La Playa has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
On the clock
11:00 · 14:00 · 17:00 · 19:00
Two different clocks run here. The everyday breeze is thermal: it starts filling around 11:00, is at its best between 14:00 and 17:00, and is gone by about 19:00, leaving a light offshore land breeze overnight and through the morning. Grecale and the winter fronts ignore that pattern entirely and can blow at any hour for days at a time. Modelled for the Catania plain, not timed on the sand.
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 Grecale, Scirocco, Ponente, Libeccio
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Two different clocks run here. The everyday breeze is thermal: it starts filling around 11:00, is at its best between 14:00 and 17:00, and is gone by about 19:00, leaving a light offshore land breeze overnight and through the morning. Grecale and the winter fronts ignore that pattern entirely and can blow at any hour for days at a time. Modelled for the Catania plain, not timed on the sand.
Typical strength
NE thermal normally up to about 15 knots; Grecale perturbations around 18-20 knots or more, with stronger autumn and winter ranges for Grecale, Ponente and Libeccio.
Thermal or synoptic
both
The quiver, in words
Indicative, with no measurement for this beach. A 75-85 kg rider carries 12-14 m for the 15-knot days that make up most of the season and a 9 m for a Grecale at 18-20 knots. Keep a 7 m in the car for the harder winter fronts, which also stand the waves up.
Direction to shore
East-facing beach, so SE and NE are the onshore and side-onshore directions named for the spot.
Dominant direction
NE, SE, W, SW
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month15
- Feb, riders' month16
- Mar, riders' month24
- Apr, riders' month13
- May11
- Jun2
- Jul2
- Aug6
- Sep10
- Oct, riders' month2
- Nov, riders' month10
- Dec, riders' month13
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 15%Jan16°
- 16%Feb15°
- 24%Mar16°
- 13%Apr17°
- 11%May20°
- 2%Jun24°
- 2%Jul28°
- 6%Aug29°
- 10%Sep27°
- 2%Oct25°
- 10%Nov21°
- 13%Dec18°
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 | 15% | 23% | 19% | 8.6 kt | W | 15:00 | 10.7°C | 15.7°C | 62 |
| Feb | 16% | 26% | 21% | 9.2 kt | E | 16:00 | 11.1°C | 14.9°C | 57 |
| Mar | 24% | 44% | 31% | 10.9 kt | ESE | 15:00 | 13°C | 15.6°C | 62 |
| Apr | 13% | 30% | 18% | 10.2 kt | ESE | 14:00 | 15.6°C | 17.3°C | 60 |
| May | 11% | 18% | 15% | 9.5 kt | E | 14:00 | 19.2°C | 19.9°C | 62 |
| Jun | 2% | 15% | 8% | 9.6 kt | E | 15:00 | 24.9°C | 24.3°C | 60 |
| Jul | 2% | 5% | 2% | 9.6 kt | E | 15:00 | 28.8°C | 28.2°C | 62 |
| Aug | 6% | 21% | 6% | 10 kt | E | 15:00 | 28°C | 29°C | 62 |
| Sep | 10% | 20% | 13% | 9.5 kt | ESE | 15:00 | 24.9°C | 27.2°C | 60 |
| Oct | 2% | 6% | 5% | 8.3 kt | ESE | 15:00 | 21.4°C | 24.6°C | 62 |
| Nov | 10% | 22% | 18% | 8.9 kt | W | 14:00 | 16.6°C | 21°C | 60 |
| Dec | 13% | 18% | 16% | 8 kt | W | 13:00 | 12.7°C | 17.6°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
Tides
Nothing to plan a session around. This is a Mediterranean beach and the tide does not move the launch; what changes the shoreline is swell and wind pushing water onto the sand. No local tidal range figure is published, although Catania does host a national tide-gauge station.
Temperature
27°C summer · 15°C winter
Wetsuit
Boardshorts or a rash vest are normally enough at the August peak; a full wetsuit is appropriate for winter sessions around 14-16 C.
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
1 school names this spot
On your own
Room to launch: large
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Launch
Sand along the Playa di Catania lido strip, including Le Capannine and the Litoranea Kennedy stretch.
Space
large
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Treat October to late April as the real kite window; summer wind statistics describe a beach you cannot launch on.
- Check the current bathing-season ordinance, or ask the lido, before rigging between June and September.
- Bring a big kite for the 15-knot NE thermal and keep a small one in the car for Grecale days.
- Come in off Viale Presidente Kennedy and park on the lido strip.
- Full wetsuit from midwinter on: the sea drops to around 14-16 C.
- In the bathing season you are not legally on the water inside 300 m unless a lido has an authorised kite corridor buoyed off; ask the lido rather than assuming.
- If you do use a corridor, body drag out and back until you are 100 m off the beach. That is the rule, not a courtesy.
- Bring a big kite for the 15-knot thermal and keep a small one in the car for Grecale days.
- The everyday breeze fills around 11:00 and peaks between 14:00 and 17:00; mornings are usually light and offshore.
- Come in off Viale Presidente Kennedy and park on the lido strip; Le Capannine, at number 93, opens daily 08:30 to 19:30 in season.
- Save 1530, the sea emergency number, before you rig. Nothing else is watching the water in winter.
Getting there
Airport
Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA)
Route
The beach is close to central Catania and to Fontanarossa, about 5 km from CTA. You come in off Viale Presidente Kennedy onto the Playa/Kennedy strip, with parking nearby.
Transfer
7 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Catania city hotels, plus lidos, resorts, campsites and beach clubs along the Playa/Kennedy strip.
No-wind days
Catania old town, Etna, the Playa beach clubs and the city at night.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at La Playa?
Local guides recommend October through April, since kitesurfing is effectively off-season because summer beach use is too high.
Is La Playa suitable for beginners?
No verified beginner teaching zone exists there; the spot suits intermediate and advanced riders.
What is the wind like?
A NE thermal usually stays around 15 knots, while Grecale perturbations can bring about 18-20 knots or more and produce wave conditions.
How do I get there?
The beach is close to Catania and Fontanarossa Airport, about a 5 km transfer of roughly 7 minutes.
Last updated: August 2026