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Cataluña · Maresme · Vilassar de Mar

Vilassar de Mar / Cabrera de Mar

also known as Cabrera de Mar, Vilassar Cabrera, Vilassar / Cabrera, Dels Vinyals Beach, Platja de Cabrera

advanced onlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

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

Nearby Premia de Mar 4 km · Montgat 11 km · Badalona - Platja dels Pescadors 14 km · Platja del Bogatell 20 km · Malgrat de Mar - La Pomareda 35 km · Castelldefels 44 km · Segur de Calafell 75 km · Coma-ruga 82 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMar to Maythe months riders and schools name How windy11-27thermal Launchmediumaccess rules on record, below Watersea24°C in summer · 7 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools2named at this spot From the airport81 minBarcelona-El Prat (BCN)

When it fills in

The Barcelona-area Garbi normally builds from around midday into the afternoon. No onset time has been recorded for Cabrera itself.

Cabrera de Mar and Vilassar de Mar share about 1000 m of connected Maresme beach, and the launch is the widest part of it, directly behind Cabrera de Mar station: off the train, through the underpass by the Lidl, onto the sand.

The wind is Garbi from the southwest, reinforced by thermal flow in spring, F4 most of the time with the range running F3 to F5/6; 12-9 m twin-tip and 10-8 m hydrofoil covers it.

When Levante or Gregal comes in from E, ENE or NE the beach turns wavy, the shore break stands up, currents run, and the kit is 6-10 m with a surfboard. That version of the spot is not for a first session. W and WSW go offshore or die at the shore, so they are not worth the drive out.

The practical season is September to May, because kitesurfing is prohibited during the bathing season here, and across Catalonia from June to September unless an authorised, marked kite zone exists.

The water is 24 C in summer and 14 C in winter, tide independent, and a good spring day brings up to about 50 kites, which is still fewer than Castelldefels. Rig toward the east side of the beach; there is a breakwater on the Garbi side.

The wind

locals call it Garbi / Migjorn / Levante / Gregal

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

4567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

thermal

fills in: The Barcelona-area Garbi normally builds from around midday into the afternoon. No onset time has been recorded for Cabrera itself.

Typical strength

11-27

Best and most accessible in SW Garbi; E/ENE/NE Levante-Gregal is wavier, current-prone, and not suitable for initiation. W/WSW can become offshore and weak or absent at the shore.

Spring has the highest wind probability, with SW Garbi reinforced by thermal wind in spring. September to May is the practical season because of summer restrictions.

Also on record

F4 is the common strength in Garbi, with the range running F3 to F5/6.

The quiver, in words

SW Garbi: 12-9 m twin-tip and 10-8 m hydrofoil; E/NE: 6-10 m, often with surfboards.

Direction to shore

SW and S are side-shore to cross-onshore on this Maresme beach; E to NE are onshore to cross-onshore; W/WSW can become offshore or weak at the shore.

Dominant direction

SW, S, E, ENE, NE

Forecast

Month by month

Jan15
Feb16
Mar, riders' month18
Apr, riders' month12
May, riders' month5
Jun13
Jul13
Aug11
Sep13
Oct27
Nov17
Dec13

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May.

15%Jan14°
16%Feb14°
18%Mar14°
12%Apr16°
5%May18°
13%Jun22°
13%Jul26°
11%Aug28°
13%Sep25°
27%Oct22°
17%Nov18°
13%Dec16°

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	15%	21%	18%	8.5 kt	NW	13:00	9.1°C	14.3°C	62
Feb	16%	23%	19%	8.8 kt	SSW	15:00	10.5°C	13.6°C	57
Mar	18%	35%	27%	10.1 kt	SSW	15:00	12.7°C	14.3°C	62
Apr	12%	28%	23%	9.6 kt	SSW	15:00	14.3°C	15.6°C	60
May	5%	16%	10%	8.3 kt	SSW	15:00	17.9°C	18.4°C	62
Jun	13%	25%	22%	9.4 kt	SSW	15:00	22.6°C	22°C	60
Jul	13%	27%	19%	9.8 kt	SSW	15:00	25.4°C	25.5°C	62
Aug	11%	32%	19%	9.7 kt	ESE	15:00	26°C	27.5°C	62
Sep	13%	35%	25%	9.6 kt	SSW	16:00	21.9°C	25.3°C	60
Oct	27%	39%	35%	10.4 kt	SSW	16:00	19.5°C	22.1°C	62
Nov	17%	33%	23%	9.2 kt	SW	14:00	14.6°C	18°C	60
Dec	13%	21%	18%	8.1 kt	NW	12:00	10.6°C	15.9°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

sea

Tides

Tide independent.

