Spot · tier 2 · Spain

Palmones

Palmones sits on the sheltered Mediterranean side of the Strait in Algeciras Bay, at the mouth of the Rio Palmones estuary next to a protected marshland natural area. It gives flat, shallow, safe water that riders use as a Levante-day alternative to the choppier Atlantic coast, but its natural-reserve setting means it is closed to kiting during the mid-June to mid-September high season.

beginnerflat waterfreeride

river mouth (Desembocadura) near the flat-water spot — Antonio RG / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

end of the riverside promenade near the spot — Antonio RG / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

tidal saltmarsh/tidal creek, the flat estuary water — Raquel Sánchez de Pedro / CC BY-SA 3.0 es via Wikimedia Commons

intertidal zone of the Palmones estuary — Raquel Sánchez de Pedro / CC BY-SA 3.0 es via Wikimedia Commons

Wind

wind name	Levante
direction to shore	side-onshore into a sheltered bay
quality	steadier and less gusty than the Atlantic-side Tarifa spots
avg knots	12-22
typical kite sizes	9-13m

Water

type	flat
standing depth	shallow bay, good standing area
tides	shallows further at low tide

Levels

beginner	yes
intermediate	yes
advanced	no
notes	Good learning and flat-water ground; lighter, less powerful wind than the open coast so limited for big air.

Launch & crowd

description	Sandy beach beside the Palmones promenade with restaurants nearby
busy months	Apr May Oct
vibe	quieter, local/school-oriented spot

Monthly wind statistics

Station: Algeciras (model 86% weighted on Gibraltar International Airport) (Weatherspark (NASA MERRA-2 reanalysis, 1980-2016), ~4.5 km) — windfinder.com unreachable (429 all session). No known_best_months given in batch for this spot. Algeciras model (86% weighted on Gibraltar Airport, ~7.6km from Palmones across the bay mouth) is used, ~4.5km away in a straight line, but Palmones itself sits inside the more sheltered Bay of Algeciras/Rio Palmones estuary rather than facing the open Strait, so real on-site wind is likely gustier/lighter than this bay-mouth-airport average depending on wind direction (better exposure on Levante/E, more sheltered on some W components). Same winter-storm-vs-summer-thermal caveat as the Tarifa spots applies.

Month	Wind ≥4 Bft	Avg kn	Dir	Air °C	Water °C
Jan	—%	9.7	E	13.3	16.1
Feb	—%	10.2	E	13.9	15.6
Mar	—%	10.1	E	15	15.6
Apr	—%	9.6	W	16.1	16.1
May	—%	9	W	18.3	17.8
Jun	—%	8.5	W	21.7	19.4
Jul	—%	8.4	E	23.9	21.1
Aug	—%	8.1	E	23.9	22.2
Sep	—%	8.4	E	22.2	21.1
Oct	—%	8.8	E	19.4	20
Nov	—%	9.4	E	16.1	18.3
Dec	—%	9.8	E	14.4	16.7

Hazards

shallow water at low tide
adjacent protected marshland/birdlife
seasonal closure

Rules

closed to kiting mid-June to mid-September

Travel basics

airport	GIB Gibraltar or XRY Jerez
getting there	near Algeciras via the A-7
accommodation	Algeciras or Los Barrios
cost level	budget
no wind	visit Algeciras or take the ferry to Morocco

Nearby: Getares, Tarifa spots

Sources: es.wikipedia.org · en.wikipedia.org