Spots

Water

Flat water

Best season

Mar–May · Sep–Nov

Austria's steppe lake east of Vienna is nowhere deeper than about a metre, so Podersdorf offers standing-depth flat water across the whole spot, with 28 °C...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

A kilometre of fine sand on the south coast of Cyprus, 20 minutes from Larnaca airport, where four breakwaters about 100 m out enclose a 500 by 100 m...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Sep

A harbour town on the Holmsland dune strip between the North Sea and the Ringkøbing Fjord, with two very different spots a few hundred metres apart: the...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Oct

The home of the Défi Wind, launched from the Plage des Chalets on the spit between the Mediterranean and the Étang du Grazel. In a strong Tramontana the wind...

Water

Chop

Best season

May–Oct

A 5 km sandy beach on the tombolo west of the Giens peninsula near Hyères, usually counted among the best wind spots in France. It works on winds from east...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

The bay that closes the long beach of La Grande-Motte, unusual in Occitanie because the Tramontana arrives side-shore or even side-onshore here instead of...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

The Tramontane blows hard and often across this stretch of Mediterranean coast, host to the Mondial du Vent event. The Leucate lagoon offers shallow flat...

Water

Chop

Best season

Apr–Oct

A large lagoon behind Sète, launched from the south end at Marseillan by a small lighthouse. The Tramontana crosses the water from the north-west almost as...

Water

Chop

Best season

May–Sep

Bavaria's largest lake is a pleasant place to learn in summer, and its size lets the wind develop freely over the flat surface, an advantage over the many...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Sep

Germany's windiest island, with launches on every side so there is a working beach for each wind direction: shallow flat water at Gold and Orth, chop and...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Oct

What Fehmarn is to the western Baltic, Rügen is to the east: Germany's largest island has a spot for every wind direction and every level close together,...

Water

Waves

Best season

May–Oct

The kilometre-wide beach on the North Sea coast of Eiderstedt, home of the German kite and windsurf tour stops, works on any westerly wind. The tide decides...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Oct

Germany's windsurf island has some of the most selective conditions in the world on its west coast, where strong current meets an unsorted North Sea shore...

Water

Chop

Best season

May–Oct

Kouremenos bay near Palekastro on Crete's east coast is a high-wind freeride and freestyle spot: local thermals and a jet through the hills push the wind to...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Jul · Sep–Oct

A spit near the Rio bridge on the Gulf of Corinth where a venturi effect gives some of the steadiest, least gusty wind and the flattest water on the Greek...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jun–Sep

Afiartis bay sits directly in the path of the Meltemi and gets some of the strongest, most reliable summer wind in the Aegean, routinely 25–35 knots in July...

Water

Chop

Best season

May–Sep

A long golden beach in a wide bay at the quiet western end of Kos, 15 km from the airport, with the islet of Agios Nikolaos in the middle. The Meltemi blows...

Water

Chop

Best season

May–Oct

The only spot on Kos with fine sand both on the beach and underwater, and the island's most reliable wind: from May to October a north to north-westerly of...

Water

Chop

Best season

May–Sep

A sheltered bay on the north coast of Kos with a fine sandy beach and a standing area reaching 60 m out. The Meltemi and local thermals give side-onshore...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Oct

The windiest corner of Kos: the Meltemi is squeezed through the channel between the island's east end and the Turkish coast and arrives side-shore to...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Oct

A wide bay of fine sand on an unspoilt island in the northern Aegean, a few degrees cooler than the southern islands, with steady north-north-easterlies of...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Oct

Mykonos sits in the middle of the Meltemi zone and is ventilated from May to October, with the wind building to full strength during the morning. Kalafati in...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jun–Sep

The Meltemi accelerates through the strait between Naxos and Paros and hits Mikri Vigla side-shore, with a flat-water bay on one side of the headland and...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jun–Sep

The 1.5 km channel between Paros and Antiparos accelerates the Meltemi like the one between Paros and Naxos, so Pounda gets reliable, steady side-shore wind...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jun–Sep

A sand spit at the southern tip of Rhodes with the flat, shallow bay on one side and open sea with waves on the other, both worked by the Meltemi at 20–35...

