Map › Spain › Guadalmar / Los Álamos kite zone & Rincón de la Victoria › Guadalmar / Los Álamos kite zone

Andalucía mediterránea · Costa del Sol, Málaga · Málaga-Costa del Sol · Málaga / Torremolinos

Guadalmar / Los Álamos kite zone

also known as Playa de Guadalmar, Los Álamos, Playamar, Torremolinos-Guadalmar, La Traviata / Zona Kitesurf Málaga, Campo de Golf San Julián

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Rincón de la Victoria 18 km · El Chaparral 25 km · Playa de Los Monteros 38 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan to Octthe months riders and schools name How windyunder Typical strength, belowmixed Launchmediumaccess rules on record, below Watersea23.2°C in summer · 8 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airport10 minMálaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP)

When it fills in

thermal wind in warm, clear conditions; exact onset hour unconfirmed

Guadalmar / Los Álamos is the main publicly identified kite zone on the Málaga city and Torremolinos shoreline, a regulated nautical strip of about 300 m between Chiringuito La Traviata, the golf course and Málaga airport. Schools use it for lessons and body-drag work, and locals ride freeride, freestyle and foil there.

The water is open Mediterranean beach: flat on a good day, chop on a bad one. Usable directions are not settled, with E and SW named alongside SE thermal and a stronger N, and poniente reportedly concentrated here by the Guadalhorce valley. North wind is gusty and offshore.

Not a beginner condition. No official current plan map of the legal boundary was found, so treat the edges of the strip as approximate and ask a school or read the beach signage before you rig. It works from March to October, and through summer bathers fill both sides of the zone.

The wind

locals call it Poniente / Levante

Direction

offshoreSE thermalwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Character

mixed

fills in: thermal wind in warm, clear conditions; exact onset hour unconfirmed

Typical strength

8-12 in SE thermal; 15-20 when N wind strengthens

SE thermal is steady and warm; north wind is gusty and offshore. The Guadalhorce valley effect reportedly concentrates a more constant poniente here than elsewhere on the coast.

Wind is sporadic to frequent from March to October: thermal sessions in summer, poniente days for progression.

Thermal or synoptic

thermal and frontal

Direction to shore

N is offshore; the exact shore-angle mapping for E, SE, SW and W is unconfirmed.

Dominant direction

SE thermal, W/Poniente, E and SW; N can blow stronger but offshore/gusty

Forecast

Month by month

Jan, riders' month26
Feb, riders' month44
Mar, riders' month27
Apr, riders' month17
May, riders' month18
Jun, riders' month18
Jul, riders' month8
Aug, riders' month3
Sep, riders' month12
Oct, riders' month13
Nov20
Dec27

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.

26%Jan16°
44%Feb15°
27%Mar16°
17%Apr18°
18%May19°
18%Jun22°
8%Jul25°
3%Aug26°
12%Sep25°
13%Oct21°
20%Nov18°
27%Dec17°

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%	37%	31%	9.6 kt	NW	15:00	12.3°C	15.7°C	62
Feb	44%	54%	51%	12.2 kt	NW	15:00	13.2°C	15.4°C	57
Mar	27%	47%	40%	10.2 kt	NW	15:00	14.7°C	15.6°C	62
Apr	17%	30%	23%	9.3 kt	ESE	15:00	16.9°C	17.6°C	60
May	18%	35%	24%	9.5 kt	SSW	14:00	19.8°C	19.4°C	62
Jun	18%	23%	20%	8.1 kt	SW	14:00	23.6°C	21.5°C	60
Jul	8%	19%	13%	7.1 kt	S	15:00	26.3°C	24.9°C	62
Aug	3%	15%	6%	7.2 kt	SSE	14:00	26.7°C	26.3°C	62
Sep	12%	33%	18%	8.8 kt	SW	14:00	23.4°C	25.2°C	60
Oct	13%	35%	27%	8.7 kt	NW	14:00	20°C	20.5°C	62
Nov	20%	32%	28%	8.7 kt	NW	14:00	16.6°C	18.3°C	60
Dec	27%	34%	29%	9.4 kt	NW	14:00	13.2°C	17.1°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

Shallow close to shore at the nearby school spots; standing depth on the Guadalmar kite strip itself is unconfirmed.

Tides

Tide forecasts exist for La Traviata / Zona Kitesurf Málaga, but tide dependence at the kite strip is unconfirmed.

Temperature

23.2°C summer · 15.1°C winter

Wetsuit

Summer usually shorty or no wetsuit; winter full wetsuit inferred from 15 C winter sea temperatures

15–26°C water

Open Mediterranean water off the Alboran coast: mostly chop, flat enough on the right day for freestyle and technical practice.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Any level rides here, and local schools run body-drag, waterstart and foil progression on the strip. The legal zone is narrow with bathers on both sides, so beginners should be out only with supervision.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridefreestylelessonswingfoilfoil progression

An urban Costa del Sol training strip between the chiringuitos, the airport and the golf course. The legal area is small, so tight, precise lines are expected of everyone 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

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: medium

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Rincón de la Victoria, 18 km

Rincón de la Victoria El Chaparral Playa de Los Monteros

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

Launch

A homologated nautical-sports strip at Guadalmar / Campo de Golf San Julián, about 300 m of beach between Chiringuito La Traviata and the golf-course side.

Space

medium

Rules & access

2016-2026: A reserved/homologated kitesurf or non-motor nautical-sports area exists at Campo de Golf San Julián/Guadalmar. The approximately 300 m zone is authorized by Junta de Andalucía and Capitanía Marítima inside the Plan de Playas; the official current boundary document was not found.

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

Rider tips

Ride inside the marked strip and leave the bathers on both sides a wide margin.
Treat N wind as experienced-only: gusty and offshore.
Ask a local school or read the posted beach signage first, because the current official boundary map was not located.
Park on the golf course and retail side at Campo de Golf San Julián; that is the closest access to the strip.
Pick an hour outside the peak bathing window from March to October, when the beach either side of the zone is busy.

Getting there

Airport

Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP)

Route

The kite zone sits beside Málaga airport, between Guadalmar and Los Álamos / Campo de Golf San Julián, with access from the golf course and retail area. Campo de Golf San Julián is the westernmost Málaga beach and the one with the kitesurfing zone.

Transfer

10 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Hotels and apartments in Guadalmar, Torremolinos, Los Álamos or Málaga city.

No-wind days

Málaga city, the beach restaurants, golf at Guadalmar, the Torremolinos and Los Álamos beach, and the other non-motor water sports allowed along this shore.

Photos

Guadalmar. Surfing - panoramio — ekuacion, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Guadalmar / Los Álamos?

The zone is used from March through October, with a steady SE thermal typically 8-12 knots and stronger 15-20 knot days when the north wind picks up.

Is it suitable for beginners?

Local schools use the strip for body-drag, waterstart and foil progression at any level, but the narrow legal zone and bathers on both sides mean beginners should ride with supervision.

What is the wind like?

SE thermal is described as steady and warm, while the north wind is gusty and offshore, carrying a risk of drifting out to sea.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

The roughly 300 m strip between Chiringuito La Traviata and the golf course is a homologated nautical-sports area authorized within the regional beach plan, though the current official boundary map was not located.

Last updated: August 2026