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Vitrupe
Limbažu novads · Baltic coast
also known as Vitrupes pludmale, Vitrupe river delta
Riding essentials
Season
May–Oct
Months riders and schools name
How windy
8-16 kt
Character: synoptic
Room to launch
ok
access rules on record, below
Water
mixed
18–19 °C in summerOpen Gulf of Riga beach at or near the Vitrupe River mouth, with chop and small waves
Hazards
6
Reported by riders
Level
Beginner to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
low crowds · busy June July August
Schools
none named here
From the airport
86 min
Riga International Airport (RIX)
When it fills in
Frontal wind with no daily onset. It arrives with the weather system rather than filling in each afternoon, so the session is a forecast decision made a day or two out rather than a time of day. The wind is described locally as steady once it is in.
Nearbystraight-line distance
Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.
- Koklites/Saulkrasti
- Ainažino page yet
- Bolderājano page yet
The spot
Baltic chop and access
The wind
Direction
Direction to shore
cross-on
Dominant direction
SW, W and NW are the directions ridden here. A wider SSW-to-NNW sector is also given as usable. The coast faces west at this point, so that whole sector arrives onshore to cross-onshore.
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
No local rider figures exist. Indicative only, read off the modelled monthly means: a 75-85 kg rider is on 12-14 m or a foil through the light June-August spell near 8-9 kt, and on 9-10 m when the autumn and winter systems put the mean at 15-16 kt.Not measured here, and not confirmed by anyone who rides the place.
Character
synoptic
Average strength
12
Typical strength
Modelled monthly means run about 8-16 kt: 8-9 kt through June, July and August, and 15-16 kt in January, February, November and December. Around 279 days a year reach Beaufort 4 or more, roughly 29 of them in January and again in December. There is no measuring station at the beach, so these are model figures rather than observations.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan61
- Feb44
- Mar34
- Apr22
- May, riders' month18
- Jun, riders' month23
- Jul, riders' month37
- Aug, riders' month24
- Sep, riders' month27
- Oct, riders' month53
- Nov48
- Dec47
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.
- 61%Jan1°
- 44%Feb0°
- 34%Mar1°
- 22%Apr5°
- 18%May12°
- 23%Jun18°
- 37%Jul20°
- 24%Aug20°
- 27%Sep19°
- 53%Oct13°
- 48%Nov8°
- 47%Dec4°
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 | 61% | 71% | 63% | 14.3 kt | SSW | 12:00 | -1.9 °C | 1.1 °C | 62 |
| Feb | 44% | 65% | 54% | 13.2 kt | W | 14:00 | 0 °C | 0.4 °C | 57 |
| Mar | 34% | 55% | 47% | 12.1 kt | S | 11:00 | 1.5 °C | 1.2 °C | 62 |
| Apr | 22% | 40% | 33% | 10.9 kt | NNW | 14:00 | 6 °C | 4.9 °C | 60 |
| May | 18% | 37% | 29% | 9.9 kt | NW | 13:00 | 11.6 °C | 11.8 °C | 62 |
| Jun | 23% | 40% | 35% | 10.5 kt | NW | 13:00 | 16.9 °C | 17.5 °C | 60 |
| Jul | 37% | 58% | 47% | 12.3 kt | WNW | 14:00 | 18.2 °C | 20.2 °C | 62 |
| Aug | 24% | 44% | 31% | 11.2 kt | W | 13:00 | 19.1 °C | 20.3 °C | 62 |
| Sep | 27% | 40% | 35% | 10.6 kt | SSW | 12:00 | 14.7 °C | 19 °C | 60 |
| Oct | 53% | 65% | 60% | 14.1 kt | W | 12:00 | 9.1 °C | 13.3 °C | 62 |
| Nov | 48% | 67% | 60% | 14.3 kt | SW | 10:00 | 3.6 °C | 8 °C | 60 |
| Dec | 47% | 56% | 50% | 13.5 kt | WSW | 12:00 | -0.1 °C | 4.1 °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
mixed
Standing depth
Gentle sandy entry is reported at Vitrupes pludmale, but no kitesurf-specific standing-depth zone is published.
Tides
Kitesurfing conditions are reported not to depend on tide at this spot.
Temperature
Summer (°C) About 18–19 °C in late summer for the Gulf of Riga/nearby Salacgriva-Tuja readings; August water has reached up to 19.1 °C.
Winter (°C) About 1–3 °C in winter for the Gulf of Riga/Vitrupe beach area, depending on source and month.
Modelled monthly average: 0–20 °C
Wetsuit
Cold Baltic water: a full wetsuit is normally required outside warm summer days; exact local rider recommendations are unconfirmed.
Conditions
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: ok
Somewhere else
4 spots nearby
Rescue
Launch
Beach launch at Vitrupes pludmale near the Vitrupe River mouth, with parking by/near the A1 coastal road. The beach is wide and sandy; the launch area is medium rather than huge.
Rules & access
1 min read
What's protected
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
- Check the wind models before committing to the drive; this coast runs on synoptic and frontal wind, not a clockwork afternoon thermal.
- Walk the launch and the waterline first and mark the 2-3 large stones sitting straight out from the beach.
- In June, July and August leave extra room from swimmers and day visitors, because the beach can crowd quickly.
- Carry your own food, water, warm layers and a full repair and safety kit; the beach is isolated with very limited services.
Getting there
Airport
Riga International Airport (RIX), about 110 km from the spot.
Route
Best by car on Latvia's A1 coastal road. Riga to Vitrupe is an 89 km drive of about 1 h 26 min; by bus via Limbaži the whole trip runs around 3 h 42 min.
Transfer
86 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Small local guesthouses, camping and cabins in and around Vitrupe, including Vitrupes mājiņas and beach apartments; services stay thin compared with the larger resort towns.
No-wind days
Walk the Vidzeme coast, look at the Veczemju cliffs, the Limbaži old town and museum, or the Ainazi maritime and firefighting sights; parts of the regional coastal cycling routes start nearby.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Vitrupe?
The season runs May to October with frontal, forecast-dependent wind; west to northwest is described as the most favourable direction.
Is Vitrupe suitable for beginners?
Sources are mixed, calling it suitable for all levels or better for intermediate riders; with open water, reported stones and no verified rescue, a cautious approach is sensible for first-timers.
What are the hazards at Vitrupe?
Riders report 2-3 large stones in the water straight ahead of the launch, and services and rescue coverage are limited.
How do you get to Vitrupe?
It's roughly an 89 km, 1 hour 26 minute drive from Riga along Latvia's A1 coastal road.
The bigger pictureEverything about Baltic coast
Last updated: August 2026