Map › Spain › Barcelona coast › Platja del Bogatell
Cataluña · Barcelona · Barcelonès
Platja del Bogatell
also known as Mar Bella, Barcelona city beaches
Nearby Badalona - Platja dels Pescadors 7 km · Montgat 10 km · Premia de Mar 17 km · Vilassar de Mar / Cabrera de Mar 20 km · Castelldefels 24 km · Segur de Calafell 54 km · Coma-ruga 62 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Barcelona thermal wind follows an afternoon pattern, but no Bogatell-specific onset time is confirmed.
The wind
locals call it Levante / Garbi / Gregal
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Barcelona thermal wind follows an afternoon pattern, but no Bogatell-specific onset time is confirmed.
Typical strength
The summer thermal around Barcelona is typically 12-18 knots. Levante and Gregal, the stronger local winds, reportedly reach 25-30 knots at the city beaches generally; no Bogatell-specific figure was found.
Thermal or synoptic
both
The quiver, in words
A 75-85 kg rider is on a 12 m for the moderate 15-knot days that make up most of the city-beach season, and on 8-9 m when a hard NE Gregal runs 25 knots and up.Indicative: 12 m at 15 knots is the local rule of thumb for 70-90 kg riders, the small-kite end is derived from the wind range rather than logged at Bogatell.
Direction to shore
NE Gregal arrives side-onshore at the city beachfront. E to SE Levante is onshore to side-onshore. SW Garbi is light and slightly offshore here, gusty with it, and the tower block at the south end of the beachfront blocks part of its entry into the bay.
Dominant direction
SW Garbi dominates the forecast for Barcelona, but it is the NE Gregal that actually gets people on the water. E to SE Levante also delivers.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan10
- Feb, riders' month16
- Mar, riders' month26
- Apr, riders' month18
- May, riders' month10
- Jun25
- Jul16
- Aug11
- Sep13
- Oct, riders' month21
- Nov, riders' month13
- Dec, riders' month11
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 10%Jan14°
- 16%Feb14°
- 26%Mar14°
- 18%Apr16°
- 10%May19°
- 25%Jun22°
- 16%Jul26°
- 11%Aug28°
- 13%Sep25°
- 21%Oct22°
- 13%Nov18°
- 11%Dec16°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10% | 16% | 11% | 7.4 kt | NW | 15:00 | 8.8°C | 14.1°C | 62 |
| Feb | 16% | 23% | 21% | 9.1 kt | SSW | 16:00 | 10.5°C | 13.6°C | 57 |
| Mar | 26% | 44% | 37% | 11 kt | SSW | 16:00 | 12.8°C | 14.4°C | 62 |
| Apr | 18% | 38% | 28% | 10.4 kt | SSW | 15:00 | 14.5°C | 15.8°C | 60 |
| May | 10% | 29% | 21% | 9.4 kt | SSW | 15:00 | 18°C | 18.7°C | 62 |
| Jun | 25% | 43% | 37% | 10.6 kt | SSW | 16:00 | 22.9°C | 22.1°C | 60 |
| Jul | 16% | 45% | 29% | 10.6 kt | SSW | 16:00 | 25.7°C | 25.8°C | 62 |
| Aug | 11% | 31% | 24% | 9.7 kt | SSW | 16:00 | 26.3°C | 27.6°C | 62 |
| Sep | 13% | 30% | 22% | 9.8 kt | SSW | 16:00 | 22°C | 25.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 21% | 47% | 34% | 10.5 kt | SSW | 16:00 | 19.6°C | 22.4°C | 62 |
| Nov | 13% | 32% | 25% | 8.9 kt | SW | 16:00 | 14.7°C | 17.9°C | 60 |
| Dec | 11% | 18% | 13% | 7.6 kt | NW | 15:00 | 10.5°C | 15.7°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
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
Tides
Mediterranean city beach; no kite-source tide dependency found.
Temperature
25°C summer · 13°C winter
Wetsuit
Shorty or no wetsuit in high summer; full wetsuit in winter.
Currents
Strong currents reported in north-easterly 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
2 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: Wide and long for a city beach, and it holds its sand better than the beaches south of it. From late March the marked sports areas take over: in the medium and high bathing seasons free sports use is confined to them, so the usable strip shrinks.
Somewhere else
Badalona - Platja dels Pescadors, 7 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Sandy urban beach between breakwaters, wide and long by Barcelona standards, with parking right alongside. It is the beachfront's gathering point for kiters and windsurfers, which is half the reason to use it rather than Barceloneta. Launch space still varies strongly with beach users and with the seasonal sports zones.
Space
Wide and long for a city beach, and it holds its sand better than the beaches south of it. From late March the marked sports areas take over: in the medium and high bathing seasons free sports use is confined to them, so the usable strip shrinks.
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Read the current Ajuntament de Barcelona beach-sport decree and its marked zones before you rig; the bathing-season ban runs 1 June to 30 September (2026).
- Sit out SW Garbi here, it blows offshore off the city beaches.
- Ride early, or on the grey days; launch space disappears as soon as the sun is out.
- Give the breakwaters and the concrete blocks a wide margin on the way in and out.
- NE Gregal is the direction that works, and it brings the waves and the current with it.
- From late March the free sports areas on Bogatell and Mar Bella are the only sand you may use for sport; the rest belongs to bathers.
- Cross the buoy line through the marked boat channels, never over it.
- Outside the bathing season nobody is watching the water. The number is 112.
Getting there
Airport
Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN)
Route
Central Barcelona beachfront with metro, bike and taxi access; not a remote kite destination.
Cost level
high
Staying
Barcelona city hotels, hostels and apartments.
No-wind days
Barcelona city sightseeing · beach volleyball and urban beach sports · surf/SUP when conditions allow · restaurants and nightlife
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite Bogatell?
Spring, autumn and winter, roughly October to May, since summer bathing rules restrict kiting on Barcelona's city beaches.
Is Bogatell suitable for beginners?
No, urban obstacles, beach crowds and variable launch space make it an intermediate-to-advanced spot rather than a teaching beach.
What is the wind like at Bogatell?
Levante from the E to SE is onshore to side-onshore and is the main riding wind; SW Garbi also occurs here but is reported as offshore.
Are there rules or restricted zones at Bogatell?
Kitesurfing on Barcelona's city beaches is reported prohibited during the summer bathing season, commonly cited as 1 June to 30 September 2026.
What hazards are there at Bogatell?
Breakwaters, concrete blocks, and reported strong currents during north-easterly conditions.
Last updated: August 2026