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Istria · Umag - Istria · Istria County
Umag
also known as Punta Umag, Umag
Nearby Sečovlje / Seča (Portorož) 9 km · Piran (Fiesa) 10 km · Izola 16 km · Grado 29 km · Marina Julia 39 km · Lignano Sabbiadoro - Isola delle Conchiglie 40 km · Rovinj 40 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Two different clocks. The southerly Yugo is synoptic rather than thermal: it can already be blowing at dawn, it holds through the night, and an episode runs from half a day to several days, so you watch a front rather than an hour. The NW Maestral is the opposite, a summer sea breeze that exists only in daylight and fades in the evening.
The wind
locals call it Yugo/Scirocco; Maestral; Bora
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Two different clocks. The southerly Yugo is synoptic rather than thermal: it can already be blowing at dawn, it holds through the night, and an episode runs from half a day to several days, so you watch a front rather than an hour. The NW Maestral is the opposite, a summer sea breeze that exists only in daylight and fades in the evening.
Typical strength
12-35 kn is the range quoted for Umag Punta. The summer Maestral in the northern Adriatic runs about 12-15 kn. Sirocco episodes on the Adriatic top out much higher, up to around 54 kn in the worst of them, and one episode can last from half a day to several days. The strong southerly days here are genuinely strong.
The quiver, in words
No local rider reporting exists. Against the 12-35 kn band quoted for the point, a 75-85 kg rider covers most southerly days on a 9 m, drops to 7 m once it pushes past 25 kn, and needs 12 m or more for a light Maestral afternoon — indicative from the wind range, not measured on this beach.
Dominant direction
Rideable directions run ESE through WNW, and the southerly Yugo/Scirocco is the one that counts. Bora from NE and summer Maestral from NW are the regional winds, and neither is recommended for Punta.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan21
- Feb11
- Mar, riders' month11
- Apr, riders' month17
- May, riders' month8
- Jun, riders' month3
- Jul, riders' month0
- Aug, riders' month3
- Sep, riders' month13
- Oct, riders' month13
- Nov12
- Dec15
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 21%Jan13°
- 11%Feb12°
- 11%Mar12°
- 17%Apr15°
- 8%May18°
- 3%Jun24°
- 0%Jul27°
- 3%Aug27°
- 13%Sep24°
- 13%Oct21°
- 12%Nov18°
- 15%Dec15°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 21% | 34% | 27% | 8.8 kt | NE | 13:00 | 6.1°C | 13.2°C | 62 |
| Feb | 11% | 19% | 12% | 7.2 kt | E | 13:00 | 7.5°C | 11.6°C | 57 |
| Mar | 11% | 26% | 18% | 8.8 kt | S | 14:00 | 9°C | 12.2°C | 62 |
| Apr | 17% | 33% | 28% | 9.5 kt | NE | 14:00 | 12°C | 14.6°C | 60 |
| May | 8% | 23% | 16% | 9.2 kt | NE | 14:00 | 17.3°C | 18.4°C | 62 |
| Jun | 3% | 18% | 17% | 8.8 kt | SW | 14:00 | 22.1°C | 23.5°C | 60 |
| Jul | 0% | 11% | 6% | 8.3 kt | W | 15:00 | 24.9°C | 26.8°C | 62 |
| Aug | 3% | 16% | 13% | 8.6 kt | W | 15:00 | 24.8°C | 27.2°C | 62 |
| Sep | 13% | 33% | 28% | 9.5 kt | W | 14:00 | 20.5°C | 24.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 13% | 23% | 16% | 8.1 kt | SW | 13:00 | 16.3°C | 21.2°C | 62 |
| Nov | 12% | 23% | 23% | 8.6 kt | NE | 13:00 | 11.2°C | 18°C | 60 |
| Dec | 15% | 24% | 21% | 8.1 kt | NE | 14:00 | 8°C | 14.8°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
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. 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
mixed
Tides
Microtidal. Mean daily range at Rovinj, the nearest northern-Istrian reference, is around 47 cm; tide forecasts exist for Umag Punta.
Temperature
25.1°C summer · 11.6°C winter
Wetsuit
Shorts or shorty in peak summer; full suit in spring/autumn; thick winter suit if riding winter systems.
Currents
Northern Adriatic tidal streams are weak, up to about 0.5 kn, with inshore and wind-driven currents on top. At the point the working drift sets north along the coast, and there are landable bailout spots along that stretch.
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: tight
Somewhere else
Sečovlje / Seča (Portorož), 9 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Punta, north of the old town, between Hotel Adriatic and Hotel Sipar by the former Hotel Beograd, at the westernmost point of the peninsula: a mini sand beach on a rocky shore, with the small red lighthouse offshore. The beach itself is small. Behind it there is parking and rigging room, signed for hotel guests and used by riders anyway.Some skip the sand and step off the small stone mole straight onto the board. The southerly comes in side-shore from the left.
Space
tight
Rules & access
- 2026: no kite-specific beach ordinance for Punta is published by the City of Umag. The only public documents covering the beaches are the maritime-property concession approvals, most recently posted for 2015, 2018 and 2019, so the resort stretches either side of the point are run by their concession holders — ask there before rigging.
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Watch for a southerly Yugo/Scirocco forecast; that is the wind Punta is known for and the one that puts waves by the lighthouse.
- Look at the launch before you pump: a mini sand beach on rock, between Hotel Adriatic and Hotel Sipar, with parking nearby and not much room in July and August.
- Booties. You cross rocks to get in, and the mole entry some riders use is stone.
- The shallow family beach at the Punta resort is not the kite beach; check the buoyed swimmer zones and the resort's rules before rigging anywhere near it.
- Do not ride the Bora here; it is strong and gusty in the Adriatic and Punta is the wrong shape for it.
- Fly into Trieste (TRS), the closest airport, or Pula (PUY); the Trieste to Umag bus has limited daily service, so a car is the practical way to reach Punta.
- Plan a Yugo trip for autumn or spring rather than July: the southerly peaks in March and November, and summer here belongs to a sea breeze the point does not use.
- There is no rescue on this water. Fix your downwind bailout before you launch and carry a phone that can reach 195.
Getting there
Airport
Trieste (TRS), across the border, is the nearest airport; Pula (PUY) is the Croatian option for Istria.
Route
Drive. The launch is on Punta north of the old town, with car access and parking. Airports with connections to Umag: Pula and Trieste, then Venice or Treviso, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Zagreb. A bus runs from Trieste Airport to Umag, with limited daily service.
Transfer
60 min
Cost level
mid
Staying
Resorts and hotels, campsites, apartments: around Punta and Stella Maris, at Katoro, at Kanegra/Savudrija and in town. Punta/Main Beach is about 1.5 km from the centre.
No-wind days
The old town and the marina; the Savudrija lighthouse; Novigrad; Motovun and Grožnjan up in the hills; a bike toward Savudrija; tennis at Stella Maris; golf; a boat trip; diving; SUP or kayak; electric surf near Bašanija.
FAQ
When is the best time to kitesurf at Umag Punta?
March through October is the listed season, though sources disagree on how reliable the wind is, so light-wind days should be expected.
Is Umag Punta suitable for beginners?
No, it is listed for intermediate and expert riders; the small launch, rocks and open water make it unsuitable as a self-sufficient beginner spot without local support.
What is the wind like at Umag Punta?
The spot is best on southerly Jugo/Scirocco, reported as regular and stronger than some southern-Istria spots; Bora is not considered suitable here.
What hazards are at the Umag Punta launch?
The water has rocks and reef hazards, the launch is small and rocky near a lighthouse offshore, and some wind angles can run side-offshore.
Last updated: August 2026