Free Way
Kitesurf spot · Malta
Is it worth the trip?
26Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 18 kn gusting 24, side-shore, Water: waves 0.9 m
Mon 2 · 33 out of 100
- Wind
- WNW 20 kn
- Gusts
- 28kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- 0.9 mwaves
- Air
- 19°C
Tue 3 · 100 out of 100
- Wind
- NW 18 kn
- Gusts
- 24kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- 0.9 mwaves
- Air
- 19°C
Wed 4 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NW 5 kn
- Gusts
- 8kn
- Shore
- side-on
- Water
- chop
- Air
- 20°C
Thu 5 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- ESE 6 kn
- Gusts
- 9kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- flat
- Air
- 20°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- E 3 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- flat
- Air
- 20°C
Sat 7 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NW 2 kn
- Gusts
- 4kn
- Shore
- side-on
- Water
- flat
- Air
- 20°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NW 4 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- flat
- Air
- 20°C
Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 10, poor
- Mon 250, fair
- Tue 3100, good
- Wed 40, poor
- Thu 50, poor
- Fri 60, poor
- Sat 70, poor
- Sun 80, poor
- Mon 90, poor
- Tue 100, poor
The spot in five facts
- Faces Nopen to the N
- Best wind: E or Walong the shore
- Avoid: Sblows out to sea
- Shelteredto the swell
- Water 22 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know gusts, offshore wind, tides or your skill.
| Day | Score | Wind | Gusts | Shore | Water | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 0, poor | wind from the west, 8 knots | 12kn | side | flat | 20°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 50, fair | wind from the west-north-west, 20 knots | 28kn | side | 0.9 mwaves | 19°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 100, good | wind from the north-west, 18 knots | 24kn | side | 0.9 mwaves | 19°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-west, 5 knots | 8kn | side-on | chop | 20°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-south-east, 6 knots | 9kn | side | flat | 20°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east, 3 knots | 6kn | side | flat | 20°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-west, 2 knots | 4kn | side-on | flat | 20°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-west, 4 knots | 7kn | side | flat | 20°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, poor | wind from the south-west, 6 knots | 8kn | offnot safe | chop | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 0, poor | wind from the south-south-west, 10 knots | 13kn | offnot safe | flat | 23°C |
Wind is the day's best reading, mean and gusts, in knots; the arrow points where it blows to. Shore "off" blows out to sea. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 00:39 −0.0 mHigh 07:24 +0.1 mLow 14:17 −0.0 mHigh 20:19 +0.0 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:47 −0.0 mHigh 09:47 +0.1 mLow 16:13 −0.0 mHigh 22:33 +0.1 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:41 −0.0 mHigh 11:18 +0.1 mLow 17:23 −0.0 mHigh 23:38 +0.1 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good kitesurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast. Reanalysis wind misses some local thermal winds, so a spot known for an afternoon breeze may do better than this.
Map
the spot, its town, photos
Free Way on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.
One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Photos of Free Way
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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Free Way
Known for kitesurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces N, so wind from the S blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).
Water about 22°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
A spot for kitesurfing, as OpenStreetMap maps it, on a shore facing N. Wind from the N blows onshore, wind from the S blows out to sea, and wind from the E or W runs along the shore. It is sheltered to the open sea. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 12). The sea is about 16°C in February, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 27°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is San Pawl il-Baħar. Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots and 10 dive sites.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,060–US$2,040 each
about US$1,060–US$2,040 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, stay, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to MLA, estimated from distance and season, changing at MAD, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$556–US$1,150 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$33–US$54 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$221–US$368 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$248–US$462 |
| Total | about US$1,060–US$2,040 |
Kit hire is not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: San Pawl il-Baħar
3 min by car · 53 places to stay
about US$80/nightcountry average
About San Pawl il-Baħar its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$80 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 18h 55m
About 18h 55m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → MLA, changing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD), then 35 min by road
Flights ORD → MLA on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.