Nearby Cayo Coco 15 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Trade wind, so there is no single fill-in hour: it runs day and night rather than switching on. It usually stiffens through the morning and is at its strongest in the afternoon, which makes the dawn session the underpowered one. No hourly measurement is published for the beach, so treat the afternoon peak as indicative.
The wind
locals call it northeast/east-northeast trade winds
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
trade
fills in: Trade wind, so there is no single fill-in hour: it runs day and night rather than switching on. It usually stiffens through the morning and is at its strongest in the afternoon, which makes the dawn session the underpowered one. No hourly measurement is published for the beach, so treat the afternoon peak as indicative.
Typical strength
11-25 knots depending on the month. Light days are 11-15+ knots; the full Playa El Paso range is 11-25 knots and the Cuba-wide season window is 12-25 knots.
Thermal or synoptic
synoptic, reinforced by summer thermal per general Cuba pattern
The quiver, in words
10-12 m² for an average day (2025 guidance). People ride 9, 12 or 17 m depending on the wind, so bring a spread; nobody has published a proper local quiver chart.
Direction to shore
cross-off
Dominant direction
NE to E. Most days it is NE or ENE; some run straight east.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan, riders' month30
- Feb, riders' month54
- Mar, riders' month43
- Apr, riders' month47
- May23
- Jun17
- Jul42
- Aug27
- Sep12
- Oct31
- Nov, riders' month48
- Dec, riders' month58
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Nov, Dec.
- 10Jan26°
- 11Feb25°
- 11Mar27°
- 11Apr27°
- 9May29°
- 9Jun30°
- 10Jul30°
- 10Aug31°
- 9Sep31°
- 10Oct30°
- 11Nov28°
- 11Dec26°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30% | 10.2 kt | E | 24°C | 26.1°C |
| Feb | 54% | 11.3 kt | E | 24.1°C | 25.3°C |
| Mar | 43% | 11 kt | E | 25.3°C | 26.5°C |
| Apr | 47% | 11 kt | E | 25.8°C | 27.1°C |
| May | 23% | 9.2 kt | E | 26.8°C | 28.9°C |
| Jun | 17% | 8.7 kt | E | 27.8°C | 29.8°C |
| Jul | 42% | 10.4 kt | E | 29°C | 30.4°C |
| Aug | 27% | 9.8 kt | E | 29.1°C | 30.8°C |
| Sep | 12% | 9 kt | E | 28.8°C | 30.9°C |
| Oct | 31% | 9.8 kt | ENE | 27.5°C | 29.8°C |
| Nov | 48% | 11.1 kt | ENE | 26.3°C | 27.6°C |
| Dec | 58% | 11.3 kt | ENE | 24.7°C | 26.4°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
lagoon
Standing depth
Waist-deep over much of the teaching area at mid tide, sandy bottom, and shallow enough to stand a long way out across the ride zone. It goes very shallow at low water, and the beach itself shrinks at high water. No depth in metres has been published for the teaching zone.
Tides
Tide runs the day here. A high, coming or falling tide is what you want; at high tide the launch area shrinks, at low tide the lagoon goes very shallow. The tide range itself is small, Caribbean-small, but the published heights for 2026 disagree with each other, so use them for timing and nothing else.
Temperature
29.5°C summer · 25.5°C winter
Wetsuit
No wetsuit normally needed, except possibly with north wind; Cayo Guillermo water averages about 25.5°C in winter and 29.5°C in summer.
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
3 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: ok
Somewhere else
Cayo Coco, 15 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Sandy beach launch in the hotel zone. Kite-Cuba works from Hotel Vigia, Havana Kiteboarding Club from between Iberostar Origin Daiquiri and Starfish Cayo Guillermo, and Kite Center Starfish from Hotel Starfish. The launch and landing area moves with the tide and gets small at high water.
Space
ok
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Confirm the Polygono fee with your school or the Náutica Marlin desk before you rig: 25 USD per stay in 2026, sticker as proof, and ask which currency they take; whether any of that changes for 2026-2027 is unconfirmed.
- Ride the coming or falling tide; at high tide the beach is too small to rig comfortably and at low tide the lagoon is very shallow.
- Bring cash for the fee, the taxi and everything else; ATMs are unreliable and US-issued cards do not work in Cuba.
- Bring your own kites and board if you care about sizes, or pre-confirm exactly what a school has in stock.
- For a downwinder, book rescue support through a school: the standard runs are 8 km from Playa El Paso to Playa Pilar and 40 km from Cayo Coco back to Playa El Paso.
- Do not plan a kite-only trip for August-October, the hurricane-risk peak.
- North wind days are the only ones where a thin wetsuit top earns its place in the bag; the rest of the season is boardshorts.
Getting there
Airport
Jardines del Rey International Airport, Cayo Coco (CCC)
Route
Fly to CCC on Cayo Coco, then resort transfer, tourist bus or taxi across to Cayo Guillermo. The Playa El Paso hotels are about 34 minutes from the airport; a resort taxi is quoted at 40-45 minutes.
Transfer
34-45 min
Cost level
2026: no full benchmark. Airport taxis to the Cayo Guillermo resorts run about 40-45 USD one way. Cuba is cash-heavy, ATMs are unreliable and card payments barely exist outside the large hotels.
Staying
Mostly all-inclusive resort hotels on the north coast. The Playa El Paso sector includes Starfish Cayo Guillermo, Iberostar Origin Daiquiri, Hotel Camino del Mar, Hotel Vigia and nearby Villa Gregorio; Cayo Guillermo accommodation is concentrated in resort-style properties.
No-wind days
Havana Kiteboarding Club runs boat safaris, catamaran days, jeep trips, SUP, wakeboarding, beach parties. Beyond that: Playa Pilar, the dolphinarium, scuba diving, snorkelling, the marinas, cable water skiing, the shopping and entertainment plazas, and mainland trips to Morón, Laguna de la Leche and Laguna la Redonda.
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Playa El Paso?
The main season runs from late October to early May, with November to April most consistently cited as the peak.
Is Playa El Paso good for beginners?
Yes, the flat, shallow, sandy-bottom lagoon and several on-beach schools make it one of Cuba's more beginner-friendly kite spots.
What is the wind like at Playa El Paso?
NE to ENE trade winds are typically reported between about 11 and 25 knots, described as steady and consistent through the season.
Are there fees or rules for kiting at Playa El Paso?
As of 2026, kiting in the Cayo Guillermo hotel zone is limited to marked Polygono zones, with a 25 USD per-stay fee that includes one rescue.
Last updated: August 2026