Riding essentials
Season
May–Oct
Months riders and schools name
How windy
9 kt
Character: synoptic
Room to launch
huge
access rules on record, below
Water
mixed
North-facing Gulf of Riga beach: white quartz sand, low-salinity Baltic water, forested dunes behind it
Hazards
7
Reported by riders
Level
Beginner to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
medium crowds · busy June July August
Schools
none named here
From the airport
Riga International Airport (RIX)
Transfer times under Getting there
When it fills in
No daily clock here. The wind arrives with the passing weather system, so a good day can be on from morning until dark and a fading front can quit at any hour; read the hourly forecast rather than wait for an afternoon fill-in. On hot, sunny summer days a sea breeze can add a few knots through the middle of the day — a documented south-eastern Baltic coastal pattern rather than a Jūrmala measurement, and rarely enough on its own.
Nearbystraight-line distance
Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.
- 36. līnija / Lielupe estuaryno page yet
- Asarino page yet
- Kaugurino page yet
- Buldurino page yet
The spot
Conditions and wind
Season and water temps
Swimmers and safety
The wind
Direction
Direction to shore
cross-on
Dominant direction
The rideable directions on this north-facing beach run WNW, NW, N and NNE. Monthly direction tables for Pumpuri and 36. līnija are full of S and SSE in winter and W to NW in late spring and summer, so the common wind here is often not the usable one.
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
For 75-85 kg: a 12 m is the workhorse and covers the 12-16 knot days that make up most of the May-October window, a 9 m takes over from about 18 knots, and a 7 m is the autumn and cold-season kite when a front puts it over 25.Latvian shops stock the 7/9/12 spread as the standard local quiver.Indicative — read off the monthly averages for this beach, not from a published local size table.
Character
synoptic
Average strength
Monthly averages for Pumpuri and 36. līnija: 9 kt May-August, 11 kt March-April/September, 13 kt October, 15 kt February/November, 16 kt January/December.
Typical strength
Monthly average wind runs from 9 kt in May-August to 16 kt in January/December, counted against a threshold of at least 4 Bft / 12 kt for a rideable day.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan65
- Feb62
- Mar44
- Apr47
- May, riders' month29
- Jun, riders' month22
- Jul, riders' month30
- Aug, riders' month19
- Sep, riders' month29
- Oct, riders' month49
- Nov40
- Dec41
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 13 ktJan1°
- 12 ktFeb1°
- 10 ktMar1°
- 11 ktApr5°
- 10 ktMay11°
- 9 ktJun17°
- 10 ktJul20°
- 9 ktAug20°
- 9 ktSep19°
- 12 ktOct14°
- 10 ktNov9°
- 11 ktDec5°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
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.
Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | Wind from | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65% | 13.1 kt | SSW | -1.5 °C | 1.4 °C |
| Feb | 62% | 12.3 kt | SSW | 0.7 °C | 0.7 °C |
| Mar | 44% | 10.4 kt | SW | 2.4 °C | 1.4 °C |
| Apr | 47% | 11.2 kt | N | 6.6 °C | 4.6 °C |
| May | 29% | 9.9 kt | N | 12.4 °C | 10.7 °C |
| Jun | 22% | 9 kt | WSW | 17.3 °C | 17.1 °C |
| Jul | 30% | 10 kt | WSW | 18.2 °C | 19.6 °C |
| Aug | 19% | 9.1 kt | SE | 19.2 °C | 20 °C |
| Sep | 29% | 9.2 kt | S | 14.7 °C | 18.8 °C |
| Oct | 49% | 11.6 kt | WSW | 9 °C | 13.7 °C |
| Nov | 40% | 10.4 kt | SW | 3.3 °C | 8.8 °C |
| Dec | 41% | 10.5 kt | SW | -0.5 °C | 4.8 °C |
How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
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
mixed
Standing depth
Sandy bottom with shallow water near the shore. Expect chop and small waves on it rather than lagoon flat.
Tides
Tide independent in practice. Astronomical tide in the Gulf of Riga is tiny next to wind-driven water-level changes, and those are what actually move the shoreline here.
