MapItalyIonian and Lecce coasts, SalentoGallipoliIonian and Lecce coasts, Salento

Gallipoli

Apulia · Salento - Ionian coast · Lecce

also known as Lido Pizzo, Punta Pizzo, Baia Verde

Part of Ionian and Lecce coasts, Salento →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnershigh 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

Jan–Dec

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

limited

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

26.9 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jul Aug Jun

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

64 min

Brindisi Airport (BDS)

On the clock

13:00 · 15:00

No thermal clock to work to: the Tramontana and the winter Scirocco are synoptic winds that can blow all day and through the night. There is still an afternoon bias in the averages, which climb from mid-morning and peak between 13:00 and 15:00 in every season, roughly 2 kt above the night hours, and the summer westerly sea breeze follows the same shape at strengths that mostly stay under kite wind.

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.

Baia Verdealso a name for this spot

The spot

Gallipoli is not one kite beach. The launches that matter are Lido/Punta Pizzo and Baia Verde, and Punta Pizzo earns its place because it is one of the few Ionian-side Salento beaches that works with Tramontana from the north. That wind arrives onshore and often gusty over a beach that is sandy but not wide, with rocks along parts of the shore and headlands and reef close by.

Who should come

Freeride, then; nothing about it is forgiving. Rescue is not guaranteed at Punta Pizzo, so independent beginners belong at a school beach instead. Summer is the real obstacle: bathing rules and a crowded beach stop you launching, which leaves September to May as the practical season. Schools operate in Gallipoli, and inside the bathing season an authorized corridor is the only realistic way onto the water.

The wind

locals call it Tramontana; Scirocco for the wider Ionian coast

Direction

onshore

Direction to shore

N is onshore at Punta Pizzo; N to NE is the usable setup at Lido Pizzo.

Dominant direction

N to NE at Lido/Punta Pizzo; S-SE in wider winter Salento/Ionian setups

Kite sizes

67891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

8-12 m in winter; 12 m and occasionally 10 m in summer.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

15-20

Typical strength

15-25 kt, up to 30 kt in winter at Punta Pizzo; 12-15 kt summer average

Onshore and often gusty at Punta Pizzo. The wider Salento winter wind is synoptic, driven by passing perturbations rather than by a thermal.

Seasonal window

Beach launching at Punta Pizzo works mainly September to May; in summer the bathing rules and the crowd make it impractical.

From October to April the Ionian coast runs on Scirocco from the south-south-east, sometimes strong and with real swell, and winter storms build waves up to a couple of metres.

May to September brings a westerly of 15-20 kt to the Ionian side, an afternoon wind that lands in exactly the months when the beach is closed to launching.

Punta Pizzo is the one Ionian Salento beach that works with wind from the north.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month42
Feb, riders' month40
Mar, riders' month37
Apr, riders' month33
May, riders' month34
Jun, riders' month18
Jul, riders' month21
Aug, riders' month13
Sep, riders' month23
Oct, riders' month32
Nov, riders' month30
Dec, riders' month31

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

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

42%Jan15°
40%Feb15°
37%Mar15°
33%Apr16°
34%May19°
18%Jun24°
21%Jul28°
13%Aug28°
23%Sep27°
32%Oct23°
30%Nov20°
31%Dec17°

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

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.

Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	Wind from	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	42%	60%	56%	12.6 kt	N	14:00	10.8 °C	15.3 °C	62
Feb	40%	49%	44%	11.9 kt	N	13:00	11.1 °C	14.5 °C	57
Mar	37%	55%	42%	12.7 kt	S	14:00	12.1 °C	15.3 °C	62
Apr	33%	47%	38%	11.2 kt	W	14:00	14.9 °C	16.4 °C	60
May	34%	50%	40%	11.6 kt	S	14:00	19.5 °C	18.8 °C	62
Jun	18%	32%	23%	10.2 kt	N	15:00	25 °C	23.9 °C	60
Jul	21%	40%	24%	10.5 kt	N	15:00	28.8 °C	27.8 °C	62
Aug	13%	40%	23%	10.5 kt	N	14:00	27.9 °C	28 °C	62
Sep	23%	48%	33%	11.4 kt	N	14:00	24.1 °C	26.5 °C	60
Oct	32%	50%	42%	10.9 kt	N	14:00	20.5 °C	23.4 °C	62
Nov	30%	47%	40%	11.6 kt	N	13:00	15.8 °C	19.5 °C	60
Dec	31%	47%	37%	11.6 kt	N	13:00	12.6 °C	16.5 °C	62

How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024

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

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

mixed

Standing depth

No depth profile has been published for the Pizzo bay. The reference line on this coast is the one the 2026 bathing ordinance makes beaches mark, the -1.30 m 'safe water' contour, buoyed with white floats wherever a lifeguard service runs; Punta Pizzo is free beach with no guaranteed service, so nothing is marked and you find the bottom yourself.Rocks break the surface along parts of the shore, so wade in and look rather than jump.

