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Abruzzo · Pescara south of the marina · Pescara

Pescara Portanuova

also known as Porta Nuova, Portanuova, Lungomare sud Porta Nuova

advanced onlyhigh crowds

On this page

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

Nearby Madonnina di Pescara 1 km · Francavilla Foro 6 km · Tortuga Montesilvano 6 km · Stazione di Tollo 11 km · Spiaggia dei Saraceni 20 km · Fossacesia Marina 33 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windy10 knotssynoptic Launchmediumaccess rules on record, below Watersea26°C in summer · 8 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools2named at this spot From the airport15 minAbruzzo Airport (PSR)

When it fills in

No fill-in or drop-off hour is published. The wind that works here is a south gradient, so it arrives with the weather system rather than at a set time of day.

Portanuova is the city beach immediately south of the Marina di Pescara, with parking, food and toilets a short walk from the sand. It runs on south wind, and it runs in autumn, winter and spring: from June to August the umbrellas and bathers take the beach, and the Abruzzo bathing season is set from 23 May 2026 to 20 September 2026. Inside the breakwaters the water goes flat to choppy; nearer the tourist harbour, left-breaking sets form and it becomes a small wave spot.

Wind is mostly light, below 10 knots, and the riding area is hemmed in by the harbour wall and the breakwaters, so staying upwind is the whole job. Concrete, the mole and the wave breakers are the reason this is an intermediate and advanced beach. Do not make it your first spot ridden alone.

Best months are unresolved: May through August also appears on record, which contradicts everything else known about summer here.

The wind

Direction

cross-onS

Kite sizes

7891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

synoptic

fills in: No fill-in or drop-off hour is published. The wind that works here is a south gradient, so it arrives with the weather system rather than at a set time of day.

Typical strength

Mostly lighter winds, below 10 knots.

Often light, and hemmed in by the harbour wall and the breakwaters, so keep upwind of the structures.

Best in autumn, winter and spring. Summer is written off because of the umbrellas and bathers, though May through August also appears as a best-months range, which contradicts that.

The quiver, in words

Nothing is published on sizes for this beach; the range below is indicative, derived from the recorded wind band rather than measured or locally reported. With most days under 10 kt a 75-85 kg rider needs 15m and up, or a foil, to move at all; a proper south gradient day is 12m, and 9m covers the strong end.

Direction to shore

South wind is generally side-onshore to cross-shore on this section; there is also a rideable NE beach break near the harbour wall, though at an onshore angle.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan35
Feb28
Mar31
Apr37
May16
Jun13
Jul14
Aug14
Sep31
Oct15
Nov29
Dec20

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

9Jan12°
9Feb12°
10Mar13°
10Apr16°
9May19°
9Jun24°
9Jul28°
9Aug29°
10Sep26°
8Oct22°
10Nov18°
9Dec14°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	35%	9.4 kt	NW	7.9°C	11.8°C
Feb	28%	9.3 kt	WNW	8.7°C	11.5°C
Mar	31%	9.6 kt	NW	10.6°C	13.4°C
Apr	37%	10.3 kt	NNW	13.3°C	15.7°C
May	16%	8.8 kt	NNW	18.4°C	18.8°C
Jun	13%	9 kt	ESE	23.5°C	24.1°C
Jul	14%	9.3 kt	NNW	27°C	28.3°C
Aug	14%	8.9 kt	NW	26.1°C	28.8°C
Sep	31%	9.7 kt	NW	21.7°C	25.9°C
Oct	15%	8.4 kt	NW	18.9°C	22°C
Nov	29%	9.7 kt	W	13°C	17.6°C
Dec	20%	8.7 kt	WNW	9.4°C	13.5°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

Standing depth

shallow access reported; exact standing-depth area unconfirmed

Tides

Tide-independent; local Pescara tide tables show small Adriatic tidal ranges, commonly around a few decimetres.

Temperature

26°C summer · 12°C winter

Wetsuit

Shorts in summer, a shorty in spring and autumn, a normal wetsuit in winter. The sea runs about 26-27 C in August and about 12 C in February.

12–29°C water

Flat to choppy inside the breakwaters, with wave sections as well, including left-breaking sets near the tourist harbour.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Intermediate and up. The harbour wall, the breakwaters and the concrete make this a poor choice as a first spot ridden without help.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridesmall wavesflat water

Urban local beach with food, toilets and parking on the doorstep, and packed with tourists all summer.

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: medium

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Madonnina di Pescara, 1 km

Madonnina di Pescara Francavilla Foro Tortuga Montesilvano

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

Rescue

VHF channel 16

Nothing kite-specific. Through the bathing season the concessions along this stretch must run a lifeguard service, at least one qualified lifeguard per 150 m of sea frontage, the station carrying binoculars, fins, mask and snorkel and a rescue can or tube; the district ordinance the city publishes sets those hours at 09:00-19:00 from the start of June to mid-September, with the last two weekends of May and of September also covered.

Free beaches get that cover only where the city has organised it, and outside the season there is none, which is exactly when this spot is ridden. A local kite school runs its own support rib for its lessons, which is not a public service.

Sea emergencies: 1530 free at any hour, 112, the Pescara Coast Guard on 085 694040, or VHF channel 16.

Launch

Sandy medium-sized beach immediately south of the Marina di Pescara / tourist harbour, around Lungomare Papa Giovanni XXIII.

Space

medium

Rules & access

The Abruzzo bathing ordinance sets the 2026 season from 23 May to 20 September. Skipping Portanuova in summer because of the umbrellas and the bathers is practical local guidance, not a legal ban.

The bathing-safety ordinance for the Pescara maritime district, protocolled 29 March 2024 and replacing ordinance 40/2023, is still the version published by the city; it sets what a launch corridor must look like where one exists: at least 500 m deep for kitesurf against 300 m for other craft, 30 m wide at the water's edge, 80 m wide from 250 m out and holding that to 500 m, bounded by yellow or orange buoys on a floating line, no mooring to them, with a sign at the head reading that the corridor is closed to bathing.

Kitesurfers may not use the corridors serving the small-fishing and leisure-craft launching areas, and those launching areas themselves are closed to them. Day-to-day kitesurf rules during the bathing season are deferred to a separate specific regulation, not contained in that ordinance.

One local rule bites right here: along the Pescara Sud stretch between the Sabbia d'Oro and Canarie establishments the bathing-water limit is cut from 300 m to 200 m because of the approach and departure routes for the Marina di Pescara.

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

Rider tips

Aim for off-season south-wind days and stay away during summer bathing hours.
Stay upwind of the wave breakers and the harbour wall; the rideable area is short.
Walk the waterline before rigging and check how much sand there is between water and rocks.
Park along Lungomare Papa Giovanni XXIII and carry down. The beach is medium-sized, not a rigging field.
Pack a shorty for spring and autumn and a full suit for winter: February water is about 12 C.
Ride with someone. In the months this beach works there is no lifeguard on it, and 1530 is the number that answers.

Getting there

Airport

Abruzzo Airport (PSR), Pescara

Route

The spot is in Pescara just south of the harbour; access is by car with a short walk, or by city transport/taxi from central Pescara.

Transfer

15 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Urban Pescara hotels, apartments and beach accommodation are close to the launch.

No-wind days

Pescara city, Ponte del Mare, Marina di Pescara, restaurants and day trips to Maiella or Gran Sasso.

Last updated: August 2026