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Santa Verónica

Atlántico · Santa Verónica · Juan de Acosta

also known as Olas Inn

Part of Santa Verónica →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Dec–Apr

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 knots

Character: trade

Room to launch

tight

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

26–29 °C in summerSalinas del Rey is a wave spot with a point break and a protected inside used for smoother flat-water and freestyle

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jan Feb Mar

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Ernesto Cortissoz (BAQ)

Transfer times under Getting there

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.

La Boquilla
Manzanillo
Palmaritono page yet
Lomita Arenano page yet
Punta Cangrejono page yet
La Boquilla Cartagenano page yet

The spot

Santa Verónica is the village you sleep in; Salinas del Rey, down the coast between Barranquilla and Cartagena, is where you ride.

Wind and water

The trade wind blows hardest from December through April, and the point gives you a point-break wave outside with smoother water behind it. Air and water sit around the high 20s Celsius all year, so a lycra against the sun is the kit list and no wetsuit is needed.

Wave riders and schools

This is a wave spot first. Strapless, freestyle and big-air riders get their money's worth; schools will still teach beginners, but mostly at Palmarito, Puerto Velero or Lomita Arena, because the point has deep water, waves, rocks, current, gusts and almost no launch space.

Access and facilities

Access is easy by Colombian coast standards, with BAQ and CTG both roughly 45-80 minutes away and local buses and tuk-tuks covering the last stretch. The 2025 opening of Náutica Salinas del Rey added parking, bathrooms, showers, first aid and school space at the point, and it will pull in more riders too.

Wind from the point

The NE trade reads side-onshore along the coast but close to offshore from the point launch itself, and it is the second reading you should plan for.

The wind

locals call it Caribbean trade winds / alisios

Direction

cross-oncross-offwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

Side-offshore at the water entry on the point and side-onshore on the far side of the bay; on the two big Santa Verónica beaches the NE trade is side-onshore. Treat the launch itself as an offshore setup and the bay as your safety net.

Kite sizes

567891011

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

For a 75 kg rider, a 7 m is the base kite and a 9 m covers mornings and lighter days. Bring small kites.

Character

trade

Average strength

20-35 knots in peak season and 15-25 knots NE across most of it. December-March is given as 20-25 knots in one place and as over 25 knots December-April in another; which is closer is unconfirmed.

Typical strength

15-25 knots in December, January and April; often over 25 knots in February and March; 20-35 knots is also given for the primary January-April season.

Steady and near-daily through the winter trade season. The point itself goes gusty where the air crosses the dunes and the buildings, and the wind can drop fast near sunset.

The season runs mid to late December through the end of April, with February and March the strongest months. Probability of wind above 4 Beaufort: 84% in December, 92% in January, 99% in February, 100% in March and 84% in April. A second, lighter season runs mid-June to early August, or May-July, at 15-25/27 knots.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · the wind series here holds no typical daily max

Jan, riders' month92
Feb, riders' month99
Mar, riders' month100
Apr, riders' month84
May, no figure—
Jun, no figure—
Jul, no figure—
Aug, no figure—
Sep, no figure—
Oct, no figure—
Nov, no figure—
Dec, riders' month84

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Dec.

Measured at Santa Verónica (aggregated spot statistics, station not identified).

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Air	Water
Jan	92%	30 °C	28 °C
Feb	99%	30 °C	28 °C
Mar	100%	30 °C	28 °C
Apr	84%	30 °C	28 °C
May	no figure	no figure	no figure
Jun	no figure	no figure	no figure
Jul	no figure	no figure	no figure
Aug	no figure	no figure	no figure
Sep	no figure	no figure	no figure
Oct	no figure	no figure	no figure
Nov	no figure	no figure	no figure
Dec	84%	30 °C	28 °C

About these figuresriders' months

The series here holds no typical daily max for any month, so no season is drawn from it. What it does hold is in the table above, and the season is the one the spot record names.

Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

Santa Verónica (aggregated spot statistics, station not identified) · whenwherekite.com

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Shallow for only about the first 10 m off the beach, then deep. At low tide the reef inside the bay uncovers enough to give a partly standable flat-water area; at high tide nothing in the riding zone is standable, which is why beginners float out into the bay here.

Tides

Rideable on both tides but effectively two spots.Low tide: the coral and rock barrier is exposed, the inside of the bay goes flat and partly standable, and the rocks around the point are visible.High tide: the reef is covered, the bay turns to chop with waves of roughly 1-1.5 m breaking on it, the rocks are hidden, and the beach shrinks so launching and landing get tighter.

Temperature

26–29 °C summer · 26–29 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 28 °C

Wetsuit

No wetsuit needed; rash guard/lycra recommended for sun protection.

Currents

A current runs along the edge of the beach and inside the bay, strong enough to feel while standing in the shallows. It costs you upwind, so if you are drifting down the coast, stay further out where it is weaker.

Conditions

Salinas del Rey is a wave spot with a point break and a protected inside used for smoother flat-water and freestyle. Normal days run about 1-2 m or 1.5-2.5 m depending on the count, with bigger days over 3 m reported locally.

The main Santa Verónica shoreline can throw a shorebreak, which is part of why some schools use Palmarito. Driftwood off the Magdalena River turns up on the beach and in the water seasonally.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Treat the main Salinas del Rey point as intermediate to advanced: waves, deep water, a small and obstructed launch, rocks, current, gusts at the point and no rescue boat on record.

Beginners can take lessons with the local schools, but many of those lessons happen at Palmarito, Puerto Velero or Lomita Arena instead, where the water is flatter and there is room.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesfreestyleflat waterintermediatebig airstraplesswingfoildownwinderswarm-water winter wind

A Colombian kite village growing fast, with schools, kite hostels and an international crowd in winter. It used to be quiet. By 2025 the Náutica Salinas del Rey centre was reported to draw more than 80 athletes a day in season, and the main point now crowds up on the busy days.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

10 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: tight

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

2 spots nearby

All 2 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No rescue boat at Salinas del Rey. Instructors stay on the beach, and rescues are done by other riders, who expect a reward for bringing a rider or a board back. If the wind fades late in the day, self-rescue early so you drift into the bay of Salinas rather than down onto the rocks at Punta Cangrejo or the concrete hazard on the next beach. Puerto Velero, about 10 km away, is the nearest spot with a rescue dinghy.

Launch

The launch is the sandy point at Salinas del Rey next to the watersports centre. The sandbank can be thin, with driftwood and logs on it, rocks near the point and a beach that shrinks at high tide.Since its 2025 opening the Náutica Salinas del Rey centre has parking, boardwalk access, school premises, bathrooms, showers and a first-aid room.

Hazards riders report 23 reported

Wind

gusty wind and holes close to the point
wind can fade quickly near sunset, leaving riders drifting toward rocks if they stay far out
gusty wind and wind holes close to the point, where the air passes over dunes and buildings
wind can fade quickly near sunset, leaving riders drifting toward the rocks if they stay far out

Crowds and zones

crowding/tangled lines near the launch and teaching area on busy days or weekends
no dedicated rescue boat on record at the main Salinas del Rey point
crowding and tangled lines near the launch and the teaching area on busy days and weekends
no rescue boat at the main Salinas del Rey point

Bottom

seaweed at times
shallow water for only about the first 10 m off the beach, deep everywhere beyond that

Waves and currents

punchy shorebreak during swell
waves at the point, normally around 1-2 m or 1.5-2.5 m and locally reported over 3 m on bigger days
shorebreak on parts of the Santa Verónica beach when the sea is up
rocks around the point, visible at low tide and hidden at higher tide or in waves
possible coral/reef/rocky areas at low tide; booties may help in rocky zones
small or shrinking launch area, especially at high tide
fairly strong current inside the bay
rocks around the point, visible at low tide and hidden at higher tide or in waves; the most dangerous one sits out in the calmer water just beside the point
coral and rocky reef inside the bay, exposed at low tide and covered at high tide; booties help in the rocky zones
current along the beach edge and inside the bay

