On the East side of the lake towards Lecco, Mandello is the spot of choice if the North wind is blowing. There is nowhere downwind to land safely, so this spot is reserved for good kiters only. On top of this, the North wind can often be relatively gusty.

The launch spot is either from right in front of the lido, or the river bed just to the south. Beware of extra gusty conditions just downwind of the spot; the big trees cause a lot of turbulance.

Valmadrera

Just outside the town of Lecco, Val Mad is the place to head for a (really) early morning session! The wind down here is the reverse of the afternoon Breva wind, and tends to blow from sunrise until around 9am. It is a locals favourite on account of the fact that they can be home and showered and ready for work in Milan even after having had a 2-hour session.

The spot can be quite busy, and the launch/land isn't the easiest, so definitely only for advanced kiters.

The Tivano wind often blows outside Dervio and Cremia early in the morning, so there can be kiting from these spots too, or you can join us for a Sunrise Session from the boat to maximise your time on the water.  

On the opposite (East) side of the lake from Gera Lario, Colico is a larger launch spot for less-advanced kiters to start. The launch spot has on-shore wind in Breva conditions, but is set on a point so you can launch and ride downwind into the bay. In the event that you can’t stay upwind it is possible to walk back from the bay and start all over again! Colico is the busiest spot on the lake by a long shot. Although the launch spot is great, it gets very crowded at the weekend and in high season. Added to this, the wind is often very flukey by the beach and there are all kinds of other water users in the area. Very often the wind here doesn't blow when it's thumping 20knots to the south in Cremia. On it's day though, Colico is a really good spot, with a plush restaurant (L'Ontano) right there for a post-session beer and pizza.

10km south of Gera Lario is Dongo. The main launch spot is on a thin strip of grass and it can get busy, but on its day the wind in Dongo can be really clean and stable, providing great riding and fantastic views. It's also not a bad option for non-kiters to hang out because there's plenty of shade from the Breva wind. Dongo can also be kited on Tivano (North) wind - but it's definitely an experts-only spot because the downwind landing options are very limited

One of the more popular spots on the East side of the lake. Reasonably tricky launch from a small grassy area just to the north of the sailing club and ferry stop. Works well on north wind, as long as there's not too much easterly influence. Also works for Breva. Quite hectic at times!

15km south of Gera Lario, Cremia is an expert-only launch spot on account of the nature of the beach. There is very little room to rig-up and the wind often comes quite on-shore, making the launch itself risky. However, once out, the riding can be great.

Take care landing your kite here when the beach is busy!

Also home to one of our favourite restaurants in the are - La Baia - well worth a visit.

In front of Cremia is where we start most of our lessons because it is probably the most consistent spot on the lake.

Only kiteable on south wind, but a great spot.

There's a big grassy area for setting up, but it's forbidden to fly kites on the land here, so the pilot must go in the water to launch (an assistant can stand on the edge of the water to help). 

In by the beach can get crowded, but there's huge amounts of upwind space. You must be able to kite upwind here, as the downwind area is a river where the wind disappears.