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Puglia · Bari north coast · Bari

Molfetta

also known as Melma

advanced onlylow crowds

Nearby Giovinazzo 5 km · Santo Spirito 12 km · Torre Quetta 28 km · Barletta Freekite Beach 34 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools nameHow windyno knot figure publishedsynopticLaunchroom to launch not ratedaccess rules on record, belowWatersea26-27°C in summer · 10 things riders flagLevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level sectionSchools2named at this spotFrom the airport25 minBari Karol Wojtyla Airport (BRI)

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Molfetta, or Melma, is a bowl-shaped bay just north of the port where local riders go out when there is a sea running. The wave forms on the left, the bottom is mixed sand and pebble, and there are exposed stones that will find your fins.
It switches on with powerful seas from N, NE, E and SE, and past that nobody has published usable knots, a season or kite sizes for it. Water sits around 26-27 C in August and 12-13 C in February, so half the year is a full winter wetsuit.
This is a local freeride and wave spot, not a school beach: the port next door, the stones and the unclear access make it the wrong place for a first week on a kite.
The rules picture is unresolved, with the Puglia bathing season running 23 May to 13 September and the first 200 m ordinarily kept for bathers, so check the current Capitaneria di Porto di Molfetta ordinance before you count on a session.

The wind

locals call it Maestrale, Tramontana, Levante and Scirocco are the named winds of the Bari coast; no Molfetta-only wind names are published.

Direction

Character

synoptic

Wave and swell dependent, with local freeride conditions in between. No measured reliability data was found.
No Molfetta-specific best months are documented. Nearby Bari-area spots carry a May-September season, which has not been applied here because it is not spot-specific.

Strength

No knot figure is published for this spot.

Dominant direction

The bay works with powerful seas from N, NE, E and SE. No Molfetta-specific wind directions are published.

Forecast

Next three days, from Windfinder · full forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan47
  2. Feb42
  3. Mar39
  4. Apr43
  5. May29
  6. Jun23
  7. Jul26
  8. Aug27
  9. Sep42
  10. Oct23
  11. Nov38
  12. Dec32

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

  1. 11Jan14°
  2. 11Feb13°
  3. 11Mar14°
  4. 11Apr16°
  5. 10May19°
  6. 10Jun24°
  7. 10Jul28°
  8. 10Aug28°
  9. 11Sep26°
  10. 9Oct23°
  11. 10Nov19°
  12. 10Dec16°

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

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan47%10.8 ktWNW9.9°C14.1°C
Feb42%10.9 ktWNW10.6°C13.1°C
Mar39%11 ktS11.9°C14.3°C
Apr43%11.1 ktNW14.9°C16°C
May29%9.9 ktNW20°C18.9°C
Jun23%9.6 ktNNW25.6°C23.9°C
Jul26%10.1 ktNNW28.7°C27.8°C
Aug27%9.8 ktNW27.6°C28.3°C
Sep42%10.5 ktNW23.6°C26°C
Oct23%9 ktWNW20.1°C22.6°C
Nov38%10.3 ktWNW14.6°C18.8°C
Dec32%9.7 ktW11.4°C15.5°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

sea

Tides

Small. Spring range is about 0.38 m and neaps nearer 0.20 m, so the water line barely shifts and nobody plans a session around it. The only practical effect is a few centimetres less water over the stones at a low spring.Taken from port tide predictions for Molfetta, no local gauge check.

Temperature

Summer About 26-27 C in August; an August average of 26.6 C is published, with recent summer surface readings around 28-29 C.

Winter About 12-13 C in February; published February figures are around 12.4 C and about 12.7 C.

Wetsuit

Light neoprene or lycra covers summer at 26-27 C; winter water around 12-13 C needs a full winter suit. No Molfetta kite school publishes wetsuit guidance.

13–28°C water
Bowl-shaped bay north of Molfetta port, the wave forming on the left over a mixed sand and pebble bottom. Locals treat it as good freeride water.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced
Nothing calls Molfetta a beginner spot. Exposed stones, the port next door and a mixed bottom make it an intermediate-plus local freeride or wave spot.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridewavelocal sessions
Local-rider spot next to the port. Nothing marks it as a destination kite beach.

