Galicia · Rias Altas, Ferrol · Ferrol

San Xurxo

also known as Praia de San Xurxo, Playa de San Jorge, San Jorge, San Xurxo da Mariña, San Jorge-San Xurxo

wavesadvanced onlyhigh crowds

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Doniños 4 km · Ares-Seselle 13 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windyno knot figure publishedmixed LaunchAbout 2100 m of beach, broad sand, heavily used in summer.access rules on record, below Wateropen Atlantic sandy wave bay17.3°C in summer · 11 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airport50 minA Coruña Airport (LCG)

When it fills in

Synoptic rather than thermal. Northeasterlies and the southwesterlies of winter lows arrive with the pressure pattern and can blow at any hour of the day, so there is no daily fill-in to time a session by. Whether a summer sea breeze adds to it in the afternoon is unconfirmed.

San Xurxo is a wave spot in a wide cliff-framed bay in the Rías Altas north of Ferrol, one of the serious Galician venues, and its waves come in smaller than Doniños but better organized.

Northeast wind is slightly offshore from the right and lines up clean frontside riding; the southwest that arrives with winter lows is cross-off from the left. Both of those directions go gusty close in, so do not read the wind off the sand. The wave is best around mid tide on the drop.

It is 2100 m of open fine sand with a Blue Flag, dangerous for bathing, good for surfing, bodyboarding and windsurfing, and a poor place to learn to kite, with cliffs, Atlantic swell and an offshore component in every useful direction. On a big sea there is backwash and current by the rocks.

July and August fill it with bathers, and no kite-specific Ferrol zoning is published.

The wind

locals call it Nortada

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Character

mixed

fills in: Synoptic rather than thermal. Northeasterlies and the southwesterlies of winter lows arrive with the pressure pattern and can blow at any hour of the day, so there is no daily fill-in to time a session by. Whether a summer sea breeze adds to it in the afternoon is unconfirmed.

Good wave-riding wind in NE and in winter SW, though both of the key directions go gusty inshore.

Spring and summer often bring northwest and northeast wind with clean side-off waves at San Xurxo and Doniños. Winter low-pressure systems bring big waves, strong wind and more rain. The waves are biggest on the first days of a northeast and then drop away progressively; southwest lows deliver more consistent swell and stay rideable here while Doniños turns unmanageable.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic and seasonal NE flow

Strength

No knot figure is published for this spot.

Direction to shore

NE is slightly offshore from the right; SW is cross-off from the left; N backs cross-onshore and is better at Doniños.

Dominant direction

NE, SW

Forecast

Month by month

Jan70
Feb56
Mar78
Apr62
May67
Jun56
Jul65
Aug66
Sep56
Oct76
Nov79
Dec55

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

15Jan14°
13Feb14°
16Mar14°
13Apr15°
13May16°
12Jun17°
13Jul19°
13Aug20°
12Sep18°
15Oct18°
16Nov16°
13Dec15°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	70%	14.6 kt	ENE	10.8°C	14.4°C
Feb	56%	13.4 kt	ENE	10.9°C	13.5°C
Mar	78%	15.6 kt	SSW	11.7°C	13.6°C
Apr	62%	13.2 kt	NE	13°C	14.7°C
May	67%	13.1 kt	NE	15.2°C	15.5°C
Jun	56%	12.3 kt	NE	17.6°C	16.9°C
Jul	65%	12.9 kt	NE	19.3°C	18.9°C
Aug	66%	12.7 kt	NE	19.9°C	19.8°C
Sep	56%	12.4 kt	ENE	18.3°C	18°C
Oct	76%	15.2 kt	SSW	17.2°C	18°C
Nov	79%	15.7 kt	WSW	14.4°C	16°C
Dec	55%	13.2 kt	S	11.6°C	15°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

open Atlantic sandy wave bay

Tides

The wave is best at mid tide on the drop. Surf listings put low tide as their window, so the two do not agree.

Temperature

17.3°C summer · 13.4°C winter

Wetsuit

Full wetsuit as a rule. Ferrol water averages about 17.3 C in summer and 13.4 C in winter.

