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Grado

Friuli – Venezia Giulia · Grado · Gorizia

also known as Sacca dei Moreri, Punta Barbacale, Grado Isolotto, Isolotto, Grado Pineta

Part of Grado →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

lagoonbeginner-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

Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct

Months riders and schools name

How windy

10-12 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

lagoon|flat|chop|mixed

Sacca dei Moreri sits behind sandbanks: mostly flat water, shallow zones, a few deeper channels

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Apr May Jun Jul

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Trieste Airport (TRS)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

The southwest thermal is an afternoon wind: it fills in after midday and runs into the evening, which is why the school timetable is built around afternoon sessions. Bora and Scirocco are weather winds and arrive on the system's schedule rather than the clock, so a Bora day can start at dawn or at midnight and hold for two or three days.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Lignano Sabbiadorono page yet
Punta Barbacale / Grado Pinetano page yet
Marina Julia, Monfalcone
Foci del Tagliamentono page yet
Piran / Portorozno page yet

The spot

Grado is two launches rather than one beach.

Sacca dei Moreri

Sacca dei Moreri, the sand island by the Isolotto, is the regulated one: the bathing ordinance as updated in 2026 carves out a kitesurf start and landing zone there, oriented south, and the shallow lagoon water around it is why the schools work from it.

The zone faces south, so south wind and the afternoon southwest thermal are its natural days, while the northeast quadrant puts an offshore component behind you; NE Bora is also rated the wind that gives the flattest water here, and which view holds on the day is not settled, so ask before you pick a side.

Punta Barbacale

Punta Barbacale, at the east end of Grado Pineta, goes flat behind the small harbour in Bora and is expert freestyle ground, with obstacles on the launch and a closure through the bathing season.

Tide and season

Low tide is the thing nobody warns you about: the banks dry out, Pineta can stop being navigable at all, and the strip of water between the Sacca beach and the islet decides how far you carry your kit.

Spring into early summer plus September and October is the window to book, with May the standout month and July more likely to be light or crowded. The town is a resort with beaches, cycling, lagoon boats and thermal baths, so bringing people who do not kite is easy.

The wind

locals call it Bora, Scirocco, and afternoon southwest thermal

Direction

cross-onNE Bora

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

NE Bora, SE-S Scirocco, S-SW thermal depending on system and launch

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

5-9 m for strong Bora, 8-12 m for moderate wind, 12-17 m or foil gear for light thermal days.A 75-85 kg rider is on 9-10 m at 20 knots and down to 7-8 m once Bora is over 30;kites as large as 15-21 m are quoted for the lightest afternoon breezes, which only makes sense on dedicated light-wind or foil setups.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

11-29 knots on rideable days in an inherited monthly table; no station average for Grado or Grado Pineta has been published, so the figure is indicative rather than measured.

Typical strength

The southwest thermal runs 10-12 knots through summer and 15-17 in April and May. Scirocco is the steadier of the two weather winds. Bora comes in at 15-30 and on the strong days 30-40 or more. The spot is reported to start working from around 5-10 knots on the right gear and to stay rideable past 40.

Mixed: the southwest thermal is lighter, Scirocco is typically more stable, and Bora is stronger/gustier and can be offshore or cross-off depending on launch.

April to June is the window to book: the spring wind is the most constant of the year, and July usually goes light until Bora picks up again from mid-August.

May comes out on top more often than any other month.

Autumn holds up well, and the Goofy Island end of the season is put at May to November.

Winter is cold and often windy in Bora.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season

No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, and whatever the series does hold is in the table below.

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	6.1 kt	E	5 °C	10.6 °C
Feb	6.3 kt	E	5.6 °C	9.4 °C
Mar	6 kt	E	8.9 °C	10 °C
Apr	5.6 kt	E	12.8 °C	13.3 °C
May	5.1 kt	S	17.8 °C	17.8 °C
Jun	4.8 kt	S	21.7 °C	22.2 °C
Jul	4.7 kt	S	23.9 °C	24.4 °C
Aug	4.8 kt	S	23.9 °C	25 °C
Sep	5.4 kt	E	19.4 °C	22.2 °C
Oct	6 kt	E	15 °C	18.9 °C
Nov	6.3 kt	E	10 °C	15.6 °C
Dec	6.2 kt	E	6.1 °C	12.8 °C

About these figuresriders' months

Riders and schools name these months. The model reads lower here, and both are shown rather than averaged.

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.

Grado (WeatherSpark modeled climatology) · weatherspark

The water

Type

lagoon|flat|chop|mixed

Standing depth

Wide standing-depth water around Sacca dei Moreri and the Isolotto, over a shallow sandy bottom, with a long sandbank keeping the swell out.At Grado Pineta the flat shallow strip runs roughly 300 m out from the beach before it deepens, and further offshore there are stretches holding about a metre of water for a kilometre in either direction.The bottom carries mud in places and sharp shells, so footwear is worth packing.Very low tide can take the Pineta side out of use entirely.