Temperature
Summer (°C) Sea averages about 18.5–19.4 °C in July-August. Figures for the same coast disagree a little: about 15–16 °C in June and 19–20 °C in July-August.
Winter (°C) Winter sea averages about 0.4–0.5 °C in February and about 1.7–1.9 °C in January.
Modelled monthly average: 1–20 °C
Wetsuit
Wetsuit needed all year: shorty or normal suit in summer, normal in spring/autumn, thick winter suit when conditions are not frozen.
Conditions
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
No school names this spot
Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.
On your own
Room to launch: huge
Somewhere else
6 spots nearby
Rescue
Launch
Sandy Jūrmala beach inside the municipal Pumpuri water-sports zone. The 2024 rules allow kiteboarding and windsurfing at Pumpuri from Upes Street to Gundegas Street. Jaundubulti and Pumpuri are the quieter beaches, local holidaymakers and seasonal cafés rather than the central strip.A separate water-sports area runs from the Lielupe bathing-place border 600 m toward the estuary, with jet-ski delivery at 36. līnija.
Rules & access
1 min read
Zones and seasons
Facilities and access
Restrictions and rules
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
- Launch inside the marked Pumpuri zone, Upes Street to Gundegas Street, unless a local puts you somewhere else that day.
- Treat 36. līnija as a different launch: it hangs off the Lielupe estuary access, with its own water corridor and jet-ski traffic.
- Watch the N, NW and NE forecasts; true north wind is rare in summer.
- Stay out of the bathing areas and the water corridors, hardest to do in June-August.
- Pack a full suit outside peak summer: even August averages around 19-20°C, and winter water is near freezing.
- Get written municipal permission before driving anything onto the beach to drop or collect gear.
- With a north-easterly the local run is the downwinder from Kauguri to Pumpuri.
- Do not plan around an afternoon thermal. Wind here is frontal, so it can be on at breakfast and gone by lunch, or the other way round.
Getting there
Airport
Riga International Airport (RIX)
Route
From Riga Airport it is the A10 by car; from Riga city, a train in the Tukums, Ķemeri or Sloka direction. Pumpuri has its own station on the Jūrmala line and the beach is a walk from there. Drivers crossing into Jūrmala city limits need the municipal vehicle entry pass.
Transfer
About 15 minutes by car from Riga Airport and under an hour from Riga city by public transport; a RIX to Pumpuri routing gives about 25 minutes by taxi and about 1h16m by bus and train. Add time for traffic, the access point you pick and parking.
Cost level
medium
Staying
Jūrmala has resort hotels, guest houses, apartment hotels, rehabilitation centres and camping. Pumpuri and Jaundubulti are quiet residential-resort districts with seasonal cafés rather than the dense hotel strip.
No-wind days
Beach walks and cycling on the 24.2 km Jūrmala beach, pine-dune walks around Jaundubulti/Pumpuri including the Labsajūtas dabas taka, Lielupe River SUP/kayak options, Ķemeri bog/sunrise-sunset trips, Livu Akvaparks, Dzintari Concert Hall, Jomas Street and Riga day trips.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Pumpuri?
The kitesurf season runs May to October, with north, northwest and northeast forecasts being the useful directions, though true north wind is rare in summer.
Is Pumpuri suitable for beginners?
Listings mark it suitable for beginner, intermediate and expert riders, but beginners should use school or local supervision because the wind is onshore to side-onshore and the beach has swimmers in season.
Are there rules or restricted zones at Pumpuri?
Since 2024, Jūrmala's binding rules allow kiteboarding and windsurfing only in designated zones, with Pumpuri running from Upes Street to Gundegas Street, and camping, fires and unauthorized vehicle access are prohibited.
Are there kite schools near Pumpuri?
Burusports in Riga lists certified instruction at EUR 50 per hour as of the 2026 source crawl, though its exact teaching location relative to Pumpuri is not specified.
What hazards should riders know about?
There is no lifeguard station listed at Pumpuri, and riders share the water-sports zone with swimmers during the busy June-August season.
Last updated: August 2026