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Murcia · South Mar Menor / Cartagena · Campo de Cartagena y Mar Menor · Los Nietos

Los Nietos / Lo Pollo

also known as Los Nietos, Lo Pollo, Playa de Lo Pollo, Playa de Lo Poyo

lagoonbeginner-friendlymedium crowds

On this page

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

Nearby Isla del Ciervo 5 km · Gálua 7 km · Amoladeras 8 km · Calblanque 8 km · Pueblo Calido 9 km · Playa del Pudrimel 14 km · Los Narejos 14 km · Santiago de la Ribera 16 km · Playa de La Llana 16 km · Lo Pagán 19 km · Torre Derribada 20 km · Playa Els Tossals 54 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windy13 knotsmixed Launchsmall at Los Nietos; medium to large at Lo Polloaccess rules on record, below Waterlagoon24.8°C in summer · 8 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools7named at this spot From the airportin words under Getting thereMurcia International Airport (RMU)

When it fills in

The SW Lebeche thermal in this region forms around midday and holds through the afternoon. Levante from the E and NE and the cold northerly are synoptic and can be in at any hour, morning included. No onset hour has been measured at the Los Nietos launch itself, so the midday figure is regional.

Los Nietos and Lo Pollo are two launches on the south-west side of the Mar Menor, between Los Urrutias and Mar de Cristal. The lagoon is shallow, flat to choppy and shut off from open-sea swell, and at Los Nietos you can stand about 250 m out from shore.

The land is what separates the two: Los Nietos is a small beach against a concrete promenade, Lo Pollo is a big sandy beach with space. East and north-east Levante is the main wind, with south-easterly Jaloque also usable in summer, though summer wind here is reportedly softer.

The difficulty ratings disagree: low difficulty and good for lessons, progression and hydrofoil in some accounts, intermediate or expert in others, while Lo Pollo gets called fine for any level. That split is about the launch, not the water.

Summer still puts bathers on the sand, so the practical safety question is picking the open section and staying off the swimming water.

The wind

locals call it Levante / Jaloque / Norte

Direction

cross-onNE

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: The SW Lebeche thermal in this region forms around midday and holds through the afternoon. Levante from the E and NE and the cold northerly are synoptic and can be in at any hour, morning included. No onset hour has been measured at the Los Nietos launch itself, so the midday figure is regional.

Typical strength

About 13 knots for a summer Los Nietos day. The local average kite is 12 m, with 7-9 m for stronger storm winds; foil riders go to 15-19 m foil kites on the light Mar Menor days.

Flat to choppy lagoon water under steady wind, which is why the teaching happens here. Northerlies in this region run colder and gustier.

Los Nietos and Lo Pollo mainly work with E and NE winds, namely Levante and Norte. Summer adds SE Jaloque alongside the NE-E Levante, though summer wind at Los Nietos is reportedly softer, around 13 kt, and autumn and winter are named as the better seasons. NW also works here but runs more unstable and more forceful.

Across the wider Costa Cálida the SW Lebeche is most frequent in spring and autumn, Levante storms come in autumn and spring, and the Norte blows from mid-autumn to early spring.

Thermal or synoptic

both

The quiver, in words

12 m is the local average size for La Manga and the south Mar Menor, with 7 m or 9 m for stronger storm winds. 15 m, 17 m and 19 m foil kites come out for hydrofoil and light-wind training.

Direction to shore

Summer SE Jaloque is cross-shore and NE-E Levante is cross-on. The Los Nietos launch stays usable in summer with the softer winds.

Dominant direction

NE, E, SE, NW

Forecast

Month by month

Jan43
Feb56
Mar63
Apr56
May45
Jun40
Jul33
Aug39
Sep37
Oct40
Nov39
Dec33

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

11Jan14°
12Feb14°
13Mar16°
12Apr19°
11May21°
11Jun25°
10Jul29°
10Aug30°
11Sep27°
11Oct23°
10Nov18°
10Dec16°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	43%	10.6 kt	SW	12.5°C	14.4°C
Feb	56%	11.8 kt	NE	13.1°C	14.4°C
Mar	63%	13.4 kt	SW	14.8°C	15.9°C
Apr	56%	12 kt	NE	16.3°C	18.6°C
May	45%	10.8 kt	NE	19.2°C	21.4°C
Jun	40%	10.5 kt	NE	23.1°C	25.1°C
Jul	33%	10.1 kt	NE	26.5°C	28.6°C
Aug	39%	10.4 kt	NE	27.2°C	29.5°C
Sep	37%	10.6 kt	NE	24.4°C	26.6°C
Oct	40%	10.7 kt	NE	21.3°C	23.3°C
Nov	39%	10.3 kt	SW	17.3°C	17.9°C
Dec	33%	10.1 kt	SW	13.7°C	15.6°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