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 is not rated

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Giovinazzo, 5 km

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

Rescue

No lifeguard, kite club or rescue boat covers this bay. Sea emergencies go to 1530, the coast guard line, and 112 routes there as well. The Capitaneria di Porto di Molfetta is in the port immediately south of the launch, so help comes from a few hundred metres away rather than from another town.
A sailing club keeps its base in the same port; it runs nothing for kiters, but it is the nearest place with people and boats.

Launch

The spot is north of Molfetta port. Leave SS16 bis at the Molfetta - Zona Industriale / Santuario Madonna dei Martiri exit and head toward the sea; cross the bridge, carry on about 400 m to the first junction, turn left, then after about 300 m take the small road on the right down to a parking area with benches.The bay is a bowl, the wave forming on the left, and you go in over mixed sand and pebble with stones standing proud in places.

Hazards riders report 10

  • Port proximity
  • Port proximity.
  • Exposed stones in the water.
  • Mixed sand and pebble bottom.
  • Ride only the first section of the wave; carrying it all the way to shore risks board damage.
  • Powerful seas from N, NE, E and SE can activate the bay.
  • No rescue service on record for independent kiters.
  • Port proximity: a working port sits immediately south, with a 150 m band around the moles and entrance obstructions kept clear under the safety ordinance.
  • No lifeguard, club or rescue boat: the coast guard on 1530 is the only cover.
  • No confirmed kite corridor, so a summer session can run into the 200 m bathing reserve.
Rules & access
  • 2026: Regione Puglia approved the regional bathing ordinance by Determinazione Dirigenziale n. 215 of 15 April 2026; the bathing season runs 23 May to 13 September and the first 200 m from beaches and low rocky coasts is ordinarily reserved for bathing unless the maritime authority sets different limits, with launch corridors authorised by the maritime authority and kept usable by the coastal municipality.
  • 2021: the Capitaneria di Porto di Molfetta safety ordinance bans bathing inside ports, within 150 m of the moles and obstructions at port entrances, within 100 m of breakwaters under construction, within 200 m of passenger-vessel pontoons and inside authorised, signposted launch and landing corridors; swim zones are marked by red or orange buoys spaced 25 m apart and by white floats on the 1.30 m depth line at intervals of no more than 25 m. No kite-specific rule and no marked kite corridor was confirmed for this bay, and the launch sits directly beside a working port, so read the ordinance in force before you rig.

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

Rider tips

  • Ride only the first section of the wave; carrying it to the shore is how boards get damaged on the stones.
  • Bring booties for the pebbles and stones, though whether locals treat them as mandatory is unconfirmed.
  • Ask a local rider before launching anywhere near the port.
  • Check the sea is running from N, NE, E or SE; those are the directions that activate the bay.
  • Do not assume summer access: look for bathing-season corridor signs and current restrictions first.
  • Tide is not a planning factor here. Under half a metre at springs, so the entry over the stones looks much the same all day.
  • Save 1530. The coast guard office is in the port next door, which is as close as rescue gets on this bay.

Getting there

Airport

Bari Karol Wojtyla Airport (BRI), about 20 km by road from Molfetta.

Route

From SS16 bis take the Molfetta - Zona Industriale / Santuario Madonna dei Martiri exit, then head toward the sea and north, left of the port.

Transfer

25 min

Staying

Molfetta and nearby Bari cover the beds. Nothing kite-specific is listed.

No-wind days

Molfetta town and harbour, with Bari a short drive away. No kite-specific no-wind suggestions are published.

FAQ

Is Molfetta suitable for beginners?

No, public sources do not describe it as a beginner spot; exposed stones and port proximity make it better suited to intermediate and advanced freeriders.

What is the water like?

A bowl-shaped bay north of the port with waves breaking on the left over a mixed sand and pebble bottom.

What are the hazards?

Exposed stones in the water, a mixed sand and pebble bottom, and no verified rescue service for independent riders.

How do you get there?

From the SS16 bis, take the Molfetta - Zona Industriale / Santuario Madonna dei Martiri exit, then head toward the sea and north of the port.

Last updated: August 2026