Map › France › Corsica - Bonifacio › La Tonnara

Corse · Corse-du-Sud · South Corsica · Bonifacio

La Tonnara

also known as Plage de la Tonnara, La Tunara, Tonnara Beach

advanced onlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

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

Nearby Pont de Ventilègne 2 km · Baie de Figari 5 km · Balistra 10 km · Piantarella 11 km · Palombaggia 24 km · Golfo di Sogno 28 km · Porto Pollo 30 km · Plage de Capu Laurosu 33 km · Pinarellu 36 km · Porto Pollo - Plage du Taravo 41 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJun to Septhe months riders and schools name How windy12 ktmixed Launchtightaccess rules on record, below Watermixed24.2°C in summer · 9 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools2named at this spot From the airport40 minFigari-Sud Corse Airport (FSC)

When it fills in

There is no fill-in hour to wait for. Libeccio and Mistral are gradient winds through the Bouches de Bonifacio and can be up at dawn and running all night; what changes through the day is strength, not presence. A summer thermal push on top of the west flow in the afternoon is reportedly common but unconfirmed against any local record.

La Tonnara is the west-side Bonifacio spot, a sand beach on the south side of the Gulf of Ventilegne with free parking and restaurants right behind it. Two islets shelter the launch, so the entry is easy, but there are rocks at both ends of the beach and in west wind almost no downwind margin before you hit them.

Libeccio and the Mistral from the west to northwest are the exposed setup: chop, then waves after a few days of wind, and a proper wave spot across the bay at Punta.

Easterly wind is offshore at the beach, accelerated through the strait, and turns the water flat and smooth; it is also the direction that puts you out at sea if anything breaks, so ride it with a boat or with someone who knows the place. The water is deep straight off the beach.

The shallow inner bay at Ventilegne where the schools teach is a different spot, even if the two get lumped together. The season is disputed: the school runs May to October and July reportedly has 17 days above 16 kt, while the strongest wind comes October to April.

Summer crowds, the rocks and the Bouches de Bonifacio Nature Reserve rules make this an intermediate-plus spot for riders comfortable with rocks and shifty Mediterranean wind; the sunset over the Tonnara islets is the bonus.

The wind

locals call it Libeccio, Mistral, easterly regime

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: There is no fill-in hour to wait for. Libeccio and Mistral are gradient winds through the Bouches de Bonifacio and can be up at dawn and running all night; what changes through the day is strength, not presence. A summer thermal push on top of the west flow in the afternoon is reportedly common but unconfirmed against any local record.

Typical strength

No anemometer on the beach. The nearest long-term record, at Bonifacio and Cap Pertusato, sits near 12 kt mean with mean gusts around 23 kt over 2010-2026 — regional, not a Tonnara measurement, and the strait accelerates the flow at the spot. The summer picture is coarser and more useful: roughly 17 July days a year above 16 kt and 4 above 25 kt. Winter west-sector gales run well past 30.

Often strong and exposed; west-sector sessions can be choppy or wavy, while easterly offshore wind can be smooth/flat but needs caution and local judgment.

The local school runs May to late October, and in summer this is reportedly one of the windiest spots in France. The strongest wind, though, is October to April; January-April and October-December are the best months for frontal wind and waves, summer for travel and the thermal-boosted synoptic days.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic (thermal-enhanced)

The quiver, in words

For a 75-85 kg rider, indicative: 12 m below 16 kt, 10 m at 17-20, 9 m at 21-24, 7 or 8 m at 25-30, 5 or 6 m when the Libeccio is properly on.July alone runs about 17 days over 16 kt and 4 over 25 kt on a five-year average, so the small end of the quiver gets used even in the holiday months. No published local size chart.

Direction to shore

West sector is the working direction, side-on to onshore, starboard tack, with swell coming straight into the bay. East is offshore, squeezed and accelerated through the strait, and turns the water flat and smooth; it is also the direction that puts you out to sea if anything breaks.

Dominant direction

West sector most of the time around Bonifacio; SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW or E all get ridden at La Tonnara.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan75
Feb76
Mar85
Apr73
May58
Jun, riders' month66
Jul, riders' month71
Aug, riders' month63
Sep, riders' month70
Oct55
Nov77
Dec70

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

16Jan15°
15Feb14°
16Mar15°
16Apr15°
13May18°
13Jun22°
14Jul25°
13Aug26°
14Sep24°
13Oct22°
16Nov19°
15Dec17°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	75%	15.7 kt	W	11.1°C	15.3°C
Feb	76%	14.8 kt	W	11.5°C	14.2°C
Mar	85%	15.9 kt	W	12.7°C	14.5°C
Apr	73%	15.6 kt	W	14.5°C	15.4°C
May	58%	12.8 kt	W	18.7°C	18.2°C
Jun	66%	13 kt	W	23.3°C	21.9°C
Jul	71%	13.6 kt	W	26.9°C	24.7°C
Aug	63%	12.5 kt	W	26.8°C	26.2°C
Sep	70%	13.6 kt	W	23°C	23.7°C
Oct	55%	12.9 kt	W	20.4°C	21.8°C
Nov	77%	16.2 kt	W	16°C	19.4°C
Dec	70%	15.1 kt	W	12.6°C	16.6°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

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. 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

Mostly not a standing-depth learning spot at the Tonnara launch: the water is deep immediately at the beach. Nearby Ventilegne bay has very shallow water, but that is the inner-bay spot rather than the exposed Tonnara launch.