lagoon

Standing depth

Standing depth for about 250 m from shore at Los Nietos in one account; both Los Nietos and Lo Pollo are described as shallow, with flat to choppy water.

Tides

Kiting here is reportedly tide-independent.

Temperature

24.8°C summer · 15.4°C winter

Wetsuit

Usually nothing from April to September; shorty or a normal suit in spring and autumn, full suit in winter.

Currents

No current hazard turned up in the spot sources. The Mar Menor is a lagoon, but current strength at this launch is unconfirmed.

14–30°C water

Mar Menor flat water and chop over a big shallow shelf, protected from open Mediterranean swell, which is why the lessons and the progression happen here. Water quality can drop after rain.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Los Nietos gets rated low difficulty and good for teaching, learning and progression in one place, intermediate to expert in another, while Lo Pollo is called fine for any level. The combined record is beginner-friendly mainly at the roomier Lo Pollo side, and with instruction.

The scene

What riders come here for

lessonsprogressionfreeridehydrofoillight wind

A working Mar Menor kite area rather than a scene. Lo Pollo is the fallback when the town-edge launch fills up.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

7 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: small at Los Nietos; medium to large at Lo Pollo

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Isla del Ciervo, 5 km

Isla del Ciervo Gálua Amoladeras

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

Launch

Sandy Mar Menor launch near the end of the Los Nietos promenade, with Lo Pollo about 500 m west as the roomier option when Los Nietos is crowded. Los Nietos itself is a small beach backed by concrete promenade; Lo Pollo is a big sandy beach with space to spare.

Space

small at Los Nietos; medium to large at Lo Pollo

Rules & access

2025: Los Nietos sits at the end of the promenade in a non-built-up stretch with no navigation restrictions, summer included. General Spanish beach-navigation guidance in 2026 still requires the use of marked channels where they exist and treats the first 200 m off a beach as a bathing-protection zone where that applies.

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

Rider tips

Walk the 500 m west to Lo Pollo when the promenade beach is too tight to lay out lines.
Bring 12 m as your default; a lot of Mar Menor days are light, and 15-19 m foil kites get used here.
Keep a 7 m or 9 m in the bag for the storm days.
Check the beach markings and channels in summer, even though no Los Nietos-specific restriction has been reported.
Watch the trees behind the Los Nietos launch when you are landing a kite.

Getting there

Airport

Region of Murcia International Airport (RMU) is the closest major airport; Alicante (ALC) is the larger alternative.

Route

Drive east from Cartagena on the 312 and follow the signs to Los Nietos, then a little farther north and west for Lo Pollo.

Transfer

about 40-60 minutes from RMU depending on exact launch and traffic; about 1.5-2 hours from ALC by car

Cost level

medium

Staying

Holiday apartments and beach lets around Los Nietos, Los Urrutias, Mar de Cristal and La Manga; kiter-specific lodging at the launch is unconfirmed.

No-wind days

Diving at Cabo de Palos, Cartagena sightseeing, Calblanque Regional Park, sailing and SUP on the Mar Menor, and the beach bars in the Mar Menor villages.

FAQ

Is it suitable for beginners?

Yes, especially at the roomier Lo Pollo side; the shallow lagoon, protected from open sea swell, suits lessons and progression.

What is the water like?

Standing depth extends for about 250 m from shore at Los Nietos, with the lagoon shielded from open Mediterranean swell.

What is the wind like?

The main useful winds are east and northeast Levante, with southeast Jaloque also usable in summer around 13 knots.

Is there room to launch?

Los Nietos itself has a small beach and concrete promenade, while Lo Pollo, about 500 m west, is the roomier fallback when Los Nietos gets crowded.

Are there rules?

As of 2025 Los Nietos sits in a non-built-up area with no navigation restrictions, including in summer, though marked channels should still be respected where present.

Last updated: August 2026