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Spot · tier 1 · Spain
El Médano (South Bay / Playa Los Balos)
El Médano's black-sand South Bay is Tenerife's main kite hub and one of the best-known windsurf/kite towns in the world, sitting about five minutes from Tenerife South (Reina Sofía) airport. The NE trade winds (Alisios) blow cross-onshore, and the bay is split into sectors - a mellow freeride/beginner zone (La Bahía), a wave-hunting area toward the harbour (El Muelle), and a freestyle/unhooked training zone (El Rincón) - so very different riders share the same stretch of water.
beginnerfreestylewavesfreeride
Wind
| best months |
|
|---|---|
| season notes | NE trade winds (Alisios) blow most reliably May-September; long-term station data also shows wind picking up in Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov and Dec. Average annual wind measured near El Médano is around 12kt with gusts to 31kt, but trade-wind season commonly runs stronger. |
| avg knots | 18-30 |
| wind name | trade winds (Alisios) |
| direction to shore | cross-onshore |
| quality | steady with occasional strong gusts |
Water
| type | mixed - flatter water inside the bay, choppier/wavier toward the edges |
|---|---|
| temp summer c | 25-30 |
| temp winter c | 19 |
Levels
| beginner | yes |
|---|---|
| intermediate | yes |
| advanced | yes |
| notes | La Bahía sector is the beginner/freeride zone, El Muelle end is for wave-hunters, and El Rincón is used for unhooked freestyle training. |
Launch & crowd
| description | Wide black-sand beach with multiple clearly defined sectors for different disciplines. |
|---|---|
| busy months |
|
| vibe | active by day, quieter at night; long-standing international kite/windsurf town |
Monthly wind statistics
Station: Granadilla de Abona (Weatherspark (MERRA-2 reanalysis model), ~10 km) — Station is Granadilla de Abona, ~10 km NE of El Médano; same caveat as El Cabezo — coastal acceleration at the bay is not captured by this inland-town average. Windfinder.com returned HTTP 429 (rate-limited) on every attempt for this batch, so no wind-probability->=4Bft table could be obtained. Fallback used: Weatherspark.com, which provides monthly ALL-HOUR average wind speed (calm+windy hours averaged, not exceedance probability), a qualitative seasonal wind-direction narrative, and modeled air/sea surface temperature. Weatherspark's climate figures come from a multi-decade satellite/reanalysis model (not a physical anemometer at the spot), so treat avg_knots as indicative only, not a true kiteable-wind-probability metric. dominant_dir is a coarse per-month assignment inferred from Weatherspark's seasonal-window prose, not a precise per-month rose.
| Month | Wind ≥4 Bft | Avg kn | Dir | Air °C | Water °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | —% | 10.9 | NE | 15 | 19.4 |
| Feb | —% | 11.4 | N | 15 | 18.9 |
| Mar | —% | 11.3 | N | 15.6 | 18.9 |
| Apr | —% | 11 | N | 16.1 | 19.4 |
| May | —% | 10.7 | N | 17.2 | 20 |
| Jun | —% | 11.4 | N | 18.9 | 21.1 |
| Jul | —% | 13.3 | N | 20.6 | 22.2 |
| Aug | —% | 12.5 | N | 21.1 | 22.8 |
| Sep | —% | 10 | N | 21.1 | 23.9 |
| Oct | —% | 9.2 | N | 20 | 23.3 |
| Nov | —% | 10.1 | NE | 17.8 | 22.2 |
| Dec | —% | 10.8 | NE | 16.1 | 20.6 |
Hazards
- strong summer gusts (35kt+)
- crowded bay in peak season
- rocky sections at the harbour end
Tips
- stick to La Bahía if you're learning, El Muelle if you want waves, El Rincón for freestyle training
Travel basics
| airport | TFS - Tenerife South (Reina Sofía) Airport |
|---|---|
| getting there | About 5 minutes from Tenerife South Airport; a rental car is useful for exploring the rest of the island. |
| accommodation | Range of hotels, hostels and apartments; book beachfront places ahead for peak season. |
| cost level | mid |
| no wind | Restaurants (tapas, fresh fish, international), pubs with live music, and nearby Playa de las Américas for nightlife. |
Nearby: El Cabezo, La Tejita
Sources: iksurfmag.com · en.wikipedia.org · windfinder.com · en.wikivoyage.org