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Central Dalmatia (Split) · Split · Split-Dalmatia County
Znjan (Split)
also known as Znjan
Nearby Trogir / Okrug Gornji (Čiovo) 18 km · Povlja 30 km · Bol / Zlatni Rat 30 km · straight-line distance
Maestral
14:00 · 18:00
The summer Maestral runs on the usual Adriatic clock: up between 8 and 9 in the morning, strongest around 14:00, gone by about 18:00 or sunset. That is why the session here is the afternoon. A Jugo is synoptic and behaves differently, blowing day and night for as long as the pattern lasts. Regional timing, with no measurement for Znjan itself.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
The wind
locals call it Maestral; Jugo
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: The summer Maestral runs on the usual Adriatic clock: up between 8 and 9 in the morning, strongest around 14:00, gone by about 18:00 or sunset. That is why the session here is the afternoon. A Jugo is synoptic and behaves differently, blowing day and night for as long as the pattern lasts. Regional timing, with no measurement for Znjan itself.
Typical strength
12-27 kt reportedly at Žnjan; the Maestral along this coast is more typically 10-20 kt.
The quiver, in words
No local kite-size reports. Against the 12-27 kt range quoted for the beach, a 75-85 kg rider covers it with a 12 m for the soft end of the Maestral, a 9 m for a normal afternoon and a 7 m for a hard Jugo. Indicative, derived from the quoted wind range rather than from riders on the sand.
Direction to shore
cross-off
Dominant direction
NW in summer Maestral; SE/ESE/E during Jugo setups
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan19
- Feb14
- Mar31
- Apr18
- May, riders' month18
- Jun, riders' month3
- Jul, riders' month10
- Aug, riders' month5
- Sep, riders' month13
- Oct19
- Nov23
- Dec18
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- 19%Jan15°
- 14%Feb14°
- 31%Mar14°
- 18%Apr16°
- 18%May19°
- 3%Jun24°
- 10%Jul27°
- 5%Aug27°
- 13%Sep25°
- 19%Oct22°
- 23%Nov20°
- 18%Dec17°
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 | 19% | 24% | 23% | 8.8 kt | NE | 13:00 | 7.1°C | 15°C | 62 |
| Feb | 14% | 28% | 26% | 8 kt | NNE | 15:00 | 8.4°C | 14.1°C | 57 |
| Mar | 31% | 35% | 32% | 10.4 kt | ESE | 15:00 | 10.4°C | 14.4°C | 62 |
| Apr | 18% | 27% | 20% | 8.6 kt | WSW | 14:00 | 13.5°C | 16.3°C | 60 |
| May | 18% | 23% | 23% | 8.5 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 19.1°C | 19°C | 62 |
| Jun | 3% | 7% | 5% | 7.1 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 23.9°C | 23.7°C | 60 |
| Jul | 10% | 23% | 19% | 8 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 27.2°C | 26.7°C | 62 |
| Aug | 5% | 19% | 13% | 8.1 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 26.5°C | 26.9°C | 62 |
| Sep | 13% | 23% | 22% | 8.6 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 21.2°C | 24.6°C | 60 |
| Oct | 19% | 21% | 21% | 8 kt | WSW | 15:00 | 18.1°C | 22.3°C | 62 |
| Nov | 23% | 30% | 30% | 9.7 kt | NE | 11:00 | 11.9°C | 19.6°C | 60 |
| Dec | 18% | 24% | 23% | 8.3 kt | NE | 13:00 | 9.2°C | 16.6°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
Standing depth
Unconfirmed, and worth treating as deep. Nothing published gives a shallow band off Znjan, and the rebuilt shoreline is pebble coves and smooth concrete platforms you step off, not a wading flat. The wind is cross-off, so a rider who cannot touch bottom drifts away from the beach rather than onto it.No measurement exists.
Tides
Small Split/Žnjan tide values; kiting at Žnjan is not tide-dependent.
Temperature
25°C summer · 12°C winter
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
Trogir / Okrug Gornji (Čiovo), 18 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Long pebble beach on Split's eastern waterfront, rebuilt with concrete platforms between the pebble coves, a promenade behind and paid parking nearby. You rig on pebbles and ride flat-to-choppy water; where exactly the accepted launch is since the rebuild is unconfirmed.
Space
ok
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Check the Split forecast the morning of; there are no usable long-term wind statistics for Žnjan itself, so the model is all you get.
- Walk the beach before you rig: the 2025 rebuild moved everything, so find the bathing-zone buoys and read whatever signs Žnjan d.o.o. or the city has posted.
- Stay off the water at peak swimming hours in July and August unless a Split rider shows you where the launch corridor is.
- On a Jugo or any cross-off day ride with a buddy or line up your own rescue; nobody has published a rescue service at Žnjan.
- Wear booties: the shore is pebbles and concrete platforms, not sand.
- No car: bus 7 or 8 from Pazar reaches Žnjan, or a taxi from the centre is 10-15 minutes. With a car, the waterfront parking is paid.
- Save 195 for sea rescue, or 112. On a Maestral day the wind is up mid-morning, hardest around two and finished by six, so plan the session round the afternoon.
Getting there
Airport
Split Airport (SPU)
Route
Žnjan is about 4 km east of Diocletian's Palace. Bus lines 7 or 8 from Pazar reach the beach; a taxi or rideshare from the centre is 10-15 minutes. From SPU, take a taxi or rideshare, or the airport shuttle to the Split bus station and local transport from there.
Transfer
30 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Apartments and hotels all over Žnjan and Split, 16,000+ stays within reach of the beach, so finding a bed is not the problem. Parking on the waterfront is paid.
No-wind days
Diocletian's Palace and Split old town, Žnjan promenade, beach bars, swimming, beach volleyball, basketball, table tennis, playgrounds, cycling/walking, the offshore inflatable water park, ferries or day trips to Brač and Hvar.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Žnjan?
The season runs from May to September, driven by the regular summer Maestral thermal wind with occasional Jugo sessions.
Is Žnjan suitable for beginners?
Most local listings rate it for intermediate to advanced riders rather than a dedicated beginner spot, though one directory does list beginners.
What is the wind like at Žnjan?
Summer brings the NW Maestral thermal plus occasional SE Jugo, with riding wind reported around 12-27 knots.
Are there rules or restricted zones at Žnjan?
A 2025 Croatian regulation treats kite boards as personal watercraft, which may not operate inside organized bathing areas and must stay within a 300 m, 8-knot zone unless escorted further out.
Last updated: August 2026