Water

Chop

Best season

May–Oct

The classic Rhodes spot in front of the Ialyssos (Trianda) hotels, at the island's second-narrowest point to Turkey, where the Meltemi and the thermals off...

Water

Chop

Best season

Apr–Oct

A combined wing, windsurf and kite beach on the north-west coast of Rhodes, where the Meltemi is compressed between the island and the Turkish mainland and...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jun–Sep

A pebble bay on the green north coast of Samos where the Meltemi from June to September is topped up by a strong local thermal that forecasts often miss,...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jun–Sep

A deep bay on Lefkada where a thermal wind, nicknamed Eric, funnels down the valley most summer afternoons at 18–25 knots after light, glassy mornings. The...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Sep

The northern end of the lake around Colico and Domaso gets a dependable afternoon thermal, the Breva, over flat to lightly choppy water. It is quieter and...

Water

Chop

Best season

Apr–Oct

Two thermal winds run like clockwork on the northern lake: the Pelér from the north in the early morning and the Ora from the south from around noon. The...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Oct

One of Europe's largest shallow lagoons, about 7 by 3 km between Trapani and Marsala, standing depth almost everywhere and usable at any tide. Thermally...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Oct

Two almost enclosed bays of white sand and turquoise water in the north of Sardinia, where the strait to Corsica accelerates whichever wind is blowing: a...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Oct

A sheltered lagoon around Sant'Antioco in the south-west of Sardinia, with sandy, shallow, controllable flat water and large standing areas. Mistral and...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

An open North Sea beach north of Alkmaar with a mix of chop and waves and a friendly local scene of freeriders, wave riders and freestylers. At low tide a...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

A dam between the North Sea and the Grevelingenmeer that works in almost any wind direction: flat water on the inside lake, waves and chop on the sea side....

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Oct

A wide, shallow stretch of the IJsselmeer with knee- to waist-deep water for hundreds of metres, so falls are harmless and relaunches easy. Wind is frequent...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Sep

The 35 km Hel peninsula in northern Poland has the open Baltic on one side and the shallow Bay of Puck on the other, so the bay-side spots at Chałupy work on...

Water

Waves

Best season

May–Sep

An exposed Atlantic beach near Lisbon where the summer Nortada blows strong and gusty side-offshore over sizeable swell and cold water. It is a demanding...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Sep

A shallow coastal lagoon an hour north of Lisbon where the same Nortada that makes Guincho gnarly arrives as a steady breeze over flat, waist-deep water....

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Sep

A long crescent of fine sand south of the river mouth in northern Portugal, where the summer north-westerly, squeezed by the hills behind, blows 20–30 knots...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Sep

One of the best-known wing foil spots in Spain: the lagoons and beaches of the Ebro Delta nature park, with lots of space, large flat-water areas and mostly...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Sep

Trade winds sweep the island nearly every day, so there is always a beach facing the right way. Sotavento's shallow lagoon fills at high tide for flat-water...

Water

Chop

Best season

Mar–Oct

A wide bay on the Costa Brava with a long sandy beach at Sant Pere Pescador and Empuriabrava, fed by the Tramontana from the north and afternoon sea breezes...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Sep

The east coast of Gran Canaria is where the north-east trade wind is squeezed along the island in summer, building through the day and dying towards evening:...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Sep

The beaches of Las Cucharas and Los Charcos on Lanzarote's east coast, where the trade wind blows side to side-offshore from the left at 4–6 Bft, most...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Oct

A large, sheltered saltwater lagoon on the Murcia coast with very calm water, and around Los Narejos easy entries and steady conditions. Wind is thermal...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

Europe's wind capital, where the Strait of Gibraltar funnels two winds: the strong, gusty easterly Levante and the steadier, gentler westerly Poniente. Los...

