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Porto Pino

Sardinia - Porto Pino · Sulcis Iglesiente · Sant'Anna Arresi

also known as Is Arenas Biancas, Sabbie Bianche, Le Dune

Part of Porto Pino, Sardinia →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnershigh 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

Jan–Dec

Months riders and schools name

How windy

10-30 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

23.8 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jul Aug Sep

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

64 min

Cagliari Elmas (CAG)

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Porto Pinettono page yet

The spot

Porto Pino is a long dune-backed beach in the Golfo di Palmas, near Sant'Anna Arresi in south-west Sardinia. It is a real kite spot, but an off-season one: open beach, waves, nobody swimming.

Wave riding

The water runs from flatter sections to chop and small or medium waves, and the wave riding gets good after W/NW systems, with Maestrale side from the right. The wind is gusty more often than not, so if you are learning or want flat water, go to Punta Trettu or Porto Botte instead.

Summer restrictions

Summer is where it gets complicated. Bathing rules require an authorised corridor for kites to cross swimmer zones, and Porto Pino reportedly has none, which closes it from mid-June to mid-September.

Protected areas

The dunes and lagoons behind the sand are a Natura 2000 site with flamingos on the ponds, and the Is Arenas Biancas dune sector backs onto the Teulada military area, so use the marked access and keep off the dunes entirely.

The wind

locals call it Maestrale / Mistral, Scirocco, Libeccio

Direction

cross-shorecross-offMaestrale / Sciroccowind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

cross, and it changes sign with the sector. NW Maestrale and SE Scirocco both blow side-off here and both are gusty; W Ponente and SW Libeccio come in closer to onshore and are the ones that build rideable waves.

Dominant direction

NW Maestrale and N Tramontana in winter; W Ponente and SW Libeccio for waves; SE Scirocco

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Wind runs roughly 10-30 kt here, so 9 m and 12 m cover most of it for a 75-85 kg rider: the 12 m for the 13-18 kt Scirocco and Libeccio days that give the cleanest wave riding, the 9 m for a 20-25 kt Maestrale.Add a 7 m for winter Tramontana and for the Maestrale days that arrive well over the model. The wind is gusty, so size down rather than up.

Character

mixed

Typical strength

Roughly 10-30 kt across the year. Winter Tramontana is the outlier and can pass 50 kt, cold and gusty with it.

Often gusty. The south and dune end is reported to have the cleaner wind, while Maestrale/NW comes in side from the right and can be rough with it. A W/NW system organises waves after several hours or days.

Autumn to spring is the working season: waves, open water, nobody swimming. Kitesurfing is reportedly not allowed from mid-June to mid-September, for the number of swimmers and the absence of a launch corridor, which removes most of the summer. Outside the bathing season you can ride, on specific stretches of the beach.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

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

avg knots per month · season highlighted

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

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid, 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	11.4 kt	W	11.1 °C
Feb	11.4 kt	W	11.1 °C
Mar	10.9 kt	W	12.5 °C
Apr	10.4 kt	W	14.4 °C
May	9.3 kt	W	17.5 °C
Jun	8.6 kt	W	21.1 °C
Jul	8.5 kt	N	23.9 °C
Aug	8.2 kt	N	24.4 °C
Sep	8.9 kt	N	22.5 °C
Oct	9.7 kt	W	19.4 °C
Nov	11 kt	W	15.6 °C
Dec	11.5 kt	W	12.2 °C

How this is modelledmodelled

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

A station this far away — often inland or at an airport — can understate accelerated local wind. 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.

Sant'Antioco (weatherspark modelled climatology) · Weatherspark (NASA/NOAA MERRA-2 reanalysis-based model climatology, not a physical anemometer)

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Sandy beach entry on a gently shelving shore, but this is open coast rather than a lagoon: past the shorebreak it is not standing water, and no measured shallow-water limit is published for the bay.

Tides

Kitesurfing conditions do not depend on tide; no local tidal restriction found.

Temperature

23.8 °C summer · 15.1 °C winter

Wetsuit

Summer: often boardshorts or shorty depending on wind chill; winter/off-season wave sessions need a full wetsuit. Exact local kite-school wetsuit guidance was not found.

Conditions

An open sandy bay, not a teaching lagoon: flat sections, chop, small to medium waves, and proper wave conditions after W/NW systems. Most days the water is choppy or wave-affected. Posidonia piles up on the beach in the colder months.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

An intermediate-to-advanced open beach. It is no place for first lessons or a structured course: the wind is often gusty and the sea choppy or wave-affected. It is still rated any-level, and beginner-friendly in SE and SW, in some directory entries, which is recorded as a contradiction.

The scene

What riders come here for

intermediateadvancedfreeridewavestrong-windscenic sessions

Dunes, lagoons and flamingos behind the sand, and serviced sections packed with bathers in summer. Outside the bathing season it goes back to being a wave and open-water beach for riders who already know what they are doing, not a school beach.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

5 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

9 spots nearby

All 9 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No kite rescue at Porto Pino. In the bathing season the serviced sections carry the general beach lifeguard and first-aid cover the municipality and the concession holders owe, and the concessions must staff their stretch through opening hours; outside that season there is nothing at all.

