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Paracuru

Ceará · Paracuru

also known as Quebramar, Quebra Mar, Paracuru Kitebeach, Praia do Ronco do Mar

Part of Paracuru →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Jul–Jan

Months riders and schools name

How windy

18-30 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

28.3 °C in summerQuebramar, not the town beach, is the kite area

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jul Aug Sep Oct

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

80-105 min

International Airport (FOR)

On the clock

12:00

The wind reportedly turns around 12:00; the daily onset is otherwise unconfirmed.

The mark is the clock time the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The fade after it is not an end time, and not a promise of wind.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Cataventono page yet
Rio Curuno page yet
Cumbuco
Flecheirasno page yet
Guajiruno page yet

The spot

Paracuru's kite spot is Quebramar, a reef-protected beach a short drive east of town, and it is the only stretch in the municipality where kiting is legal. At low to medium-low tide the reef holds a shallow flat lagoon inside it, and that is where the freestyle, the freeride, the wingfoil and the coached beginner sessions happen.

Tides and waves

Let the tide fill and the same reef becomes the reason wave riders are here, roughly 1-1.5 m in normal lower-tide conditions and up to about 2.5-3 m on a stronger high-tide swell. Wind is the Ceara trade season, reliable from July or August through January and best from September to December.

Schools and logistics

There is real kite infrastructure on the sand at La Petite Maison/PKWC and Strapless Center, but you still manage the reef, the fishing stakes downwind and a beach that narrows as the water comes up. Beginners should be here with a school and on the right tide: the flat lagoon is kind, the reef is not.

Paracuru is a working town with shops and restaurants rather than a hotel strip, so the kite beach is a drive, not a walk.

The wind

locals call it trade winds / brisa

Direction

cross-onE

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

E, ESE, SE

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

For a 75-85 kg rider, 8 and 10 m cover the July-January season, with the 8 m as the everyday kite from September to December and a 7 m for the strongest afternoons. In the February-June low season, at 10-18 knots, you are on a 12 m or larger. Lighter riders can take roughly two metres off each size.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

Not reliably established. The only station statistics are old May-Jul 2014 observations averaging E 11 kt, with no current statistical data; the wind riders get in season is far stronger.

Typical strength

18-30 kt in the high season; other estimates give 12-25 kt or 15-25 kt, so plan for a broad 12-30 kt range depending on month and day.

Strong and constant in season. The statistical wind data available is old or incomplete, so the season figures are indicative.

High season is July-January at 18-30 kt with a 95% wind probability; low season is February-June at 10-18 kt with 55%. The strongest, most reliable run is August to early February, with the best guarantee from mid-September to mid-December. July-January is also given as the main trade-wind window and September-November as the peak Quebramar stretch.

The rain sits January-May.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

11 ktJan
10 ktFeb
9 ktMar
9 ktApr
10 ktMay
12 ktJun
13 ktJul
15 ktAug
15 ktSep
15 ktOct
14 ktNov
13 ktDec

avg knots per month · season highlighted

Modelled monthly averages. Highlighted: the months riders and schools name (Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan).

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (~30-yr MERRA-2 reanalysis-based model climatology), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthKnots · Wind from · Air

Month	Knots	Wind from	Air
Jan	11.1 kt	E	27.8 °C
Feb	10.1 kt	E	27.8 °C
Mar	8.9 kt	E	27.2 °C
Apr	8.6 kt	E	27.2 °C
May	9.9 kt	E	27.2 °C
Jun	11.6 kt	E	27.2 °C
Jul	13 kt	E	26.7 °C
Aug	14.6 kt	E	27.2 °C
Sep	15.3 kt	E	27.2 °C
Oct	15 kt	E	27.8 °C
Nov	14.3 kt	E	27.8 °C
Dec	12.9 kt	E	28.3 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · ~30-yr MERRA-2 reanalysis-based model climatology

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

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.

Paracuru, Ceará (weatherspark modeled climatology; station is the spot's own town) · Weatherspark (Cedar Lake Ventures, MERRA-2 reanalysis-modeled climatology) · ~30-yr MERRA-2 reanalysis-based model climatology

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

At low to medium-low tide the reef encloses a lagoon roughly 220 m across where the water is shallow enough to stand in places.A frontal reef sits about 100 m offshore with less than a metre over it at low water, and the lateral reefs dry out. As the tide fills, the reef covers, the inside turns choppy and there is no reliable standing depth.

Tides

Strongly tide-dependent at Quebramar: low to medium-low tide exposes/shoals the reef and creates a flat lagoon inside; high tide covers the reef, makes the inside choppy, and brings reef/beach-break waves. There is a few-hour flat-water window around low tide.

Temperature

28.3 °C summer · 27.5 °C winter

Wetsuit

No wetsuit normally needed; boardshorts/rash guard are typical, with sun protection more relevant than insulation.

Conditions

Quebramar, not the town beach, is the kite area.

The same reef makes the flat water inside and the waves outside: about 1-1.5 m on the lower tides and 2-3 m, or about 2.5 m, on a good high-tide swell.

Sand inside, rock and coral on the reef.

Rio Curu west of town is a separate flat-water option at high tide, though the wind goes gusty inside the river.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Beginner suitability depends on the tide, on lesson support and on staying inside the reef lagoon, the one roughly 220 m across that only exists at low to medium-low water.

Published verdicts split between excellent for beginners and expert-only. It works for every level with local school guidance; ride it independently as a beginner and you are on your own with the reef.

The scene

What riders come here for

freestylefreeridewavestraplessdownwindwingfoil

Who it suitsbeginner

A working coastal town with real local infrastructure rather than a purpose-built kite resort. Quebramar draws many visiting kiters in season, but the spot remains spacious enough at many tide states; the town has restaurants, shops and local nightlife, while accommodation is generally in town or near Paracuru rather than directly on the kite beach.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

10 spots nearby

All 10 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No public rescue service.

