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Puglia · Bari north coast · Bari
Giovinazzo
Nearby Molfetta 5 km · Santo Spirito 6 km · Torre Quetta 22 km · Barletta Freekite Beach 40 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
12:00 · 16:00 · 18:00
Afternoon wind. Through May-September the mean climbs from 5-6 kt overnight to about 8 kt between 12:00 and 16:00, the share of hours over 12 kt peaks near 16:00, and it collapses after 18:00. Indicative rather than measured on the seafront.
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 Maestrale, Levante, Scirocco
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Afternoon wind. Through May-September the mean climbs from 5-6 kt overnight to about 8 kt between 12:00 and 16:00, the share of hours over 12 kt peaks near 16:00, and it collapses after 18:00. Indicative rather than measured on the seafront.
Typical strength
Light more often than not. A 2019-2024 reanalysis for the seafront cell puts monthly means between 6 and 8 kt, with only 3-9% of summer hours reaching 12 kt against 14-19% from December to March. The strong days are the winter and shoulder-season northerlies, not the summer easterlies. Indicative: the weather station that used to report at this spot has stopped, and the nearest active one is at the airport.
The quiver, in words
Not published locally. A working summer day here is marginal, roughly 12-15 kt, so a 75-85 kg rider is on 13-15 m or a foil; a strong Maestrale takes the same rider down to 9-11 m. Indicative, read off the wind distribution.
Direction to shore
The coast here runs about 279-099 degrees with the sea to the north, so the shore faces roughly north-northeast. Northerlies come straight in, which is where the shorebreak comes from; Maestrale from the northwest is cross-onshore; Levante runs side-shore along the front; Scirocco from the southeast blows off the land, which is why it leaves the water flat. Read off shoreline orientation.
Dominant direction
Maestrale, plus Levante and Scirocco; the northerlies behave nothing like the summer east and south-east days.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan26
- Feb28
- Mar29
- Apr28
- May, riders' month21
- Jun, riders' month22
- Jul, riders' month21
- Aug, riders' month21
- Sep, riders' month28
- Oct19
- Nov30
- Dec29
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- 26%Jan14°
- 28%Feb13°
- 29%Mar14°
- 28%Apr16°
- 21%May19°
- 22%Jun24°
- 21%Jul28°
- 21%Aug28°
- 28%Sep26°
- 19%Oct23°
- 30%Nov19°
- 29%Dec16°
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 | 26% | 47% | 37% | 11.6 kt | W | 13:00 | 9.8°C | 14.1°C | 62 |
| Feb | 28% | 44% | 35% | 10.6 kt | WNW | 13:00 | 10.5°C | 13.1°C | 57 |
| Mar | 29% | 50% | 35% | 12 kt | WNW | 13:00 | 11.8°C | 14.3°C | 62 |
| Apr | 28% | 40% | 32% | 11.6 kt | NW | 14:00 | 14.8°C | 16°C | 60 |
| May | 21% | 37% | 23% | 10.7 kt | SSE | 13:00 | 19.9°C | 18.9°C | 62 |
| Jun | 22% | 40% | 35% | 10.6 kt | WNW | 14:00 | 25.5°C | 23.9°C | 60 |
| Jul | 21% | 50% | 29% | 11.1 kt | N | 15:00 | 28.6°C | 27.8°C | 62 |
| Aug | 21% | 37% | 31% | 10.7 kt | NE | 14:00 | 27.5°C | 28.3°C | 62 |
| Sep | 28% | 48% | 35% | 11.3 kt | N | 15:00 | 23.6°C | 26°C | 60 |
| Oct | 19% | 35% | 29% | 10.2 kt | E | 14:00 | 20°C | 22.6°C | 62 |
| Nov | 30% | 43% | 33% | 11.8 kt | W | 13:00 | 14.5°C | 18.8°C | 60 |
| Dec | 29% | 47% | 40% | 11.2 kt | W | 12:00 | 11.4°C | 15.5°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
Not measured, but the bathing ordinance for this coast fixes where the shallow part ends: safe water is everything shoreward of the 1.30 m depth line, buoyed with white floats every 25 m in the marked area (2021 ordinance). How far offshore that line sits at Giovinazzo is not published.
