Map › France › Corsica - Bonifacio › Plage de Capu Laurosu

Corse · Propriano, Golfe du Valinco · South Corsica · Propriano

Plage de Capu Laurosu

also known as Capu Laurosu, Capu Laurosso - Propriano, Capu Lauroso

beginner-friendlylow crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

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

Nearby Porto Pollo - Plage du Taravo 9 km · Baie de Figari 27 km · Plage du Ricanto 29 km · Pont de Ventilègne 32 km · La Tonnara 33 km · Golfo di Sogno 36 km · Balistra 38 km · Palombaggia 39 km · Piantarella 43 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Nov, Decthe months riders and schools name How windy18-22 knotsmixed Launchwideaccess rules on record, below Watersea25°C in summer · 11 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools1named at this spot From the airportin words under Getting there

When it fills in

In spring and summer the west to north-west wind is largely thermal: it fills in over the middle of the day, holds through the afternoon and drops towards evening. Mistral and strong westerly days are a different animal and can blow at any hour, overnight included. This is the pattern for the Valinco gulf rather than a measured record for this beach.

Capu Laurosu is the long sand beach just south of Propriano in the Valinco gulf, 3.5-4 km of it, cut in two by the Rizzanese river mouth, with nothing sold on it and nobody watching it.

The wind is west to north-west, side-shore to side-on, 18-22 knots on a normal day and 22.1 kt as the published average; on a strong Mistral the bay gets waves and stops being a mellow freeride beach. Low tide is the flat one.

High tide brings chop, and after rain the river mouth pushes a current you should stay well away from. Nearshore is shallow enough to stand, which is why it gets a beginner rating, but there is no lifeguard and no kite rescue: when a kiter had to be helped at the Rizzanese mouth in June 2026 it was CROSS Mediterranee, CODIS 2A and SNSM Propriano who came, not a school boat.

When to come is unsettled. One published season is November-April, while the general Corsica pattern favours spring and autumn, with summer swinging between weak thermal and strong westerly and winter the least reliable time to learn. Bring water and a riding partner, and come in from the Propriano side near Arena Bianca, where access is easiest.

The wind

locals call it Mistral / west to northwest breeze

Direction

cross-onW to NW

Kite sizes

Character

mixed

fills in: In spring and summer the west to north-west wind is largely thermal: it fills in over the middle of the day, holds through the afternoon and drops towards evening. Mistral and strong westerly days are a different animal and can blow at any hour, overnight included. This is the pattern for the Valinco gulf rather than a measured record for this beach.

Typical strength

18-22 knots

Regular and moderate in the sheltered bay, but stronger Mistral days can create waves and more serious safety conditions.

One published season for this beach is November-April. The wider Corsica pattern is spring and autumn as the good months, summer anywhere from weak thermal to strong westerly, and winter the least reliable and a poor time to learn.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic and sea breeze

Also on record

22.1 kt in one spot summary.

The quiver, in words

No spot-specific quiver on record. Across Corsica it runs from the biggest kite you own in a weak summer thermal to the smallest in a strong westerly.

Direction to shore

side-shore to side-on

Forecast

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season

Jan, riders' month6
Feb, riders' month2
Mar, riders' month13
Apr, riders' month18
May6
Jun3
Jul3
Aug3
Sep7
Oct2
Nov, riders' month12
Dec, riders' month5

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Nov, Dec.

The model is wrong here

The model reads 18% of days at its best month, which does not sit with the season and the wind strength this record states. The figures are kept and drawn as hatching so no wind colour can be read off them, and the ringed months are the ones riders name.

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	From	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	6%	10%	6%	6.4 kt	E	13:00	10°C	15.4°C	62
Feb	2%	5%	2%	5.8 kt	E	13:00	10.4°C	14.6°C	57
Mar	13%	16%	15%	7.7 kt	W	14:00	12°C	14.7°C	62
Apr	18%	25%	20%	8.3 kt	WNW	14:00	13.8°C	15.7°C	60
May	6%	11%	8%	6.4 kt	W	14:00	18.1°C	18.6°C	62
Jun	3%	5%	3%	6.7 kt	W	14:00	23.1°C	22.6°C	60
Jul	3%	6%	3%	6.4 kt	W	14:00	26.1°C	25.2°C	62
Aug	3%	6%	5%	6.6 kt	W	14:00	25.7°C	26.2°C	62
Sep	7%	8%	8%	6.6 kt	W	14:00	21.9°C	23.6°C	60
Oct	2%	11%	6%	6.4 kt	E	13:00	19.4°C	21.9°C	62
Nov	12%	22%	18%	7.6 kt	WNW	13:00	14.7°C	19.7°C	60
Dec	5%	13%	11%	6.3 kt	E	09:00	11.6°C	16.8°C	62

riders' months

Riders and schools name these months. The model reads lower here, and both are shown rather than averaged.