Tides

Northern Adriatic tide, with a spring range of roughly a metre - small in absolute terms, decisive here because the water is so shallow. At Grado Pineta and Punta Barbacale a very low tide is reported to leave the spot unnavigable. Across the lagoon low water uncovers banks that are rideable ground at half tide.Carries and closuresAt Sacca dei Moreri the islet is often cut off from the beach by a strip of water, so the carry from the car changes with the level rather than the spot itself closing. Claims that Grado Pineta is tide-independent are unconfirmed and should not be planned around.

Temperature

Summer (°C) June average 23.2, July 25.8, August 25.9; August historical range 23.2-29.2.

Winter (°C) January average 10.5, February average 9.6.

Modelled monthly average: 9–25 °C

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or shorty in peak summer for many riders; 3/2 or 4/3 in spring/autumn; winter Bora sessions require a thick full suit, hood/boots/gloves depending on cold tolerance.

Currents

No waves and no current in the teaching water at the Sacca. Strong tidal current does run near the south end of the Grado breakwater, which the 2026 update to the bathing ordinance flags; that is outside the kite area, and it is the reason not to drift down there.

Conditions

Sacca dei Moreri sits behind sandbanks: mostly flat water, shallow zones, a few deeper channels. Punta Barbacale and Grado Pineta go flat behind the small harbour in Bora, over a muddy bottom, with obstacles close to the launch.

Shallow and choppy is the other description that comes back for that side, so expect it to depend on the wind and the water level.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Sacca dei Moreri and the Isolotto are the school ground: space, shallow water, few hard obstacles. Beginners should stay with an instructor and keep an eye on the students and the beach users.

Punta Barbacale and Grado Pineta are for riders who can hold their ground, especially in Bora, because of the obstacles on the launch and the mud underneath.

The scene

What riders come here for

freestyleflat waterfreerideairstylefoiling in light wind

Who it suitsbeginnerlearning

Resort-town and school/community scene: Sacca is used by schools and can have students plus summer sunbathers, while Grado beach attracts riders from Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria and Germany. Punta Barbacale is more expert/freestyle oriented outside restricted periods.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

9 spots nearby

All 9 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

VHF channel 16

Rescue — full text1 min read

Emergency at sea: 1530. EU emergency: 112. VHF channel 16.

The Ufficio Circondariale Marittimo di Grado answers on 0431 80050 or 81542, and the bathing ordinance as updated in 2026 requires bathing establishments to run a lifeguard rescue service daily from 09:00 to 19:00 between 15 June and 15 September.

That is bather cover, not a kite chase boat. The schools keep a dinghy, but whether it comes out for a rider who is not their student is unconfirmed.

Launch

Main practical launch is the official Sacca dei Moreri/Isolotto kite area near Piazzale Azzurri d'Italia, with parking by the Cittadella dello Sport and an islet/sand strip often separated from the beach by shallow water, so riders may need to carry gear.Punta Barbacale at the east end of Grado Pineta uses a grassy area near Viale dell'Orione/Largo Punta Barbacale with water entry west or east depending on wind and tide, but has seasonal restrictions and obstacles.

Hazards riders report 16 reported

Wind

occasional strong Bora gusts
Offshore or cross-off component in NE Bora at Sacca dei Moreri/Isolotto.
Strong Bora days can exceed 30 knots and be gusty.
North and west winds here are gusty and treated locally as the dangerous directions.

Crowds and zones

Summer beach users and sunbathers at Sacca dei Moreri; kiters should avoid dangerous situations with kites and lines.

Bottom

Muddy bottom at Grado Pineta/Punta Barbacale.
Sharp shells in the mud and sand; footwear is recommended for anyone body-dragging or walking the shallows.
Jumping over unknown ground: check the depth before you load up, because the shallow banks move.

Waves and currents

shallow sandbanks/oyster beds at low tide
Very low tide can make Grado Pineta/Punta Barbacale impossible to navigate.

Protected areas and rules

mosquitoes in the lagoon at dusk in Jul-Aug
Changing sandbanks, shallow areas and deeper channels in the lagoon.
Crowded beaches, swimmers in the water, plus boat and ship traffic across the lagoon mouth.
Strong tidal currents are flagged by the 2026-updated ordinance near the south end of the Grado breakwater, outside the main Sacca kite launch.
Submerged and half-submerged obstacles in the lagoon shallows: nets, stakes and driftwood.

Other

Children's play equipment and other obstacles at Punta Barbacale/Grado Pineta launch.

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: Ordinanza di Sicurezza Balneare n. 35/2024, updated 23 April 2026, designates Sacca dei Moreri, the sand island there, as the kitesurf board start and landing zone, oriented south, and requires the Comune to install multilingual signs in Italian, English, German and Slovenian warning of kitesurf presence in the water off that beach.