Temperature

24°C summer · 14°C winter

Wetsuit

Shorts in summer; shorty or normal wetsuit in spring and autumn; normal/full wetsuit in winter.

Currents

Currents are reported with easterly winds, especially when shore break increases.

14–28°C water

Mediterranean sand, flat to choppy in Garbi and SW, small to medium waves in easterly wind. The water is clean, with a harder shore break and currents when the east fills in.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Ratings run from beginner through expert, and SW Garbi is gentle enough for most people, but E/ENE/NE is explicitly not initiation ground. The atlas therefore sets this at intermediate and up, unless you are supervised in a suitable SW.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridefreestylestraplesshydrofoilspring Garbi sessions

Local Maresme freeride and foil beach near Barcelona; less crowded than Castelldefels, with up to about 50 kites on a good wind day.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: medium

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Premia de Mar, 4 km

Premia de Mar Montgat Badalona - Platja dels Pescadors

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

Rescue

The beach itself is serviced: a first-aid and surveillance post with a defibrillator, a rescue line, showers and police patrols. Those are bathing-season services, and the bathing season is exactly the window in which kites are banned here, so a kiter rarely benefits from them.

Outside the season nothing on this stretch is staffed for kitesurfing and there is no kite safety boat, no club rescue rota and no jetski. Self-rescue, a phone in a pouch, and 112 for emergencies.

Launch

Beach behind Cabrera de Mar train station, reached through the underpass near Lidl; the Cabrera and Vilassar beaches form about 1000 m of connected beach, with the widest section behind the station. Dels Vinyals Beach is directly opposite the Cabrera de Mar-Vilassar de Mar station.

Space

medium

Rules & access

2026: kitesurfing is prohibited during bathing season at Vilassar/Cabrera; more broadly in Catalonia, kitesurfing is prohibited or regulated from June to September unless an authorised, marked kite zone exists.

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

Rider tips

Wait for SW Garbi for a first session here; E/ENE/NE turns it into a different beach.
Rig toward the east side, away from the breakwater on the Garbi side.
Take the R1 to Cabrera de Mar-Vilassar de Mar and use the underpass by the Lidl; the sand is directly opposite the station.
Check that rain has not closed the vehicle access before driving out.
Plan between September and May; the bathing season shuts the beach to kites.

Getting there

Airport

Barcelona-El Prat (BCN)

Route

From Barcelona it is about 30 minutes on Rodalies R1 to Cabrera de Mar-Vilassar de Mar, then roughly 300 m through the underpass by the Lidl and the railway to the sand. By car there is parking for cars and vans at the spot; rain can close the vehicle access while the walk-in stays open.

Transfer

81 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Rooms in Cabrera de Mar, Vilassar de Mar, Mataró and along the wider Maresme coast. There are restaurants and open-air bars on Cabrera beach.

No-wind days

Barcelona city · Mataró · Vilassar de Mar · Burriac Castle area · Maresme beaches

Photos

Vilassar Beach looking to North - panoramio — Santiago Puig Vilado…, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Vilassar de Mar / Cabrera de Mar?

March, April and May are the best months, when spring has the highest wind probability and the SW Garbí is reinforced by thermal wind.

Is this spot suitable for beginners?

SW Garbí can work for all levels, but E, ENE and NE Levante-Gregal is wavier and current-prone and is explicitly described as not for initiation.

What is the wind like at Vilassar de Mar / Cabrera de Mar?

SW Garbí is most common at Beaufort force 4, thermal-reinforced in the afternoon. E/ENE/NE brings waves and current, while W/WSW can turn offshore or weak right at the shore.

Are there rules or restricted zones here?

A prohibition is reported during the bathing season, with broader Catalonia beach-season sources describing kitesurfing as prohibited or regulated from June to September unless an authorised, marked kite zone exists.

How do you get to the beach?

Take Rodalies R1 to Cabrera de Mar-Vilassar de Mar station and use the underpass near the Lidl/railway area, which leads directly to the beach.

Last updated: August 2026