The centres on the beach look after their own clients with lessons, storage and rentals, which is not the same thing, and the standing local advice is not to ride here alone.

A working quick release is a legal requirement under the 2015 municipal ordinance, and riding without one can cost you the gear.

National emergency numbers are 193 for fire and rescue and 192 for ambulance.

Launch

Launch locationSandy launch at Quebramar by the beach restaurant and the kite centres, roughly 5-10 minutes by car east of Paracuru town, with more room to the left and right of the restaurant.Beach conditionsThe beach is wide at low tide and narrows as the tide fills.Kitesurfing zoneThis is Praia do Pau Fincado, the one stretch in the municipality where the 2015 ordinance permits kitesurfing: the usable band starts 50 m back from the wave-washed sand, launch and landing belong inside a signposted area, and a separate marked area is reserved for beginner instruction.

Hazards riders report 11 reported

Wind

Rio Curu river option has gustier wind inside the river.

Crowds and zones

boat traffic near the fishing harbor
Cars on and around the beach and the parking area.
The fishermen's stakes sit about 440 m downwind of the main spot, so a slow drift downwind puts you into them

Waves and currents

reef exposure at low tide
Reef and coral/rocky areas exposed or very shallow at low tide
Fishermen's stakes/net/wooden posts downwind of the main spot, especially hard to see at high tide
Larger reef waves at high tide or with swell; wave zone is for confident riders
High tide can narrow the beach launch/landing area
A frontal reef about 100 m offshore carries under a metre of water at low tide and is the first thing you cross going out

Other

Riding outside the Pau Fincado / Quebra Mar stretch is an offence in this municipality and the penalty is seizure of the gear

Rules & access

1 min read

Paracuru has a kitesurf ordinance and it is restrictive: Municipal Law 1598 of 25 November 2015 forbids kitesurfing on the municipality's beaches except on one stretch, the Praia do Pau Fincado, known locally as Praia do Quebra Mar, between the imaginary lines drawn at its limits.

Allowed riding zone

Within that stretch the usable band starts 50 m back from the part of the sand periodically washed by the waves, that is behind the zone between the highest and lowest reach of the swash. An exclusive area inside it must be set aside for beginner instruction, and launch and landing must happen in a reserved area marked with signage.

Riding is free beyond 50 m past the breaking waves as long as launch and landing take place in that stretch, with all other navigation rules still applying. Kitesurfing anywhere in the municipality without a working quick-release safety device is forbidden.

Beach structures

Fixed structures for storing gear on the beach are not allowed.

Competitions

Competitions may be authorised elsewhere with prior consent from the Ceara Port Captaincy, on condition the organiser marks the competition area with buoys and keeps staff whose job is to keep bathers away from the launch and landing area.

Enforcement and pending changes

The permitted areas are subject to permanent review and can be changed at any time on incident reports from the Port Captaincy or municipal enforcement. Breaches lead to seizure of the equipment used, and enforcement may call for police assistance.

A state bill sent to the Ceara assembly in March 2026 (PL 25/2026) would add credentialing, certification and insurance duties for schools and instructors statewide; it had not been voted in August 2026.

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

Time freestyle and beginner sessions for low to medium-low tide; the flat window inside the reef is short.
Walk the reef at low tide and find the downwind stake line before you ride hard; keep a margin of 400 m upwind of it.
Check your quick release before you rig. Here it is a municipal requirement dating from 2015 and the penalty is losing the gear.
Rig at Quebra Mar and nowhere else in the municipality; treat Catavento and Rio Curu as separate options only after asking locally about tide, wind shadow and whether riding there is allowed at all.
Bring 6-10 m or 8-10 m for peak season, with 12-14 m for the softer days.
Have your own transport or book transfers: town accommodation sits 5-10 minutes from Quebramar and there is no lodging on the kite beach.

Getting there

Airport

Fortaleza Pinto Martins International Airport (FOR)

Route

Drive west/northwest from Fortaleza toward Paracuru, commonly via CE-085 with final access toward Quebramar; about 80-100 km from Fortaleza and about 1h20-1h45 by car depending on starting point and traffic. The kite beach itself is about 5-10 minutes by car east of Paracuru town; expect sand drift/potholes or confusing local signage near the final approach.

Transfer

80-105 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Stay in Paracuru town or nearby pousadas/hotels; there is no lodging directly on the main Quebramar kite beach. Paracuru Kite Village and Casa na Lagoa/La Petite Maison partner accommodation are examples of kite-oriented nearby lodging.

No-wind days

Surfing, SUP/kayak, beach tennis, dune/buggy or sandboarding activities, Pedra Rachada natural pools at low tide, Praia da Bica freshwater springs, seasonal Lencois Paracuruenses lagoons after the rains, Rio Curu estuary/mangrove visits, restaurants and nightlife in Paracuru.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kitesurf at Quebramar?

The high season runs from July to January, with the most reliable wind between mid-September and mid-December.

Is Quebramar suitable for beginners?

Opinions differ: the flat lagoon inside the reef at low tide is used for beginner lessons, but other guides rate the spot as more suited to intermediate and expert riders, so local guidance is recommended.

What is the wind like?

Wind is cross-shore from the east to southeast, typically 18-30 knots in the high season and lighter and less consistent from February to June.

What hazards should riders know about?

The reef is exposed and can be shallow at low tide, and fishermen's stakes sit downwind of the main spot, especially hard to see when the tide is high.

The bigger pictureEverything about Paracuru

Last updated: August 2026