Map › Germany › Ostsee — Falckensteiner Strand to Surendorf › Laboe
Ostsee (Schleswig-Holstein) · Kieler Förde
Laboe
also known as Laboe U-Boot, Laboe Ehrenmal, Surfer's Paradise Laboe
Nearby Falckensteiner Strand 3 km · Bülker Leuchtturm 5 km · Heidkate 6 km · Surendorf 12 km · Grönwohld 14 km · Lindhöft 18 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Frontal wind, no daily onset: it comes with the weather system and can hold all day or all night. There is no afternoon breeze to wait for, so the forecast rather than the hour decides the session.
The wind
Direction
Character
synoptic
fills in: Frontal wind, no daily onset: it comes with the weather system and can hold all day or all night. There is no afternoon breeze to wait for, so the forecast rather than the hour decides the session.
Typical strength
The Laboe station itself averages 7 kt with 10 kt gusts across the year, west-southwest dominant, over observations from 2010 to 2026 - which tells you the average day is not a kite day. Sessions come with the fronts. Spring and autumn are the reliable stretches, rated at up to 90 percent of days with usable wind in the pre- and post-season, while midsummer is the thinnest.
Thermal or synoptic
synoptic Baltic/fjord wind
Direction to shore
The school spot sits on the east side of the Kieler Förde; W/SW winds are side-on to onshore into the bay, while E-sector winds can be offshore or land-affected depending on exact launch position.
Dominant direction
SW is the top direction. NE is the one to want for freestyle and big air, with a mirror-smooth zone behind the stone jetty. S/SE is disputed: SE is offshore at the school launch and best avoided there, and it can be partly gusty.Otherwise the bay is rideable in nearly all directions.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan65
- Feb53
- Mar52
- Apr47
- May45
- Jun45
- Jul50
- Aug24
- Sep40
- Oct53
- Nov58
- Dec65
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
- 65%Jan4°
- 53%Feb4°
- 52%Mar5°
- 47%Apr8°
- 45%May14°
- 45%Jun19°
- 50%Jul20°
- 24%Aug20°
- 40%Sep18°
- 53%Oct13°
- 58%Nov9°
- 65%Dec5°
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 | 65% | 81% | 74% | 16.5 kt | SW | 13:00 | 3.9°C | 4.2°C | 62 |
| Feb | 53% | 67% | 61% | 15.1 kt | W | 12:00 | 4.9°C | 3.7°C | 57 |
| Mar | 52% | 69% | 63% | 13.9 kt | WSW | 14:00 | 5.6°C | 5.2°C | 62 |
| Apr | 47% | 73% | 63% | 13.6 kt | E | 13:00 | 7.7°C | 8.2°C | 60 |
| May | 45% | 58% | 50% | 12.8 kt | E | 14:00 | 13°C | 13.9°C | 62 |
| Jun | 45% | 58% | 53% | 12.4 kt | W | 15:00 | 16.3°C | 18.8°C | 60 |
| Jul | 50% | 74% | 68% | 13.8 kt | WSW | 13:00 | 17.5°C | 19.6°C | 62 |
| Aug | 24% | 48% | 40% | 11.6 kt | WSW | 16:00 | 18.6°C | 19.8°C | 62 |
| Sep | 40% | 55% | 47% | 12.2 kt | SW | 14:00 | 15.8°C | 18.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 53% | 73% | 63% | 14.3 kt | WSW | 14:00 | 11.9°C | 13.2°C | 62 |
| Nov | 58% | 75% | 65% | 14.5 kt | SSW | 12:00 | 6.5°C | 9°C | 60 |
| Dec | 65% | 79% | 74% | 15.7 kt | WSW | 13:00 | 3.8°C | 5.1°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
Baltic Sea fjord / shallow bay
Standing depth
Big standing area: knee- to hip-deep water about 1 km wide and 500 m long; the small inner bay is standing-depth throughout.
Tides
Baltic Sea tides are negligible; local water level can still vary with wind and storm surge.
Temperature
17.6°C summer · 3.9°C winter
Wetsuit
Full wetsuit most of the year; the school runs up to 5 mm neoprene in the cold months.
Currents
None to speak of inside the bay. The sheltered position leaves the standing area without current or shorebreak, which is why lessons run here. The exceptions are the deeper Rinne cut through the bay, where the bottom drops away, and the fairway further out where ships pass.
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
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: moderate
Somewhere else
Falckensteiner Strand, 3 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
The school hut stands at Strandstrasse 33, right beside the U-995 submarine and the Marine-Ehrenmal, with its own access to the water; parking next to the station is free for its customers, while the public beach strip is fee-paying in season.Where you rig matters: from 15 March to 31 October the bylaw bans rigging and de-rigging kite gear on the Kurstrand and on the Freistrand up to the level of the U-boat, which leaves the sand north of the U-boat for independent riders.
Space
moderate
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Ask at the school hut before your first launch; the school and bathing areas shift with the season and there is no municipal kite map.
- Find the deep channel by the U-boat before riding laps across the bay; the bottom disappears in one step there.
- After days of southwest, check the depth; the bay can be too shallow to ride.
- Stay inside the bay unless you can handle the fairway; ships use the Kieler Förde and the water out there is deep with moderate waves.
- Bring a 5 mm suit outside high summer: 17.6 C in summer, 3.9 C in winter.
- Expect a full bay when wind and sun line up, May to September; in north/northeast the freestyle crowd heads for the flat strip behind the stone jetty.
- Stay inside the bay unless you can handle the fairway; ships use the Kieler Foerde and the water out there is deep with moderate waves.
- In season, rig north of the U-boat: from 15 March to 31 October rigging kite gear on the Kurstrand and on the Freistrand up to the U-boat is banned, with fines up to 500 euro.
- The Kurstrand is fee-paying from 15 March to 31 October; the Freistrand north of the Ehrenmal is free, but part of its bottom is stony.
Getting there
Airport
Hamburg Airport (HAM)
Route
Drive from Hamburg Airport toward Kiel/Laboe, or travel to Kiel Hbf/ZOB by train or Kielius bus and continue by regional bus to Laboe.
Transfer
65 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Laboe beach hotels, apartments, guesthouses, and Kiel city accommodation nearby.
No-wind days
Laboe Marine-Ehrenmal · U-995 submarine museum · Kieler Förde ferry and waterfront · SUP, sailing, windsurfing, or wingfoil at Surfer's Paradise
Photos
FAQ
Is it suitable for beginners?
Yes. The large knee- to hip-deep standing area makes Laboe a school and progression spot rather than a wave venue.
What is the wind like?
Sources disagree on the best direction, citing southwest as well as north/northeast and south/southeast, with gustiness depending on direction.
What hazards should I know about?
A deep channel running through the bay, shipping traffic farther out, and very shallow water after sustained southwest wind.
Are there kite schools nearby?
Surfer's Paradise Laboe operates directly on the beach next to the U-995 submarine memorial.
Last updated: August 2026