Currents

A channel runs by the rocks. On big-sea days the backwash and resaca are strong and the current is challenging.

14–20°C water

Wide cliff-framed bay with fine white sand, strong swell and frequent wind. The waves are usually smaller than at Doniños and better organized.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

General surf listings take multiple levels; the kite picture does not. Offshore and cross-off wind, gusty air inshore, cliffs around the bay, Atlantic waves: this is a bad place to start kiting.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesstraplessfrontside down-the-line riding

A popular Ferrol wave beach with a small kite scene. Beach use runs high in season, and Vila da Area is the least crowded end.

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

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: About 2100 m of beach, broad sand, heavily used in summer.

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Doniños, 4 km

Doniños Ares-Seselle

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

Beach services include a first-aid station and a lifeboat. The municipal lifeguard service runs from 15 June to 18 September 2026, daily 12:00 to 20:00, part of a 60-lifeguard operation across the Ferrol beaches, and San Xurxo is one of the six Blue Flag beaches in the town. Outside those dates and hours nobody is watching.

No kite-specific rescue is on record; the emergency number is 112.

Launch

Sandy launch in a wide bay, reached from A Pedreira or Vila da Area, with Vila da Area the less crowded way in.

Space

About 2100 m of beach, broad sand, heavily used in summer.

Rules & access

2014: Ferrol publishes no kite zoning, so the binding rule is national. Article 73 of the Reglamento General de Costas (Real Decreto 876/2014) bans sailing and recreational navigation, and any wind- or motor-driven floating craft, inside a buoyed bathing zone, and requires launching and beaching through a signposted channel. Where nothing is buoyed, the bathing zone counts as the first 200 m of water off the beach, and inside it nothing may move faster than three knots.
2026: the municipal lifeguard service covers San Xurxo from 15 June to 18 September, 12:00 to 20:00. The kitesurf cap in force at A Frouxeira up the coast, five riders a day and only from two hours before to three hours after low water under the 2015 Kentish plover conservation decree, applies to that beach alone and not here. San Xurxo lies within the Costa Ártabra Natura 2000 site, whose lagoon and dune systems are the protected part, so stay off the dunes. Nothing was found that reserves any part of the bay for kiting or bans it from any part of it.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Come in at Vila da Area when the beach is busy; it is the quieter of the two accesses.
Take the offshore component in NE and SW seriously, and expect the wind to go gusty inshore.
Go to Doniños instead when the wind backs more northerly.
Aim for mid tide on the drop if you want the wave.
Camping As Cabazas is the closest bed to the beach; otherwise base in Ferrol.
First days of a northeast are the biggest; after that the swell fades while the wind holds.
In season launch and land through a marked channel, and treat the first 200 m as bathing water where nothing is buoyed.

Getting there

Airport

A Coruña Airport (LCG)

Route

Drive from A Coruña Airport to Ferrol and take the Ferrol-San Jorge road, then come down at A Pedreira or Vila da Area.

Transfer

50 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Ferrol is the main base. Camping As Cabazas sits very close to San Xurxo.

No-wind days

surfing · bodyboarding · walking the Ferrol coast · Ferrol sightseeing · nearby Doniños and Esmelle beaches

Photos

Playa de San Jorge, Ferrol, Galicia - panoramio — McBodes, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is San Xurxo suitable for beginners?

No. The wind is offshore or cross-off from the main directions and gusty close to shore, with cliffs around the bay, so beginner kiting is not recommended despite general surf listings covering multiple levels.

What is the wind like at San Xurxo?

Northeast wind is slightly offshore from the right and sets up clean frontside riding, while southwest wind is cross-off from the left and most common in winter. Both directions are reported gusty close to the beach.

When is the best time to kite San Xurxo?

Spring and summer often bring clean side-off waves in northwest and northeast wind, while winter low-pressure systems bring bigger waves and stronger wind along with more rain.

Are there kite schools near San Xurxo?

Kitesurf Galicia and MareaSurf are listed as schools serving the area.

Last updated: August 2026