Fuseta (Ria Formosa)

Fuseta is a fishing village in the eastern Algarve on the Ria Formosa, the lagoon system behind a chain of barrier islands. The water between the village and Ilha da Fuseta is waist to chest deep at most states of tide and almost always flat, which makes it a wind spot rather than a surf town.

The wind

From roughly February a thermal sea breeze builds on sunny afternoons, and from June to September it is reliable, usually south-west to west and moderate rather than the hard nortada of the west coast. It fills in after lunch and drops in the evening.

Who it suits

Beginners and improvers, and anyone who wants flat water to work on freestyle or foiling. The lagoon has warm water, no shore break and nothing to hit. Advanced riders after waves and strong wind go to the west coast instead.

Rules and hazards

Kitesurfing is only allowed in a marked zone during the bathing season, a rule in place since 2016, so ride inside it. The channel between the village and the island runs a fast tidal current and carries boat traffic; stay clear of it and be aware which way the tide is taking you.

When

June to September afternoons. Outside summer the wind is frontal and unreliable.