Water

Waves

Best season

May–Sep

The Canaries' wave classic on the south coast of Tenerife, where the Alisios trade wind blows 12–30 knots side-onshore from the left, most reliably from May...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jun–Sep

At 1,800 m in the Engadin valley, the Maloja wind builds almost every summer afternoon and gives clear, flat, cold water in front of glaciated peaks. It has...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Oct

A U-shaped bay 2 km deep on the Çeşme peninsula, with a 500 by 300 m standing area on its west shore and even glassier flat water on the east shore, where...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Oct

A 3 km wide bay at the head of the Gulf of Gökova in south-west Turkey where the summer thermal blows in from the west almost every day, from May to...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Sep

A kite beach near Urla on the Çeşme peninsula that has taken up wing foiling, with side-shore wind from the left and a thermal Meltemi that starts early and...

Water

Flat water

Best season

All year

A huge natural harbour on England's south coast where you can wade out almost 200 m and still stand, giving flat water with only a little chop and a safe...

Water

Waves

Best season

Dec–May

Sal's quieter neighbour sits in the same winter trade-wind belt, averaging a good 5 Bft from December well into May with wind statistics almost identical to...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Nov–Apr

The Atlantic trade wind blows from November to April onto Kite Beach's choppy, open bay, while Ponta Preta on the west side is one of the world's best-known...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Nov–May

At São Pedro a gap between two mountains funnels the north-east trade wind onto the water about 2 Bft stronger than anywhere else in Cape Verde, 6–9 Bft or...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Mar–Oct

A laid-back Sinai town where a thermal wind funnels between desert mountains onto a shallow, sheltered lagoon with deep, flat water just outside. Cheaper and...

Water

Flat water

Best season

All year

A purpose-built resort town on the Red Sea with thermal wind on most days year-round, shallow flat lagoons for learning and open bump-and-jump water further...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Mar–Nov

A natural spit closes off Moses Bay on the west coast of Sinai and keeps the Red Sea swell out, leaving flat water in the bay with a gently shelving sandy...

Water

Flat water

Best season

All year

A 2 by 3 km sand-bottom lagoon among mangroves in the far south of the Egyptian Red Sea, possibly the largest standing area in the country, with knee to...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Mar–Oct

A freeride area straight off the beach south of Hurghada, with small wind chop running out into the open sea and, 700 m upwind, the Magawish sandbanks: at...

Water

Flat water

Best season

All year

A huge lagoon in the far south of the Egyptian Red Sea, near Berenice, closed off by a 2 km house reef, so the water stays flat even with the side-offshore...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Mar–Nov

A 2 by 2 km hotel bay between Hurghada and Safaga with beginner, freeride and wave conditions side by side: inside the bay the buildings upwind make the...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

All year

A sandy bay 30 km south of Marsa Alam airport that works twelve months a year: as reliable as the far south of Egypt in winter and as windy as Hurghada in...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Mar–Nov

Kilometres of fine white sand on the Gulf of Suez two hours from Cairo, with a sandy bottom and no reef, both rare on the Red Sea. A 1 km sandbank upwind...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Mar–Nov

A wide beach in front of the Shams hotels south of Hurghada, standing depth for 80–120 m depending on the tide, with pieces of coral underfoot, so shoes are...

Water

Flat water

Best season

All year

A peninsula south of Hurghada with a large, shallow, standing-depth lagoon and wind on most days, worked by a few large centres. The water is warm and the...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jan–Feb · Jul–Aug

A straight, reef-fringed beach 1.5 hours south of Mombasa with two seasons: the Kaskazi from mid-December to mid-March, side to side-onshore from the left,...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jan–Mar · Jul–Sep

A 7 km bay north of Mombasa that runs from the Tiny Beach at Temple Point over Small Beach to Long Beach, with a sandy bottom and rounded rocks that show...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Nov

A remote bay on Madagascar's northern tip where the Varatraza trade wind blows nearly every day from April to November, 20–30 knots, over a flat, shallow...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Oct

A multi-spot on the south coast of Mauritius in front of the Heritage resorts, east of Le Morne: a standing area and a freeride strip inside the reef, a...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

May–Nov

A huge turquoise lagoon under the Le Morne mountain, with steady south-east trade winds in the southern winter, and world-class reef breaks (One Eye, Manawa)...