Tides

Kitesurfing conditions at La Tonnara do not depend on tide.

Temperature

Summer About 24.2 C in July, 25.3 C in August and 23.6 C in September at Plage de la Tonnara; the broader range is 13 C in winter to 24 C in summer.

Winter About 13.8 C in February at Plage de la Tonnara; about 13 C across the winter.

Wetsuit

Shorty or boardshorts can be enough in summer; outside summer a wetsuit is needed. Winter water around 13-14 C implies full wetsuit conditions.

14–26°C water

West-sector winds send swell directly into the west-facing bay; swell varies with wind direction and strength. East wind is offshore and creates smooth/flat water through a Venturi acceleration. The beach is sheltered by two islets, which reduces beach break at the launch, while offshore/Punta can become a wave spot.

Bottom and shoreline include sand, rocks, rocky islets, reefs and shallows.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Intermediate to advanced: rocks, little downwind room and exposed, changeable wind. Beginners go out with an instructor and a boat, or to Ventilegne or Piantarella where the schools take them; this is not a self-launch beginner beach.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridescenic sunset sessionswave/chop riding in W windfreeride in smoother easterly/offshore conditions with suitable safety supportwave and chop riding in west to northwest windwing foil and windsurf from the beachexperienced riders comfortable with rocks and exposed Mediterranean wind

Natural beach with free parking and restaurants, and all sorts of users. July and August bring crowds, so watch for swimmers on launch; the rest of the year it is quieter than the better-known Bonifacio beaches.

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: tight

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Pont de Ventilègne, 2 km

Pont de Ventilègne Baie de Figari Balistra

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

Rescue

VHF channel 16

No lifeguard post and no public rescue at the beach. The Bonifacio schools teach with a boat and supervise their own riders, which is the only cover on the water, and a life vest or buoyancy aid is treated locally as non-negotiable rather than optional. At sea, 196 reaches the French coastguard; VHF channel 16 is the alternative.

Kitesurf Corse is reachable on +33 6 64 71 27 49.

Launch

Sand beach on the south side of the Gulf of Ventilegne, beside the restaurants and the parking, rocks at both ends and very little downwind margin before the rocks when you head out in west wind. Two islets shelter the beach, so there is no beach break at the water's edge; the Punta wave spot opposite is the exposed one.

Space

tight

Hazards riders report 9

rocks along the shoreline
rocks at both ends of the launch
rocks and shallow reefs/high spots around the spot and islets
very limited downwind space before rocks in west wind
offshore easterly wind can create flat water but increases drift/rescue risk
west to northwest/Mistral wind can build chop, waves and 3-4 m wind swell after several windy days
summer beach users in July and August
Punta wave spot opposite has powerful waves and rocks and local advice is recommended before riding there
nature-reserve environment requires attention to posted local rules and protected areas

Rules & access

2026: Plage de la Tonnara is a non-smoking beach inside the Bouches de Bonifacio Nature Reserve; follow the posted rules and take your rubbish away. No 2026 kite-specific permit, launch corridor or seasonal ban for La Tonnara was found; there is reportedly no spot rule, but read the signs on the beach.

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

Rider tips

In west wind, walk to the southern point before launching so the rocks are not straight downwind of you.
Ask a local before crossing to Punta: it is a powerful wave with rocks you have to slalom around.
Flat, glassy water on an easterly means offshore at La Tonnara. Do not go out alone on it.
Read the forecast against what the water is actually doing: the Bonifacio strait accelerates and shifts the wind fast.
In July and August rig at the quiet end, keep separation from the swimmers, and read the reserve signs before you pump up.
Booties if you go anywhere near the islets or the shallows; the bottom is rock and reef.
Read the forecast against what the water is actually doing; the strait accelerates and shifts the wind fast.
Wear a buoyancy aid. Downwind of the beach is open sea and there is nobody watching.
Bring the small kites even in summer: about 4 July days a year go over 25 kt.

Getting there

Airport

Figari-Sud Corse Airport (FSC), the closest airport to Bonifacio.

Route

From Bonifacio take the N196 toward Ajaccio, turn left onto the D358 (the Tunnara road) and follow it to the beach parking. About 10 km, 12-20 minutes by car depending on where in Bonifacio you start; call it 15 minutes.

Transfer

40 min

Cost level

high

Staying

A few residences sit right on the beach at La Tonnara; Bonifacio and the countryside around it have hotels and rentals, villas, campsites, guesthouses; beds are scarce against demand, so book early.

No-wind days

Kayak, SUP, snorkelling, e-foil/towed activities at La Tonnara, coastal walking, Bonifacio citadel and marina, boat trips/sea caves where permitted, diving, e-bike/MTB, horse riding and canyoning toward Bavella.

Photos

Windsurfing at La Tonnara — Sy.forester, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at La Tonnara?

The local school operates May to late October, though other sources cite October to April for the strongest winds, so the best window depends on whether you prioritize travel season or wind strength.

Is La Tonnara suitable for beginners?

No; the water is deep immediately at the beach and there is little downwind room before rocks, so most kite-specific sources rate it intermediate to advanced.

What is the wind like?

West-sector wind, including Libeccio and Mistral, is most frequent and can be strong and choppy, while easterly wind is offshore and often smooth through a Venturi acceleration effect.

What hazards should I know about?

Rocks sit at both ends of the launch with very limited downwind space in west wind, and the easterly offshore setup increases drift and rescue risk despite flatter water.

Last updated: August 2026