Other

beach can be short in places
driftwood/logs on beach and floating in the water, linked by local sources to the Magdalena River
driftwood and whole tree trunks on the beach and floating in the water, carried in from the Magdalena River

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no permit, launch fee, club membership or registration for independent riders has been published by the municipality, the port authority or the local operators for Salinas del Rey; access to the beach is free and informal.
2026: the reference for right of way at the point is the IKO etiquette board posted in the restaurant at the launch, and the rider on the wave has priority; enforcement is social only, and local riders do not reliably follow it, so look before every turn and jump.
Since 2022 the teaching standard the local schools work to has required a rescue boat in offshore conditions, and Salinas del Rey has none, so most take beginners to Palmarito, Puerto Velero or Lomita Arena instead of the point.
2022-2026: the point and the bay are shared with school traffic, wave riders on surfboards and twin-tip riders in the same small area; launch fast, ride out of the launch corridor and keep clear of lessons.

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

Bring small kites: a 7 m is the base for a 75 kg rider, with a 9 m for mornings and lighter days.
Ride freestyle in the flat water inside the sand point at Salinas del Rey, or over at Palmarito.
Walk the rocks at low tide before your first session, including the one sitting out in the calmer water beside the point.
Come in early in the late afternoon; the wind can fade near sunset and leave you drifting toward the rocks.
Look before every turn and jump near the launch and the teaching zone; lines tangle there on weekends.
If you are learning, ask the school whether the lesson runs at Salinas del Rey, Palmarito, Puerto Velero or Lomita Arena, and whether a rescue boat comes with it.
Read the Santa Verónica and Salinas del Rey forecast rather than a regional one.
Shop before you settle in: Santa Verónica and Salinas have basic supplies, and most people cook or eat at the kite hostels.

Getting there

Airport

Barranquilla Ernesto Cortissoz (BAQ) or Cartagena Rafael Núñez (CTG)

Route

Come in through Barranquilla to the east or Cartagena to the west.Expreso Colombia Caribe buses run from Barranquilla to Santa Verónica; Marsol and Berlitur buses on the Cartagena-Barranquilla route drop you at El Sombrero, and from there it is a walk or a tuk-tuk or mototaxi.With kite gear most people take a private transfer, an Uber or a pre-arranged vehicle.

Transfer (minutes)

45-60 from Barranquilla and about 80 from Cartagena; exact time varies by pickup point and traffic.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Kite hostels, small hotels, guesthouses and Airbnb-style homes are available in Santa Verónica, Las Villas and Salinas. Salinas is closest to the main point; Santa Verónica has more basic shops/restaurants; all three areas are close enough to walk or use tuk-tuks.

No-wind days

Cartagena day trip, Barranquilla day trip, beach walks, local restaurants/hostels, kayak or SUP outside windy season at the watersports center; no-wind days are rare but possible.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Santa Verónica?

The best season runs mid or late December through April, with February and March the strongest.

Is Santa Verónica suitable for beginners?

The main Salinas del Rey point is better for intermediate to advanced riders; beginners can take lessons but are often moved to nearby Palmarito, Puerto Velero or Lomita Arena for calmer water.

What is the wind like at Santa Verónica?

Northeast trade wind typically runs 20-35 knots in peak season, with over 90% probability of wind above 4 Beaufort in January-March.

What hazards should riders know about?

Rocks near the point, a fairly strong bay current, driftwood from the Magdalena River, and no verified dedicated rescue boat are reported.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Yes, including Kitesurfing Colombia, KitesurfExperience Colombia and Kite Explorer.

The bigger pictureEverything about Santa Verónica

Last updated: August 2026