Water

Flat water

Best season

All year

A 40 km lagoon on the Atlantic coast of the Sahara with wind almost every day of the year and flat, shallow, warm water at spots like the Speed Spot and the...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Sep

The Alizé trade wind blows strong and steady onto a wide town beach, with chop inside the bay and proper waves at the north end and at Moulay Bouzerktoun up...

Water

Waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

A fishing village 25–30 km north of Essaouira whose beach is one of the world's great windsurf wave spots, with the north-east trade wind blowing side-shore...

Water

Waves

Best season

Nov–Mar

The south-easter, nicknamed the Cape Doctor, blows 25–40 knots on many summer days along the Table Bay beaches, with cold Atlantic water and waves, and Table...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Oct–Mar

A long, shallow lagoon an hour north of Cape Town with warmer, flatter water than the city beaches and the same summer south-easter, typically 20–30 knots....

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jun–Oct · Dec–Mar

A reef-protected lagoon on Zanzibar's east coast with two windy seasons: the north-east Kaskazi from December to March at 14–20 knots and the stronger...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Apr–Oct

Behind the hotel zone in the south-east of the island a spit cuts off a lagoon of roughly 5 by 8 km, about 40 km² of standing-depth, glassy water with a...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jun–Sep

Bali's wind spot: the south-east trade wind blows in the dry season over a reef lagoon on the island's east side, flat inside at higher tide and with reef...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Oct · Dec–Feb

A 1.5 km resort island in the Lhaviyani Atoll with a lagoon about 1 km long running out to the reef, fine sand underfoot everywhere and water that never...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Nov–Apr

Bulabog Beach on the island's east side gets the north-east Amihan wind from November to April over a shallow lagoon protected by an offshore reef. The water...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Oct–Mar

Possibly the most wind-reliable spot in Asia: from early October to the end of March the winter monsoon, funnelled through the strait between Taiwan and...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Oct · Dec–Mar

A large, shallow lagoon on Sri Lanka's north-west coast with two seasons: the strong south-west monsoon from May to October, 18–25 knots and up, and a...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jun–Sep · Dec–Mar

Kalpitiya's quieter alternative in the far north-west of Sri Lanka: a sandy peninsula between the Gulf of Mannar and a lagoon, with crystal clear water, flat...

Water

Chop

Best season

Nov–Apr

A long, sandy Gulf of Thailand beach a few hours from Bangkok where the north-east monsoon gives moderate side-onshore wind from November to April, with...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jan–Apr · Jun–Aug

The shallow lagoon off Baan Tai beach on the south coast of Koh Phangan is one of Thailand's most popular spots, with an average wind of around 20 knots and...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jun–Sep · Dec–Feb

Phuket has two seasons and the scene moves with the wind: from December to February, in the dry high season, riders use Chalong and Friendship Beach in the...

Water

Chop

Best season

Nov–Apr

Vietnam's kite capital: the north-east monsoon brings side-onshore wind almost daily from November to April, often 20–30 knots and gusty, with chop and...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Nov–Apr

Two hours up the coast from Mui Ne, with the same monsoon wind but a flat lagoon protected by a sand bar and reef breaks outside. It is quieter and better...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Sep

Trade winds blow year-round and are strongest from May to September, arriving offshore at Fisherman's Huts on the north-west coast to give flat, shallow,...

Water

Waves

Best season

Dec–Jul

The riding on Barbados happens on the south coast around Christ Church, and the southern tip at Silver Sands and Silver Point is the best known spot, with...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Dec–Aug

Constant north-east trade winds of 15–25 knots over Lac Bay's wide, shallow, glassy lagoon, plus Atlantis Beach on the south-west tip for kiters. Warm water,...

Water

Flat water

Best season

May–Sep

A summer thermal funnels up Howe Sound between mountains and hits the Squamish Spit at 15–30 knots most afternoons from May to September, over flat to...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Dec–Aug

An afternoon trade wind fills in most days, light in the morning and 15–25 knots by early afternoon, over a bay with flat water inside the reef and waves on...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Feb–Jul

On this Bay Island off Honduras the Caribbean trade wind blows most reliably from February to the end of July, averaging about 20 knots, picking up around...

