KiteInsider

Map › Portugal › Praia de Porto Pim

Madeira e Açores · Faial, Horta · Horta

Praia de Porto Pim

also known as Baía de Porto Pim, Porto Pim

advanced only

Praia de Porto Pim has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

Praia de Porto Pim is the sheltered bay beach in Horta, on Faial. It is kiteable when there is no storm, alongside SUP and kayaking, and winter is the season named for it. Nothing else about kiting here is on record: no wind figures, no launch position, no word on whether kites are restricted during the bathing season.
The ocean around Faial produces strong currents and high waves, and a bay that looks flat from the promenade is still an Azores bay. Ride it with someone who has ridden it.

The wind

Direction

Strength

No knot figure is published for this spot.

Forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan77
  2. Feb65
  3. Mar86
  4. Apr78
  5. May56
  6. Jun48
  7. Jul27
  8. Aug28
  9. Sep64
  10. Oct80
  11. Nov90
  12. Dec75

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

  1. 15Jan17°
  2. 14Feb17°
  3. 18Mar16°
  4. 16Apr17°
  5. 13May19°
  6. 11Jun21°
  7. 10Jul23°
  8. 9Aug25°
  9. 13Sep24°
  10. 16Oct22°
  11. 17Nov20°
  12. 16Dec18°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan77%14.8 ktENE15.2°C16.8°C
Feb65%13.5 ktSW15.2°C16.5°C
Mar86%18 ktSW15.4°C16.3°C
Apr78%16.2 ktSSW15.8°C16.7°C
May56%12.6 ktSSW17.2°C18.5°C
Jun48%11 ktNE19.3°C20.6°C
Jul27%9.7 ktWSW21.9°C23°C
Aug28%9.4 ktWSW23.6°C24.9°C
Sep64%12.6 ktSW22.6°C23.8°C
Oct80%15.5 ktNW20.1°C21.9°C
Nov90%17.1 ktSW18.4°C19.8°C
Dec75%16 ktSW16.5°C18.2°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

bay

16–25°C water
Sheltered bay beach in Horta. It takes SUP, kayaking and kitesurfing when there is no storm.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

The record rates the levels and says nothing more about what this spot asks of a rider.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridesheltered bay

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: medium

no access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Launch

Sandy city beach inside Porto Pim bay. The exact kite rigging zone is unconfirmed.

Space

medium

Hazards riders report 3

  • strong currents possible around Faial
  • high waves in storm conditions
  • busy bathing beach in season

Rider tips

  • Check the swell first. The bay is only worth rigging when there is no storm.
  • Ask in Horta where kites actually launch inside the bay; no rigging zone is marked.
  • Aim for winter if you want wind, since that is the season named for kiting on Faial.
  • Assume the bathing season restricts kites on the beach until someone local tells you otherwise.

Photos

Praia do Porto Pim - Horta - Portugal 🇵🇹 (54388313775)
Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Last updated: August 2026