Map › Brazil › Icaraí de Amontada › Praia de Mundaú
Ceará, Northeast Brazil · Trairi · Mundau
Praia de Mundaú
also known as Mundau, Barra de Mundau, Foz do Rio Mundau
Nearby Praia de Guajiru 2 km · Fleixeiras 3 km · Curimãs 5 km · Praia de Emboaca 8 km · Lagoinha 16 km · Praia da Baleia 25 km · Paracuru 31 km · Praia de Caetanos 38 km · Icaraí de Amontada 50 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
wind is lighter in the morning and stronger from midday/afternoon
The wind
locals call it trade winds
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
trade
fills in: wind is lighter in the morning and stronger from midday/afternoon
Typical strength
up to about 25 knots, July-December
Also on record
up to ~25
The quiver, in words
Indicative for 75-85 kg, derived from the recorded wind range with no local quiver published. The August-November trades top out near 25 knots and are a 9 m day, with a 7 m for the strongest afternoons and a 12 m for the light mornings and for the weaker January-June months.
Direction to shore
Onshore to cross-onshore on the exposed beach; SE can be offshore for surfing on Mundaú's north/northeast-facing coast.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan59
- Feb44
- Mar21
- Apr21
- May42
- Jun67
- Jul, riders' month90
- Aug, riders' month98
- Sep, riders' month100
- Oct, riders' month98
- Nov, riders' month94
- Dec, riders' month94
per cent of the month at force 4 or more
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
- 11Jan29°
- 11Feb29°
- 9Mar30°
- 9Apr30°
- 11May30°
- 12Jun29°
- 13Jul28°
- 15Aug28°
- 16Sep28°
- 15Oct28°
- 14Nov29°
- 14Dec29°
avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Force 4+ | Knots | From | Air | Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 59% | 11.2 kt | E | 27.2°C | 29.4°C |
| Feb | 44% | 10.7 kt | E | 26.9°C | 29.3°C |
| Mar | 21% | 9.1 kt | E | 26.4°C | 29.8°C |
| Apr | 21% | 9.3 kt | ESE | 26.5°C | 30°C |
| May | 42% | 10.6 kt | ESE | 26.9°C | 29.5°C |
| Jun | 67% | 11.5 kt | ESE | 26.7°C | 28.7°C |
| Jul | 90% | 13.2 kt | ESE | 26.8°C | 27.9°C |
| Aug | 98% | 15 kt | ESE | 27°C | 27.5°C |
| Sep | 100% | 16 kt | ESE | 27.1°C | 27.5°C |
| Oct | 98% | 15.1 kt | E | 27.4°C | 28°C |
| Nov | 94% | 13.8 kt | E | 27.7°C | 28.5°C |
| Dec | 94% | 13.6 kt | E | 27.8°C | 28.9°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 (2020-2024), 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 · 2020-2024
The water
Type
river-mouth flat water and open Atlantic beach with chop and waves
Standing depth
In the low-tide pools the water runs ankle to waist deep over sand and reef. How much of the river mouth itself is standing depth at a given tide is not documented.
Tides
The natural pools in front of the beach barracas exist only below roughly 0.2 m of tide and vanish completely at high water; the Porto de Pecem table is the tide reference riders and operators use here.The river side stays flat and the ocean side keeps its chop whatever the tide is doing, and the pools depend on the tide rather than the season.
Temperature
28°C summer · 27°C winter
Wetsuit
boardshorts
Currents
Strong currents are recorded at points along the open beach, which is why swimming is steered to the pools or the estuary instead. The river mouth shifts its own channel, so where the flow runs changes.
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
No school names this spot
Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.
On your own
Room to launch: broad beach/estuary setting, but launch space varies with tide and local boat/pedestrian activity.
Somewhere else
Praia de Guajiru, 2 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Launch from the beach or the river mouth around the Mundau estuary; whether there is a designated zone is unconfirmed.
Space
broad beach/estuary setting, but launch space varies with tide and local boat/pedestrian activity.
Rules & access
- 2026: the whole estuary is inside a protected area, the APA do Estuario do Rio Mundau, 1,596 hectares created by Decreto 24.414/1997, with thirteen traditional communities living inside its limits, so the mangrove and river side is conservation land rather than open ground. No municipal kitesurf ordinance, marked corridor, launch zone or permit for Trairi was found, and nothing on the beach is signed.
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Beginners: book an instructor and stay on the river side; do not go out alone on the ocean beach.
- Before launching at the river mouth, ask a fisherman or a local rider where the current and the sandbars are running that day.
- Take the ocean side only if you are comfortable in current and waves; there is no reef and nothing published on rescue.
- Confirm lessons before you travel; the village may have no established school and Flecheiras may be the nearest.
- Natural pools are a low-tide thing; the catamaran leaves on the operator's schedule, not yours.
- From Fortaleza take CE-085 toward Trairi then CE-163; the bus gets you to Trairi and a taxi or mototaxi does the last stretch.
- There is no established kite school in the village. Independent riders come on their own and lessons are run from Flecheiras, 15 km down the coast, so arrange them before you travel.
- The natural pools only appear below about 0.2 m of tide and are gone at high water; check the Porto de Pecem table before you plan the day around them.
- The catamara leaves on the operator's schedule and needs a minimum group, so confirm out of season.
- From Fortaleza take CE-085 toward Trairi then CE-163; the bus gets you to Trairi and a taxi or mototaxi does the last 12 km.
- Bring cash and a full tank: no petrol station in Mundau, unreliable cash machines, and phone signal that comes and goes.
Getting there
Airport
Fortaleza Pinto Martins International Airport (FOR)
Route
By car from Fortaleza on the CE-085 west to the Trairi junction, then the CE-163 down to the beach: about 150 km, around 2h15. Both roads are paved and in good condition, the Paracuru-Trairi stretch of the CE-085 has been dualled, and no 4x4 is needed in the dry season.Shared vans leave from Fortaleza's Terminal Rodoviario Engenheiro Joao Tome; intercity buses run to Trairi and a taxi or mototaxi covers the last 12 km. Flecheiras is 15 km away along the coast. There is no fuel station in Mundau, so fill up in Trairi.
Transfer
135 min
Cost level
budget to mid-range
Staying
Mundaú has modest pousadas and a beachfront hotel, with small local accommodation rather than large resort infrastructure.
No-wind days
Catamaran trip on the Rio Mundau estuary, mangroves, Praia dos Quatro Coqueiros, dune sunset, buggy tours, natural pools at low tide, SUP or kayak on lagoons, fishing-village restaurants.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Mundaú?
The best window is August to November, with a broader, stronger-wind period from July through December.
Is Mundaú suitable for beginners?
The shallow river side can work for beginners with an instructor, but the open sea has stronger current and waves and is not recommended for independent beginners.
What is the water like?
The river mouth combines flatter water on the estuary side with choppier, wavier conditions and stronger current on the exposed Atlantic side.
What are the main hazards?
Strong currents, moderate to strong waves, sandbars and possible rocks are reported, and no local rescue service has been verified.
Last updated: August 2026