Water

Chop

Best season

Feb–Jun

A small fishing village on the north coast of the Yucatán inside a large nature reserve, next to the pink lagoon of Las Coloradas and its flamingos. From...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Nov–May

A huge, hip-deep saltwater lagoon in a nature reserve 25 minutes north of Cancún that works on any wind direction, with the ocean side as an alternative when...

Water

Chop

Best season

Nov–Mar

A winter thermal, El Norte, blows most afternoons from November to March at 15–25 knots onto a long, sandy bay on the Sea of Cortez, with wind swell for...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Dec–Apr

A peninsula on Panama's Pacific coast in the same trade wind belt as Venezuela and the ABC islands, with steady 15–25 knots almost daily from late December...

Water

Chop

Best season

Nov–Jun

The big bay and wide beach of Isla Verde next to San Juan is Puerto Rico's best spot, with side-shore wind that suits every level, choppy water in winter and...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jun–Sep · Nov–Mar

Galion Bay on the French, eastern side of the island sits in a protected nature reserve where no motorboats or jet skis are allowed, and is voted one of its...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Dec–Jun

A small Grenadines island with a flat, shallow lagoon in front of Clifton and the Tobago Cays marine park a short boat ride away. The winter trades are...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Nov–Jun

A lagoon of about 2.5 by 1.3 km behind the reefs at Pigeon Point, one of the Caribbean's postcard beaches: standing depth for the first 20–30 m, then water...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Nov–Aug

Miles of knee-deep, glass-flat, turquoise water with a steady side-onshore trade wind, which is why it appears on so many best-spot lists. Upmarket and...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Mar–Jun · Sep–Nov

A 50-mile barrier island with the Atlantic on one side and the shallow Pamlico Sound on the other, so there is a launch for every wind direction and...

Water

Chop

Best season

Mar–Aug

The windiest place in the continental United States and famous for its consistency: from March to August a thermal southerly to south-easterly arrives in the...

Water

Chop

Best season

Apr–Sep

Riding under the Golden Gate Bridge in a strong, gusty summer sea breeze, cold water, big chop and powerful tidal currents that can push you out to sea. It...

Water

Chop

Best season

Jun–Sep

Hot desert to the east and a cool coast to the west drive a strong, reliable summer thermal through the Gorge, with wind over 20 knots on around 190 days a...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Oct–Apr

The chain of islands at the end of the Florida Keys is surrounded by ocean on every side and has some of the best flat-water riding in the United States,...

Water

Waves

Best season

Apr–Sep

The 15 km run from Maliko Gulch to Kanaha is the world's best-known downwind course, where foil downwinding was pioneered: strong summer trades line up...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Mar–Oct

The north-shore trade winds at Kanaha Beach Park and neighbouring Kite Beach made Maui the birthplace of modern kiting and a wing-foil hub, with a who's who...

Water

Chop

Best season

Nov–Apr

Miami's beaches fill with sunbathers and carry strict rules, so the riding happens a short drive away: Crandon Park on Key Biscayne is the most popular spot,...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Apr–Oct

Kailua Bay on the green windward side of Oahu, the spiritual home of kiteboarding and of names like Naish and Cabrinha, is a white-sand, turquoise bay that...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Mar–Jul · Oct–Dec

The longest barrier island in the world, on the Gulf coast of Texas near the Mexican border, with flat water on the bay side and waves on the ocean side like...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jul–Dec

A remote village at the mouth of the Preguiças river on Brazil's northern coast and a gateway to the Lençóis Maranhenses dunes and lagoons, with a wide...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Aug–Jan

A river delta west of Jericoacoara in Piauí where a 3 m tidal range rebuilds the playground twice a day: around low tide the area between Macapá and Barra...

