Lo Stagnone kitesurfing: a shallow lagoon in Sicily

Lo Stagnone kitesurfing can be easier after a course thanks to the shallow water in its teaching areas. The lagoon lies near Marsala in western Sicily, and in a suitable shallow area you may be able to stand after a fall. It also has deeper water, so walking back is not guaranteed. Before your first session, have someone from the local centre show you the area, its depth and your return route for the current wind direction.

After a course, I'd choose my riding area mainly by how much space I have and who can help me launch and get back. Shallow water helps, but on a crowded lagoon you need to control your kite and know who gives way. If you're still unsure about those skills, book a local instructor.

Where Lo Stagnone is and why it's so shallow

The lagoon sits between Marsala and Trapani, near Trapani Airport. A long island, Isola Grande (also known as Isola Lunga), shields it from the open sea. Inside there are 3 more small islands, Mozia among them, and salt pans line the shore. The whole area has been a nature reserve of more than 2,000 ha since 1984.

The bottom is sandy with a lot of weed under the surface, which damps the small waves and keeps the water flat. In some places the bottom is soft and muddy. The southern part of the lagoon is deeper than the north, and wind and tides change the water level. In the shallows, watch the clearance beneath the fins of your kiteboard, the board you ride on.

On a course you learn to ride upwind, towards where the wind comes from, so you can return to your starting point. You also learn self rescue: an emergency procedure for when you cannot ride or bodydrag back, meaning move through the water using your kite without a board. Practise securing your equipment and self rescue with an instructor; shallow water does not replace those skills. Before riding, go through your return and rescue options with the local centre for that day's wind. Elsewhere in the bay it may blow away from shore even if it blew towards shore at your launch. Don't plan on swimming back against the wind. Hitting a shallow bottom with reeds hurts, and a kite in the air has the same power here as anywhere else.

You'll find the spot on the kite spot map and in more detail on the Marsala spot page.

Wind: where it comes from and when to go

Lo Stagnone has northerly and southerly wind systems. Maestrale, also known as Mistral, comes from the northwest, while the warm Scirocco comes from the southeast. Local thermal effects can strengthen the wind during summer days. Scirocco, however, is associated with low pressure systems over the Mediterranean or northern Africa and can be gusty. In winter, low pressure systems bring wind that can be strong and come from various directions. High season runs from June to September; April, May and October are mid season.

One thing can mislead you. The NASA POWER model I use on the spot map shows Lo Stagnone windiest in winter and calmest in summer. The model calculates wind 10 m above ground on a grid of roughly 50 km and can't see the thermal, so summer looks weak there even though it's the main kite season. Read it as a picture of how the large scale flow changes through the year, not as the wind on the beach.

Knots are a unit of wind speed; the table also gives the equivalent in metres per second.

Plan on wearing a wetsuit in the colder months. November falls outside high season; check that your chosen centre, accommodation and any services you need will be open. Use the live wind data on this page for current conditions; the camera shows the lagoon shore:

Show the webcamLive webcam

Work out your kite size from the forecast and your weight in the kite size calculator. If you're torn between 2 sizes, on a busy lagoon the safer one is the kite you can keep under control in a gust.

What's under the surface and what to watch out for

Shallow water has its own traps: a soft muddy bottom, weed, and in places reeds that can cut your feet. Beginners are advised to wear booties and a wetsuit or at least leggings, and I'd wear booties either way. You may also come across sea anemones and fishing stakes protruding from the water, so give them a wide berth.

Another consideration is the crowd. A shallow lagoon draws schools and beginners, and beginners ride unpredictably. The riders in the video below arrived in early April expecting empty water and still found it busy. A crash course that only gets you riding won't prepare you for a crowded lagoon. A good course teaches you the right of way: who gives way to whom and how to pass. When passing upwind of another rider, on the side the wind reaches first, keep your kite high. The rider passing downwind keeps their kite low.

Arrange launch assistance with the local centre or an experienced kiter who knows the procedure. You give the release signal when you are ready; the assistant holds the kite until then. If you're unsure about your setup or position relative to the wind, have an instructor check them before launching. Launch where you have clear space downwind, not in the middle of kites laid out on the beach.

Getting there and what to do on a no wind day

Trapani Airport (TPS) is closest, near the lagoon. Allow roughly 1 hour by car from Palermo Airport (PMO), depending on your destination centre and traffic. This estimate is for the airport, not central Palermo. I'd rent a car anyway, because getting between your accommodation, the beach and Marsala with a kite bag is a pain without one.

On a day without wind, boats run to the islands in the lagoon from designated piers, the salt pans are right on the shore, and fast boats go from Marsala and Trapani to the Egadi Islands of Favignana, Levanzo and Marettimo.

Is kiting allowed in the reserve

Before travelling, check the currently permitted zone and water access conditions with the reserve manager, Libero Consorzio Comunale di Trapani. Then go through them with your local centre. I wouldn't treat an operating school as proof of permission. I'd avoid landing a kite on the islands and keep my distance from birds; the reserve is a resting and breeding area for migratory birds, including flamingos.

The reason to check is a dispute over the reserve rules: Legambiente challenges kiting, while Marsala's council stated in July 2024 that it was allowed. The ministry circular of 29 April 2024 reiterates the need for a VIncA impact assessment for activities likely to have significant effects on Natura 2000 sites, whether they take place inside or outside their boundaries. It does not establish current permission for a particular kite zone. The 5th Stagnone Kite Games took place here in July 2026, but a competition does not settle the access question for your trip either.

Lo Stagnone and the rest of Sicily

For kitesurfing in Sicily beyond Lo Stagnone, you could also consider San Vito lo Capo on the island's northwest tip, where I rode. I returned to Sicily for an October kite trip in 2022; that's the trip in the video below.

When choosing where to kitesurf in November, I'd check centre opening dates and available help alongside the wind. For the best places to learn kitesurfing, look at space on the water and the quality of teaching as well as shallow depth. Even when choosing among the best kitesurfing spots in the world, I'd start with what you can already manage independently and where you still need help.

If the crowds at Lo Stagnone put you off, I know shallow lagoons with few riders from the kite safari in the Red Sea, which I've joined several times. The boat moves to the islands each day depending on the wind, and the crew helps with launching and landing.