Tides
Tide independent.
Temperature
26.6°C summer · 12.6°C winter
Wetsuit
Lycra covers May-September, when the air runs 20-38 C; October-May you want a wetsuit. Winter water at 12-13 C means a full winter suit for anything long.
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
3 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: small
Somewhere else
Molfetta, 5 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Small launch and landing area. Getting to the water off the wide seafront road is easy, but nobody has pinned down the habitual kite-rigging point.
Space
small
Rules & access
- 2026: Regione Puglia approved the regional bathing ordinance with Determinazione Dirigenziale n. 215 of 15 April 2026; the bathing season runs 23 May to 13 September, and the first 200 m off beaches and low rocky coasts is normally reserved for bathing unless the maritime authority sets other limits.
- 2026: the same regional ordinance leaves launch corridors to the competent maritime-authority ordinances, and coastal municipalities have to maintain them for public-use needs.
- 2021: the Capitaneria di Porto di Molfetta ordinance for the Molfetta-Giovinazzo coast prohibits bathing in ports, within 150 m of port obstructions and moles, within 100 m of breakwaters under construction, inside authorized and signposted launch/landing corridors, and along the Lungomare Marina Italiana stretch from the Monumento Eroi Caduti sul mare to Sant'Antonio in Giovinazzo; it also sets the safe-water limit at the 1.30 m depth line marked with white floats every 25 m, marks bathing zones with red or orange buoys at 25 m spacing parallel to the shore, and requires lifeguard cover and first aid at beach facilities. No current kite corridor specific to Giovinazzo is published.
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Confirm the exact rigging point with Centro Velico Giovinazzo or with riders on the seafront before you set up.
- Treat a strong Maestrale as an advanced day; the shorebreak is the reason.
- Save Levante and Scirocco days for flat-water speed and slalom.
- Bring booties. The beach is gravel and hard, not soft sand.
- Read the Capitaneria and municipal signs, above all near the port and along Lungomare Marina Italiana.
- Come between May and September for the wind; from October to May you want a wetsuit anyway.
- Come between May and September for the water; the wind record is thinner in those months than the spot's reputation suggests.
- Scirocco flattens the water because it blows off the land - go out with the means to get back.
- White floats every 25 m mark the 1.30 m safe-water line, and red or orange buoys mark the bathing zones; stay outside them in season.
- Rig in the afternoon. What breeze there is builds towards 16:00 and dies after 18:00.
Getting there
Airport
Bari Karol Wojtyla Airport (BRI), about 10 km from the spot.
Route
Drive northwest from Bari along the coast to Giovinazzo, about 14.3 km by road from Bari Airport.
Transfer
15 min
Staying
Beds in Giovinazzo and in Bari; nothing kite-specific at the spot.
No-wind days
Giovinazzo old town and Bari are both minutes away; nothing kite-specific has been checked beyond that.
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Giovinazzo?
May through September is the published Bari-area kite season, with Levante and Scirocco suited to speed and slalom.
Is Giovinazzo suitable for beginners?
No, this record grades it intermediate to advanced because the launch is small and strong Maestrale brings shorebreak, despite some listings calling it suitable for all levels.
What is the wind like at Giovinazzo?
The spot is weather-driven rather than tied to one thermal pattern, working with Maestrale, Levante and Scirocco and becoming demanding when Maestrale is strong.
Are there rules or restricted zones?
The 2026 Puglia bathing ordinance runs 23 May to 13 September and ordinarily reserves the first 200 m from the beach for bathers unless the maritime authority sets other limits.
Last updated: August 2026