Užava
Ventspils novads · Baltic coast · Užava village / Ventspils
also known as Užava Beach, Palmu Užava, Užavas grīvas pludmale
Riding essentials
Season
May–Oct
Months riders and schools name
How windy
9-10 kt
Character: synoptic
Room to launch
huge
access rules on record, below
Water
waves
16–19 °C in summerWest-facing, long sandy Baltic beach with sandy bottom
Hazards
6
Reported by riders
Level
Intermediate to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
low crowds · busy July August
Schools
1
named at this spot
From the airport
170 min
Riga International Airport (RIX)
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.
- Jūrkalneno page yet
- Liepāja
- Kolkano page yet
The spot
Waves and water
Season and riders
The wind
Direction
Direction to shore
The coast faces west, so SW and NW arrive cross-onshore and a straight W blows in fully onshore over the beach break. Indicative, from how the coast lies rather than a measurement on the sand.
Dominant direction
W and SW. SW is the one direction named for this beach by riders in Latvia; W and NW get listed too, and W is the fully onshore one.
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
Summer here is big-kite territory for a 75-85 kg rider: a 12 m is the everyday size, and against monthly averages of 9-10 kt in June to August a 14-15 m or a foil is what turns a forecast into a session.The autumn and winter systems at 16-17 kt put the same rider on 9-10 m.Derived from the modelled monthly averages, not from a local rider report.
Character
synoptic
Average strength
Modeled monthly average wind speeds for Uzava range from 9 kt in July to 17 kt in January/December; nearby Ventspils climate averages are windiest from late September to mid-March.
Typical strength
Modelled monthly averages run 9-10 kt from June to August and 16-17 kt from December to February, with March and November between the two. The coast counts roughly 300 days a year that reach Force 4 or more, and most of them fall outside the kite season. Indicative model figures, no local station on this beach.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan56
- Feb37
- Mar44
- Apr30
- May, riders' month13
- Jun, riders' month15
- Jul, riders' month40
- Aug, riders' month19
- Sep, riders' month23
- Oct, riders' month48
- Nov43
- Dec52
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 56%Jan2°
- 37%Feb2°
- 44%Mar3°
- 30%Apr6°
- 13%May12°
- 15%Jun16°
- 40%Jul20°
- 19%Aug21°
- 23%Sep19°
- 48%Oct14°
- 43%Nov9°
- 52%Dec5°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal.
Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | Wind from | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 56% | 74% | 69% | 14.7 kt | SW | 14:00 | 0.3 °C | 2.4 °C | 62 |
| Feb | 37% | 58% | 53% | 13.3 kt | SW | 13:00 | 1.6 °C | 2.4 °C | 57 |
| Mar | 44% | 58% | 50% | 12.9 kt | SSW | 14:00 | 2.4 °C | 3.3 °C | 62 |
| Apr | 30% | 45% | 33% | 11.3 kt | N | 16:00 | 5.8 °C | 6 °C | 60 |
| May | 13% | 29% | 19% | 9.5 kt | SSW | 15:00 | 11.6 °C | 11.5 °C | 62 |
| Jun | 15% | 28% | 23% | 9.4 kt | SW | 15:00 | 16.2 °C | 16.4 °C | 60 |
| Jul | 40% | 55% | 53% | 12.8 kt | WSW | 14:00 | 17.9 °C | 20.4 °C | 62 |
| Aug | 19% | 44% | 35% | 11.2 kt | SW | 12:00 | 19 °C | 20.8 °C | 62 |
| Sep | 23% | 32% | 30% | 10.4 kt | SW | 13:00 | 15.1 °C | 19.4 °C | 60 |
| Oct | 48% | 60% | 55% | 13.9 kt | WSW | 14:00 | 10.1 °C | 13.6 °C | 62 |
| Nov | 43% | 60% | 53% | 13.7 kt | W | 13:00 | 4.7 °C | 8.7 °C | 60 |
| Dec | 52% | 61% | 56% | 14.5 kt | WSW | 12:00 | 1.4 °C | 4.7 °C | 62 |
How this is modelledmodelled · 2023-2024
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. 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.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
waves
Standing depth
No measured figure. The bottom is sand and the foiling is done well out from the beach, so what shallow water there is sits as a strip close in rather than a standing lagoon, and the along-shore current runs through it. Unconfirmed.
Tides
Astronomical tide is negligible on the Latvian Baltic coast: effective tidal amplitudes are around 1.0 +/- 0.5 cm. Wind and pressure move the water level far more than the moon does.
Temperature
Summer (°C) about 16–19 °C near Ventspils/Palmu Užava in July-August averages; 18.5 °C reported at Palmu Užava on 27 Aug 2026
Winter (°C) about 1–4 °C near Ventspils in winter averages
Modelled monthly average: 2–21 °C
Wetsuit
Wetsuit needed year-round; summer wetsuit may be enough in warm August water, but winter/early spring is cold Baltic water.
Currents
A pronounced shore current runs along this beach, strong enough that a twintip rider can struggle to hold ground upwind.
Conditions
Your level
not for beginners here
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
1 school names this spot
On your own
Room to launch: huge
Somewhere else
2 spots nearby
Rescue
Rescue — full text1 min read
Launch
Open sandy beach at the Uzava river mouth and along the lighthouse beach, inside the Uzava Nature Reserve, with five marked access points and their own parking areas, benches, a picnic table and a wooden toilet that only opens in summer. Rig on open sand and keep off the grey dunes behind it, which are protected habitat.
Rules & access
1 min read
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
- Read the wave forecast as well as the wind: Užava can be blowing hard with nothing but short-period slop on the water.
- Use the official access and parking by the river mouth, and set the kite down on open sand, not in dune grass.
- Do not ride alone here if you are marginal upwind; the shore current takes ground off a twintip faster than you expect.
- Pack the suit the water needs rather than the one the air suggests: mid-summer sits around 16-19 C and it drops off quickly either side.
- Bring the biggest kite you own for a summer trip. Monthly averages in June, July and August sit at 9-10 kt, which is below what most riders pack for.
- Save +371 26130044 before you drive out: West Coast Surf Club in Uzava parish is the nearest kite operation, and 112 is the only other number that will come.
Getting there
Airport
Riga International Airport (RIX)
Route
Drive from Riga toward Ventspils and Užava: about 194 km, about 2 h 49 min by car. The beach and the river-mouth boardwalk are reached on rural roads, with parking areas at the access points.
Transfer
170 min
Staying
Very few services at the beach itself; look to Užava village, Ventspils, or simple coastal stays rather than expecting a full kite centre on site.
No-wind days
Užava river-mouth boardwalk and grey dunes · Užava Lighthouse · Ventspils beach/promenade and town activities · Baltic Coastal Hiking section Užava-Ventspils
Photos
FAQ
Is Užava suitable for beginners?
No, the required level is marked intermediate, and the spot suits intermediate to advanced riders because it is isolated with very few services and has a pronounced shore current.
What is the wind like at Užava?
West and southwest are the favourable directions, with modeled monthly averages from about 9 knots in July to 17 knots in January and December.
What hazards should riders know about?
A pronounced shore current can make it hard for a twintip rider to hold ground upwind, and the beach is isolated with very few services.
Are there kite schools near Užava?
West Coast Surf Club in Ventspils offers training and equipment rental for kiteboarding, surfing, SUP, windsurf and wingfoil.
The bigger pictureEverything about Pāvilosta
Last updated: August 2026