Riding essentials
Season
Mar, Apr, May, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
Months riders and schools name
How windy
15-25 kt
Character: mixed
Room to launch
ok
access rules on record, below
Water
mixed
21–23 °C in summerA shallow flat lagoon in and around Merja Zerga, plus a sandy Atlantic beach break outside it
Hazards
9
Reported by riders
Level
Beginner to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
low crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug Sep
Schools
1
named at this spot
From the airport
Rabat-Sale Airport (RBA)
Transfer times under Getting there
When it fills in
Afternoon is the most reliable part of the day in modelled statistics; mornings are the weakest. No measured local onset or drop-off time is published, so an early drive out is a gamble.
Moulay Bousselham has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance
Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.
- Plage de Mehdiya
- Tahaddartno page yet
- Achakarno page yet
- Plage des Nations
- Rabat beachesno page yet
The spot
Wind and conditions
Lagoon access
Facilities and scene
Who should go
The wind
locals call it Alize / Passat trade-wind flow
Direction
Direction to shore
side-shore to side-onshore
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, derived from the 15-25 kt band the spot is listed at rather than from local session logs: a 12 m around 15 kt, a 9 m once it pushes past 20 kt, and a 14 m or a light-wind kite for the many afternoons that never get there.No kite rental in the village is confirmed, so the quiver you bring is the quiver you have.
Character
Typical strength
15-25 kt when it blows, light below 10 kt on a poor day, up to 20-30 kt on a strong thermal.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan11
- Feb19
- Mar, riders' month24
- Apr, riders' month12
- May, riders' month19
- Jun10
- Jul10
- Aug, riders' month13
- Sep, riders' month3
- Oct, riders' month15
- Nov, riders' month7
- Dec6
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov.
- 11%Jan18°
- 19%Feb17°
- 24%Mar18°
- 12%Apr19°
- 19%May20°
- 10%Jun23°
- 10%Jul24°
- 13%Aug24°
- 3%Sep24°
- 15%Oct22°
- 7%Nov20°
- 6%Dec18°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
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.
Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | Wind from | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11% | 19% | 16% | 9 kt | N | 16:00 | 13.9 °C | 17.6 °C | 62 |
| Feb | 19% | 33% | 28% | 10.3 kt | N | 16:00 | 15.1 °C | 17.1 °C | 57 |
| Mar | 24% | 47% | 34% | 11.9 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 15.3 °C | 17.5 °C | 62 |
| Apr | 12% | 38% | 27% | 10.6 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 17.8 °C | 18.8 °C | 60 |
| May | 19% | 40% | 27% | 10.9 kt | NNW | 17:00 | 19.8 °C | 20 °C | 62 |
| Jun | 10% | 27% | 15% | 9.5 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 22.2 °C | 23 °C | 60 |
| Jul | 10% | 32% | 18% | 10.1 kt | NNW | 17:00 | 24 °C | 24.3 °C | 62 |
| Aug | 13% | 21% | 15% | 9.6 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 24.1 °C | 24.4 °C | 62 |
| Sep | 3% | 15% | 7% | 9.2 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 22 °C | 23.5 °C | 60 |
| Oct | 15% | 31% | 24% | 9.9 kt | NNW | 15:00 | 21.5 °C | 22.4 °C | 62 |
| Nov | 7% | 18% | 12% | 8.1 kt | N | 16:00 | 17.7 °C | 19.9 °C | 60 |
| Dec | 6% | 13% | 10% | 7.9 kt | N | 16:00 | 14.7 °C | 18.4 °C | 62 |
How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
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
mixed
Standing depth
Shallow flat lagoon south of the village; no measured standing-depth area was found.
Tides
Merja Zerga is tidal. No best tide for kiting is established, and the lagoon mouth and its sandbanks change with low water and swell.
Temperature
21–23 °C summer · 16–18 °C winter
Modelled monthly average: 17–24 °C
Wetsuit
Shorty or spring suit in summer; 3/2 mm or normal full suit in winter. Summer shorts/shorty and winter normal suit are reported; water-temperature sources support cool Atlantic winter water.
Currents
Current at the lagoon mouth is flagged, and the mouth itself is tide and sandbank dependent.
Conditions
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: ok
Somewhere else
No neighbour on record
No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.
Rescue
Launch
Long sandy beach by the village, with lagoon access south of town. The beach is medium-sized and sandy, with basic parking and next to nothing kite-specific.
Rules & access
1 min read
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Schools that ride here
Rider tips
- Ask in the village before you ride the lagoon; Merja Zerga is a protected bird area and no kite-specific access rule is published.
- Stay off the lagoon mouth unless you have read the tide and the current that day.
- Bring your own rescue plan and repair kit; no kite center or public rescue service is confirmed here.
- Pack a shorty or spring suit for summer and a 3/2 mm for winter.
- Take the ocean side only if your wave riding and self-rescue are solid.
- Expect fewer kiters than Essaouira or Dakhla, and fewer services around the launch.
Getting there
Airport
Rabat-Sale Airport (RBA), with Tangier Ibn Battouta (TNG) as a northern alternative
Route
Drive south from Tangier to Larache, then take the S206 and follow the signs to Moulay Bousselham. From Rabat, a road transfer or a rental car is the practical option; public transport means a Kenitra or Larache link plus a taxi.
Transfer
About 80-100 minutes by road from Rabat-Sale Airport; about 150 minutes from Tangier depending on route and traffic.
Cost level
low
Staying
Budget-friendly local campsite, guesthouses, apartments, villas and hotels; village services are basic.
No-wind days
Merja Zerga birdwatching · boat trip in the lagoon · surfing · beach walks · fishing village restaurants · Larache or Kenitra day trip
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Moulay Bousselham?
Best months are given as March-May and August-November, or more broadly spring and summer; wind here is less consistent than in southern Morocco.
Is Moulay Bousselham suitable for beginners?
Only in supervised shallow lagoon conditions; the lagoon is a protected bird sanctuary with current at its mouth, and there is no dedicated kite infrastructure.
What is the wind like?
Wind is a side-shore to side-onshore northeast to north/northwest trade or thermal flow, roughly 15-25 knots when it blows and up to 20-30 knots on strong thermal days.
What hazards should riders know about?
Current at the lagoon mouth, ocean waves and beach break, and the lack of verified kite infrastructure or rescue are the main hazards.
Last updated: August 2026