Water

Chop

Best season

Jul–Dec

Half an hour from Fortaleza airport, with a side-onshore trade wind of 15–25 knots almost every day from July to December over a long beach with chop, and...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Aug–Nov

A lonely beach at the mouth of the Jaguaribe river south of Fortaleza where the east to south-east trade wind blows onshore to side-onshore at 15–25 knots...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Aug–Jan

A sand-street fishing village on a 300 m wide lagoon island 70 km west of São Miguel do Gostoso, reached by a ten-minute ferry, with two completely different...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jul–Dec

Jericoacoara's quieter cousin two hours from Fortaleza, with the same trade wind reliability from July to December, close to 100 % in season, and gentler...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Jul–Jan

A big, shallow, mirror-flat lagoon behind an island on the Ceará coast, with the region's reliable trade wind and a few pousadas and centres on its shore....

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jun–Jan

A dune-backed beach town at the end of Brazil's Ceará wind coast where the trade wind averages 20–25 knots and peaks around 35 in the September–November...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jul–Jan

A fishing village between Paracuru and Icaraizinho with a red dune above the beach and four different areas: the bay in front of the village with a small,...

Water

Waves

Best season

Aug–Jan

One of the easiest wave spots on Brazil's north-east coast: a pure sand beach with nothing in the water, a side-offshore easterly of 6–7 Bft almost daily...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jul–Jan

One of the best wave spots in Brazil: at Quebra Mar, east of the town, a ring of reef about 200 m out sorts the waves into clean sets of up to 2.5 m...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Aug–Nov

The mouth of the Rio Pirangi 120 km south of Fortaleza, where a delta with a big sandbank gives a lagoon that is standing depth at low tide, a square...

Water

Chop

Best season

Jul–Jan

A long, straight beach a few kilometres from Jericoacoara with the same strong trade wind but more room and less town: side-onshore wind, chop and small...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Oct–Jan

A tidal lagoon of about 1.5 by 3 km on the coast of Rio Grande do Norte, three hours from Natal, with side-shore wind from the right at 5–7 Bft from October...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Oct–Jan

A wide sandy bay in Rio Grande do Norte with side-shore wind from the right at 5–7 Bft from October to January, 26 °C water and a mostly sandy bottom. The...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jul–Feb

A river mouth west of Jericoacoara that adds a few knots to Brazil's already reliable wind: side-onshore from the right with a 99 % wind probability from...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Jul–Jan

A long bay just north of Cumbuco that looks demanding at first, since the side-onshore wind pushes 1–2 m of unruly, North Sea-like waves with a shore break...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Dec–May

A small town on a cliff above a large bay on Colombia's Caribbean coast, within reach of Cartagena, where strong wind blows across the bay from December to...

Water

Waves

Best season

May–Dec

A small resort on Peru's north-west coast, voted South America's leading beach destination, with a long palm-lined beach and the wave conditions the Peruvian...

Water

Waves

Best season

Apr–Dec

A legendary wave spot on Peru's Pacific coast and one of the best-value kite destinations in South America, with what may be the longest kiteable wave on the...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Sep–Mar

One of the most unspoilt riding destinations on the continent: a huge flat-water lagoon on the Pacific coast south of Lima, surrounded by a wildlife...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Dec–Jun

An archipelago of some 40 islands and sand cays off the Venezuelan coast, with trade winds strongest from December to June and endless glass-flat,...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Oct–Mar

An hour north of Perth, with a flat lagoon inside the reef and clean waves on the outside, worked by the same reliable summer sea breeze at 15–30 knots. It...

Water

Chop

Best season

Oct–Mar

The bay beaches from St Kilda to Brighton and Sandringham get a summer sea breeze from the south and frontal winds the rest of the year, over cool, choppy...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Nov–Mar

South of Perth, the afternoon sea breeze known as the Fremantle Doctor blows 15–25 knots through the summer over the Pond, a shallow, flat sandbank sheltered...

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Sep–Dec

The world's largest lagoon wraps around New Caledonia, with steady south-east trades over flat, warm water around Nouméa and reef-pass waves on the outside....

Water

Flat and waves

Best season

Sep–Mar

Auckland's east-coast beaches (Takapuna, Manly, Shakespear Regional Park) and Lake Pupuke offer a spot for most wind directions, with moderate 10–20 knot...

Water

Flat water

Best season

Nov–Mar

The gateway to the Abel Tasman National Park an hour from Nelson, and probably the most unforgettable place to ride in New Zealand: huge sand flats with...