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. 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

sea

Standing depth

Shallow close in; you can stand near the shore at both high and low tide, and the bottom shelves gradually going out.

Tides

Mediterranean tide, so not much range, but it still shows: low tide is the flatter water, high tide brings chop and, with swell, waves.

Temperature

25°C summer · 14°C winter

Wetsuit

Summer usually light neoprene, shorty or no wetsuit depending on wind chill; winter full suit around 4/3 is prudent for 13-14 C water.

Currents

Current is more pronounced near the Rizzanese river mouth, especially after rain.

15–26°C water

Long sandy beach in the Valinco gulf, split by the Rizzanese river mouth. Flat water at low tide, chop at high tide, and sportier waves on strong Mistral or swell days.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Rated beginner because you can stand near the shore. It is still an isolated beach with no rescue, a river-mouth current and real waves on Mistral or swell days, so a beginner belongs here in moderate wind with a school or someone who knows the beach, not alone.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridelearning in moderate windwilderness sessionswindsurfing

Wild and local, with no school set up on the sand. Bring what you need and ride with a partner.

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

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: wide

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Porto Pollo - Plage du Taravo, 9 km

Porto Pollo - Plage du Taravo Baie de Figari Plage du Ricanto

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 on site: no lifeguard and no kite rescue. When a kiter needed help at the Rizzanese mouth in June 2026 it was CROSS Mediterranee, CODIS 2A and SNSM Propriano who came, which is emergency response, not a rescue boat waiting on the beach.

The call is 196 from a phone or VHF channel 16, which reaches the CROSS; put it in your phone before you rig.

Launch

Direct sandy launch from the long Capu Laurosu beach north or south of the Rizzanese river mouth; the Propriano side has easier access near Arena Bianca, while the southern Portigliolo side uses road access via the N196/D121 and beach paths.

Space

wide

Rules & access

2026: no kite-specific rule is published for Capu Laurosu itself. The beach straddles two communes. North of the Rizzanese it is Propriano, which has no standing order for its 300 m coastal band in the maritime prefecture's register. South of the river it is Portigliolo, in Belvedere-Campomoro, whose current order (prefectoral arrete 67/2026 of 25 March 2026, replacing 92/2017) places its two 300 m access channels, its zone closed to motorised craft and the swimming-only zone created by municipal arrete 2026-12 of 10 March 2026 at Campomoro beach, several kilometres south, not at Portigliolo. What still binds you here is general: the mayor sets the rules for beach craft within 300 m of the shore, and where a swimming-only zone is marked out in summer you stay outside it.

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

Rider tips

Stay well clear of the Rizzanese mouth after rain or whenever you can see the river running; that is where the current is and where the June 2026 rescue happened.
Walk the beach at low water before you foil or ride close in; rocks show in some sectors.
Bring water and food and a riding partner; there are no toilets and no water points on the Capu Laurosu path.
Treat a strong Mistral or a swell day as intermediate-to-advanced: the same beach that suits a beginner in 18-22 knots gets real waves.
Come in from the Propriano side near Arena Bianca for the easiest access; the southern Portigliolo end means the N196 then the D121 and a walk in along the beach paths.
Winter water is 13-14 C, so a 4/3 is the suit; in summer at 25 C a shorty or nothing, depending on the wind chill.
Nobody is watching this beach: save 196 in your phone, tell someone your plan, and do not ride alone here.

Getting there

Airport

Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport is the practical nearest major airport; Figari Sud Corse is another southwest Corsica option.

Route

About 5 minutes south of Propriano. Northern access is from the Propriano side near Arena Bianca; for the southern end take the N196 then the D121 toward Portigliolo.

Transfer

About 5 minutes from Propriano by local road; about 70-75 minutes by car from Ajaccio airport to Propriano, then local beach access.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Hotels and rentals in Propriano, campsites around Portigliolo and the rest of the Valinco. Nothing on Capu Laurosu itself.

No-wind days

Walk the Capu Laurosu coast path, snorkel the small coves, or drive: Propriano harbour, the Campomoro tower, Sartene, Filitosa, the other Valinco beaches.

Photos

Sunset over the Priopriano beach (8132737675) — Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Capu Laurosu suitable for beginners?

It is rated beginner-friendly with shallow nearshore water, but isolation, no on-site rescue and river-mouth current mean beginners should stick to moderate conditions with local or school support.

What is the wind like?

The best-cited wind is west to northwest, giving side-shore to side-on riding, with one spot summary listing an average around 22 knots.

When is the best time to visit?

November through April is the highlighted season for this spot, though spring and autumn are also considered favorable across Corsica.

What are the main hazards?

Current near the Rizzanese river mouth, especially after rain, strong Mistral and swell on bigger days, and no on-site surveillance or dedicated kite rescue.

Last updated: August 2026