Self-rescue and a friend on the sand are the plan. The free national sea-emergency number is 1530.

Launch

A long sandy beach in three parts: first beach, second beach and the dune end. Space is enormous outside the crowded weeks, but the walk in can be long, and in summer the bathers and the rules decide where a kite can go up at all.

Hazards riders report 19 reported

Wind

Gusty wind, especially with Maestrale/NW.
Gusty wind, worst with Maestrale, which blows side-off here
Winter Tramontana can pass 50 kt, cold and gusty

Crowds and zones

High bather density in summer, especially the north/serviced parts of the beach.
High bather density in summer, worst on the serviced northern sections
No kite rescue and, outside the bathing season, no lifeguard cover either

Waves and currents

Open water with chop and wave-affected sea; this is not a teaching beach.
Shorebreak can be tough when W wind turns Mistral and builds waves.
Canal and harbour works, and the navigation areas that go with them, can create local exclusions; check the current maritime-authority and municipal notices.
Open-water exposure with chop and wave-affected water; not a teaching beach
Shorebreak gets hard when a W wind veers to Mistral and the swell builds
Canal and harbour works and navigation areas can create local exclusions; check the current maritime-authority and municipal notices

Protected areas and rules

Natura 2000 protected dune system - stay off restored dune areas
open beach exposure compared to sheltered Punta Trettu lagoon
Protected Natura 2000 dune/wetland system: stay off dunes and use marked access paths.
Natura 2000 dune and wetland system: stay off the dunes and use the marked access paths

Other

Dune sector Is Arenas Biancas lies within the Capo Teulada military range area; access is seasonal/controlled.
The Is Arenas Biancas dune sector lies inside the Capo Teulada military range area, with seasonal and controlled access
Posidonia piles up on the beach in the colder months and the access walk can be long

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: the Sardinian regional beach ordinance sets the demanial summer season as 1 April to 31 October and the bathing season from the third week of May to the third week of September; it requires concession holders to open and staff their stretch 08:30-19:30 through that season, keeps launch corridors in permanent public use with no bathing, mooring or anchoring inside them, bans any use of a corridor outside the terms of its authorisation, bans motor vehicles on the beach all year except rescue and specifically authorised vehicles, bans walking on or crossing dunes outside marked routes, and bans removing sand, pebbles or shells.

Maritime safety

2025: the Portoscuso maritime-authority beach-safety ordinance reserves the first 200 m off sandy beaches for bathing during the bathing season and forbids surf, windsurf and kitesurf transit there unless a municipality or concession holder has separated the activity areas with an authorised launch corridor.

Porto Pino status

As of 2026 Porto Pino reportedly has no such corridor and kitesurfing is reported as closed from mid-June to mid-September; a seasonal kite zone has also been claimed, so read the on-site signage before rigging. 2026: canal and harbour works at Porto Pino carry their own maritime-authority exclusion notice.

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

Check the current municipal and maritime-authority notices and the signage on the sand before you rig; the summer corridor status is the whole access question here.
Do not book first lessons here; Punta Trettu is the sheltered, authorised teaching option nearby.
For waves, wait for a W wind followed by Mistral: the swell cleans up and lengthens once the system has had time to work.
Size down rather than up. The wind is gusty and the Maestrale often arrives well over the model.
Skip the serviced northern beach in peak summer; the off-season and the emptier southern ends are the realistic windows.
Stay on the boardwalks and off the restored dunes, and save 1530: outside the bathing season there is no lifeguard on this beach and no kite rescue at any time of year.

Getting there

Airport

Cagliari Elmas (CAG)

Route

Drive from Cagliari down through Pula and Teulada to Sant'Anna Arresi, then follow the signs for Porto Pino. ARST buses run from Cagliari to Sant'Anna Arresi, but without a car you cannot move between the beach and the alternative spots.

Transfer

64 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Apartments, B&Bs, agriturismi and small hotels in Sant'Anna Arresi, Porto Pino itself and the Sulcis villages behind. Sleeping between village and beach keeps the shops and the launch both within a short drive.

No-wind days

Dune paths and lagoons with the birdlife on them, snorkelling around the rocky coves, Porto Pinetto and Cala dei Francesi, the village of Sant'Anna Arresi, the food and the wine, the mining heritage at Carbonia and Iglesias, and the jazz in summer.

Photos

FAQ

Is Porto Pino suitable for beginners?

No, Kite House Sardinia says it's not suitable for beginners or structured courses because the wind is often gusty and the sea is choppy or wave-affected.

When is the best time?

Mainly autumn to spring, since local guidance reports kiting is forbidden from mid-June to mid-September due to heavy bather presence and no launch corridor.

What is the wind like?

Often gusty, mainly Maestrale/Mistral, Scirocco and Libeccio at roughly 10-30 knots; the south/dune end reportedly has cleaner wind and Maestrale runs side from the right.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Yes, the beach lies within Natura 2000 protected dunes and wetlands, and local kite-school guidance says kitesurfing is banned mid-June to mid-September because there is no launch corridor.

What are the hazards?

Gusty NW wind, open-water wave exposure, high bather density in summer, and protected dune areas that must not be crossed off marked paths.

The bigger pictureEverything about Sardinia - Porto Pino

Last updated: August 2026