Tides

minimal

Temperature

26.9 °C summer · 13.7 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 15–28 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or shorty in high summer; full wetsuit in winter.

Conditions

The Gallipoli coast has the sandy Ionian resort beaches, but the kite water is mainly off Lido/Punta Pizzo: sand, a beach that is not very wide, rocks in parts of the shore, plus reefs and headlands nearby.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Punta Pizzo is not a safe independent spot: the wind is onshore and gusty and there are rocks along parts of the shoreline. Schools do run lessons there in managed zones. Beginners on their own should use a safer nearby school beach.

The scene

What riders come here for

freerideintermediateadvancedlessons with school supportoccasional wave riding

Packed Ionian resort coast from June through August. Outside the bathing season it goes back to being a local Salento freeride beach, tied to the schools and to Tramontana days.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: limited

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

8 spots nearby

All 8 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No guaranteed rescue at Punta Pizzo, which is free beach. Where a service does run, the 2026 rules require a manned tower every 80 m of beach frontage from 09:00 to 19:00 through the bathing season, each with 200 m of floating rescue line and a rescue can.

From the water, 1530 reaches the Coast Guard free from any phone; 112 is the general emergency number.

Launch

Sandy bay at Lido/Punta Pizzo, inside the Punta Pizzo / Isola di Sant'Andrea coastal park; Baia Verde is the other Gallipoli beach the schools use.

Hazards riders report 8 reported

Wind

offshore islands (Isola di Sant'Andrea) and reefs along the coast
Onshore and often gusty north wind at Punta Pizzo

Crowds and zones

Summer beach crowding and bathing restrictions

Bottom

Rocks in parts of the shoreline
Headlands/reef and nearby Isola di Sant'Andrea area
Free beach with no marked -1.30 m safe-water line, so no visual cue for where you stop touching bottom

Waves and currents

Winter storms build waves up to about two metres on this stretch

Other

No guaranteed rescue at Punta Pizzo

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: the Gallipoli maritime district bathing-safety ordinance n. 57 of 7 May 2026, which replaces n. 51 of 9 May 2025, reserves the sea within 200 m of beaches and low rocky shores, and 100 m off high or cliffed coast, for bathing from 1 May to 30 September.

Kite corridor rules

Kite-surf is named in the text: crossing that band is allowed only inside a previously authorized launch and landing corridor, at minimum speed, never above 3 knots, on a course perpendicular to the shore.

Beach markings and safety

Beach operators and the comune must buoy the bathing limit with red or orange floats 20 m apart and mark the -1.30 m safe-water line with white floats, and must run a lifeguard service from 09:00 to 19:00 through the season set by the Puglia regional bathing ordinance, approved for 2026 on 15 April 2026.

Working season

In practice the summer crowd and these rules leave no room to launch from the beach at Gallipoli and Punta Pizzo, which is why the working season is September to May unless a school corridor is running.

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

Ask which beach the session is on before you drive: Lido/Punta Pizzo, Baia Verde and the school-managed stretches are not interchangeable.
Skip an independent session at Punta Pizzo in onshore Tramontana; the rocks and the beach push are why.
In summer, confirm an authorized school corridor before you carry gear onto the sand.
Pack a full suit for the cold months: winter water sits around 13.7 C.
From 1 May to 30 September the first 200 m of water is bathing zone: you cross it only inside an authorized corridor, square to the beach and under 3 knots.
Park along the shoreline road and cross straight onto the sand; there is no long carry at Pizzo.

Getting there

Airport

Brindisi Airport (BDS)

Route

By car it is about 81 km from Brindisi Airport to Gallipoli; on public transport you normally change at Lecce.

Transfer

64 min

Cost level

mid

Staying

Beds are plentiful around Gallipoli, and in summer the services cluster around Lido Pizzo and the resort beaches.

No-wind days

Gallipoli old town, beaches and the Isola di Sant'Andrea / Punta Pizzo regional park.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Gallipoli?

Punta Pizzo is mainly usable from September to May because summer bathing rules and crowded beaches limit launching.

Is Gallipoli suitable for beginners?

No, Punta Pizzo is described as not very safe for independent beginners due to onshore, often gusty wind and rocks along parts of the shoreline; lessons are offered by schools in managed zones.

What is the wind like at Gallipoli?

Punta Pizzo works with N to NE Tramontana, typically 15-25 knots and up to 30 knots in winter, while the wider Ionian coast sees S-SE Scirocco in winter.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

The 2026 Puglia regional bathing ordinance and crowded beaches mean the practical kite season runs September to May unless an authorized school corridor is active.

The bigger pictureEverything about Salento - Ionian coast

Last updated: August 2026