This is a standalone carve-out under Article 2, separate from the ordinary launch and landing corridors that Article 8 sets up for sailing and motor craft in bathing-reserved waters; Article 8 forbids both swimming and kitesurf transit inside those ordinary corridors, so a kiter's authorised route through the bathing zone is the dedicated Sacca zone, not a generic boat corridor.

Bathing season zones

2026: through the bathing season the bathing zone runs out to about 400 m from the shoreline and is marked by red buoys, and navigation inside it is closed; the Sacca dei Moreri/Isolotto kite area lies outside that boundary, which is why it stays rideable year-round including in high summer.

The marked kite area there has existed since 2019, agreed between the local kite association, the maritime authority and civil protection.

Restrictions at other locations

2026: kitesurfing at Grado Pineta/Punta Barbacale is prohibited during the bathing season under the port authority ordinance, and winter limitations apply east of Punta Barbacale over a protected site of Community importance; no Article 2 carve-out exists for that stretch.

Equipment and discipline

Kitesurf discipline itself, equipment and schools, is deferred to a separate Regolamento di disciplina della nautica da diporto e degli sport acquatici nel Circondario Marittimo di Grado, which was not obtained.

Bathing establishments and port rules

Bathing establishments must run a lifeguard rescue service daily 09:00-19:00 from 15 June to 15 September.

2026: the bathing season at Grado runs 1 May to 30 September each year.

Port mouths are off limits at all times.

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

Learn and progress at Sacca dei Moreri; treat Punta Barbacale as a local, expert option unless someone on the beach tells you otherwise that day.
Read the current ordinance and the beach signs before you launch in summer: the rules at Sacca dei Moreri and at Grado Pineta are not the same.
Park at Piazzale Azzurri d'Italia by the Cittadella dello Sport and expect to carry, because a strip of water usually separates the islet from the beach.
Bring both ends of the quiver for a week here. The southwest thermal can be foil-only and Bora can put you on your smallest kite.
Watch the tide before you drive out to Grado Pineta or Punta Barbacale; a very low tide stops navigation there.
Give the sunbathers, the swimmers and the students a wide margin in summer; lines across the beach are the recurring local complaint.
If Bora is up and you are not comfortably independent, ask about Marina Julia at Monfalcone instead.
Default to the south and southwest days at Sacca dei Moreri: the marked zone faces south and the northeast quadrant puts an offshore component behind you.
Pack booties. The lagoon bottom is soft in places and there are sharp shells in it.
Cover up at dusk in July and August, when the lagoon mosquitoes come out.

Getting there

Airport

Trieste Airport (TRS) is the nearest airport; Grado tourism gives 22 km from Grado. Venice Marco Polo (VCE) is a larger alternative.

Route

By car: A4 Venice-Trieste or A23 Tarvisio-Venezia to Palmanova, then road 352 toward Grado; from Trieste take Redipuglia and Monfalcone Ovest, then SR14-SP19. Buses run from Trieste Airport at Ronchi dei Legionari and on the Cervignano-Aquileia-Grado line.

Transfer

About 56 minutes by bus from Trieste Airport to Grado; about 40 minutes by car from Trieste and about 1.5 hours from Venice.

Cost level

medium

Staying

A resort town: hotels, holiday apartments and campsites, with camper areas and camper parking near the Isolotto spot.

No-wind days

Grado old town and the beaches,cycling on the Alpe Adria route and the lagoon paths,the ferry out to Barbana island,SUP or canoe or e-foil with the local school,the thermal baths,day trips to Aquileia and Palmanova.The Barbana ferry was EUR 10 return in 2026 for adults and EUR 5 return in 2026 for children aged 3-10.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Grado?

April to June is rated the best vacation window, with May standing out; spring and autumn are strong and winter is cold but often windy in Bora.

Is Grado suitable for beginners?

Yes, Sacca dei Moreri/Isolotto is school-favored thanks to space and shallow water, while Punta Barbacale/Grado Pineta is described as pro-oriented and not recommended for less experienced riders.

What is the wind like at Grado?

Bora is stronger and gustier and can be offshore, Scirocco is typically more stable, and an afternoon southwest thermal is lighter; kite sizes range roughly 5-9 m in strong Bora up to 12-17 m in light thermal.

Are there rules or restricted zones in 2026?

A 2026-updated bathing ordinance identifies Sacca dei Moreri as an official kitesurf start/landing zone, while kiting at Grado Pineta/Punta Barbacale is prohibited during the bathing season.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Yes, Kite Life FVG at Piazzale Azzurri d'Italia and Goofy Island Kite both teach at Grado.

The bigger pictureEverything about Grado

Last updated: August 2026