Most trip planning starts with a spot and then asks when to go. Flip it. Pick your dates first, then go where the wind statistically is. This guide ranks the top three spots for every month of the year using measured windy days, not brochure promises: a windy day means 12+ knots (22 km/h, 14 mph) between 09:00 and 18:00, counted from ERA5 reanalysis data across 2019-2024.
Each pick shows four things: windy days in percent, daytime max air, sea surface temperature, and the wetsuit that water calls for. Wetsuit shorthand: none at 26 C (79 F) and up, shorty at 22-25 C (72-77 F), a 3/2 at 18-21 C (64-70 F), a 4/3 under 18 C (64 F). If you want the suit call done for you, the wetsuit calculator takes the water temperature and answers.
The year at a glance
Windy days in brackets.
| Month | #1 | #2 | #3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Cape Town (84%) | Boracay (80%) | Sal (71%) |
| Feb | Sal (88%) | Mui Ne (81%) | Boracay (80%) |
| Mar | Dakhla (91%) | Sal (84%) | Boracay (60%) |
| Apr | Dakhla (91%) | Sal (85%) | El Gouna (69%) |
| May | Dakhla (96%) | El Gouna (72%) | Kalpitiya (64%) |
| Jun | Kalpitiya (94%) | El Gouna (90%) | Prasonisi (67%) |
| Jul | Kalpitiya (82%) | Prasonisi (78%) | Cabarete (69%) |
| Aug | Jericoacoara (96%) | Cumbuco (96%) | Prasonisi (76%) |
| Sep | Ilha do Guajiru (99%) | El Gouna (89%) | Kalpitiya (85%) |
| Oct | Jericoacoara (100%) | Cumbuco (97%) | Langebaan (81%) |
| Nov | Ilha do Guajiru (86%) | Cape Town (82%) | Dakhla (72%) |
| Dec | Jericoacoara (95%) | Cape Town (85%) | Sal (72%) |
Month by month
Format per spot: windy days | air C | water C | wetsuit.
January
- Cape Town, South Africa. 84% | 27 | 15 | 4/3. The Cape Doctor, 25 to 35 knots. Waves at Blouberg, flat at Langebaan. Intermediate and up.
- Boracay, Philippines. 80% | 27 | 28 | none. Flat, shallow lagoon, 15 to 25 knots. Crowded. All levels.
- Sal, Cape Verde. 71% | 26 | 24 | shorty. Chop and shore break, waves at Ponta Preta. Intermediate and up.
February
- Sal, Cape Verde. 88% | 25 | 23 | shorty. Best month of the year here.
- Mui Ne, Vietnam. 81% | 31 | 26 | none. Side-onshore chop, 15 to 25 knots. Cheap. All levels.
- Boracay, Philippines. 80% | 27 | 27 | none. Same as January.
March
- Dakhla, Morocco. 91% | 23 | 19 | 3/2. Huge waist-deep flat lagoon, 18 to 30 knots. Remote. All levels.
- Sal, Cape Verde. 84% | 25 | 23 | shorty. Still strong.
- Boracay, Philippines. 60% | 28 | 27 | none. End of season, lighter and quieter.
April
- Dakhla, Morocco. 91% | 23 | 20 | 3/2.
- Sal, Cape Verde. 85% | 26 | 23 | shorty. Last good month before summer.
- El Gouna, Egypt. 69% | 28 | 23 | shorty. Flat, shallow lagoons, 15 to 25 knots, many schools. Warm, not hot. All levels.
May
- Dakhla, Morocco. 96% | 24 | 21 | 3/2. Wind almost every day.
- El Gouna, Egypt. 72% | 32 | 24 | shorty. Getting hot, still fine.
- Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka. 64% | 31 | 31 | none. The southwest season starts. Flat lagoon. Beginner friendly.
June
- Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka. 94% | 30 | 29 | none. Peak month. Lagoon plus downwinders.
- El Gouna, Egypt. 90% | 35 | 27 | none. Best wind, hottest air. Ride mornings and late afternoons.
- Prasonisi, Rhodes. 67% | 28 | 23 | shorty. The Meltemi starts. Flat on one side, waves on the other. All levels.
July
- Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka. 82% | 30 | 29 | none.
- Prasonisi, Rhodes. 78% | 31 | 26 | none. 20 to 30 knots most afternoons. Small kites.
- Cabarete, Dominican Republic. 69% | 31 | 28 | none. Afternoon trade wind, chop and reef waves. Intermediate and up.
August
- Jericoacoara, Brazil. 96% | 33 | 28 | none. The season opens. 18 to 30 knots daily, dunes, lagoons, nightlife. All levels.
- Cumbuco, Brazil. 96% | 31 | 27 | none. 40 minutes from Fortaleza airport. Beach chop plus Cauipe lagoon. All levels.
- Prasonisi, Rhodes. 76% | 31 | 28 | none. Strongest Meltemi month. Crowded.
September
- Ilha do Guajiru, Brazil. 99% | 33 | 28 | none. Flat lagoon, few people, nothing else around. Freestyle and foil.
- El Gouna, Egypt. 89% | 35 | 28 | none. Strong wind, air cools late in the month.
- Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka. 85% | 29 | 29 | none. Last strong southwest month.
October
- Jericoacoara, Brazil. 100% | 32 | 28 | none. Wind every day in the data. Book early.
- Cumbuco, Brazil. 97% | 30 | 28 | none. Same wind, easier logistics.
- Langebaan, South Africa. 81% | 19 | 15 | 4/3. The Cape season opens. Flat lagoon. Cold.
November
- Ilha do Guajiru, Brazil. 86% | 32 | 28 | none. Still reliable.
- Cape Town, South Africa. 82% | 24 | 16 | 4/3. The Cape Doctor is back.
- Dakhla, Morocco. 72% | 26 | 21 | 3/2. Quieter than spring, still 7 days in 10.
December
- Jericoacoara, Brazil. 95% | 32 | 29 | none. Last month of the season. Christmas is busy.
- Cape Town, South Africa. 85% | 25 | 15 | 4/3. Peak Cape season.
- Sal, Cape Verde. 72% | 27 | 25 | shorty. The trades are back. Warmest Sal water.
Method and limits
Daytime max wind from ERA5 hourly data, threshold 12 knots, one grid point per spot, 2019-2024, pulled September 2026. The model grid smooths out bays and local thermal effects, so real windy-day counts at these spots run a bit higher than shown, not lower. It also means strongly thermal spots like Tarifa and Lo Stagnone score unrealistically low in this dataset, which is why they are not listed. Scoring exactly this kind of spot-level wind quality is the problem the KiteMate app we are building works on.
For the broader seasonal logic behind these numbers, trade winds, monsoons and the Meltemi, read the best months to kitesurf around the world. If you are picking a first trip, cross-check against the best destinations for beginners, because the windiest month at a spot is not always the friendliest one to learn in.
Bottom line
There is strong wind somewhere in every month of the year. Southern winter belongs to Cape Town and the trades at Sal and Boracay, spring belongs to Dakhla, summer to Kalpitiya, El Gouna and the Meltemi, and from August to December Brazil is about as close to guaranteed wind as this sport gets. Pick your dates, pick the matching spot, and pack the wetsuit the water demands, not the one the air suggests.