strong water flows or currents are reported, especially with waves.

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Last updated: August 2026