Santa Maria di Leuca · Italy

5.3

wave 0.7 m

visibility4m

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: MeteoAlarm · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2 — high confidence · data 21:18

Sources & confidence

Sources: MeteoAlarm · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus · Sentinel-2
Method: spearo sea-state engine: consensus of up to 6 models + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
Freshness: Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine · How it works →

The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.

How we score the water

Our own model

Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.

Swell & wave memory: Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
Wind & gusts: Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
Tide phase: Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
Water temperature: Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
Currents & outflow: Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
Rain runoff & air clarity: Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
Coast shape & exposure: How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.

Safety gates

Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
Night hours — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.

It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.

A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.

Where to get in, where to hunt

Entry points with coordinates

Seabed relief — promising ground

This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.

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0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

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MeteoAlarm no dataupdated 21:18

Santa Maria di Leuca — solo, off the rocks

BORDERLINE

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · wind-wave — choppy surface

wave 0.7 mwind 21, gusts 27 km/hvisibility ~4 mwindow 06:00–18:00

today, best window 06:00–09:00

fish · Visibility 4 m · Water 21.3°C

confidence medium · verdict for the selected day

Before entering, check the camera and the surge

Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.

Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.

Selected day

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.

Sunday · today2026-10-25

07:07–17:53 · full moon

▲ 03:00▼ 10:00▲ 16:00▼ 21:00 · 0.2 m

Hours (06→20)

Day's trends

Tide-0.50 m

Wave0.52 m

Wind17 km/h

Water21 °C

fish activity: moonset 06:10 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:40 · high · moonrise 17:11 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high

Conditions window06:00–09:00

caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish

Hs 0.72 m · slightperiod 4.1 swind 21→27surge 0.4viz 4 m

0.72 mslight · up to ~1.44 · 258° at an angle

4.1 sswell moderate

21→27gusts 27 km/h

0.4weak surge

0.42m/s

4 mrecent swell

21.3°C5 mm + hood

▼10:00tide falling

Atmosphere26 kmovercast

moderatemoonset

wind-wave — choppy surface
strong wind 21 km/h, gusts 27 — caution
dawn/dusk

confidence mediumtwilight

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Where to get in
off the rocks.

Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.

Open the seafloor map

Grotta del DiavoloSanta Maria di Leuca

borderline

Pro · subscribers

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: —

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app

Marina SerraSanta Maria di Leuca

borderline

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: With Levante in the forecast the useful window shortens by itself, long before sunset. In doubt, the order in force at Santa Maria di Leuca is asked of the Capitaneria and not of the neighbour in the car park. A shore oriented at 80° loses the sun before sunset: take it into account for the last descent. Time spent finding out is time taken away from trouble.
tide: At Santa Maria di Leuca the tidal cycle shows in the thread of current and not in the level of the water. The tide is felt more in narrow channels than in front of an open shore. Do not wait for the right tide: wait for the right sea. A surge pushed by Levante can raise the level more than the tide itself.
shelter: The exposure measured on the coastline is 80°, that is full east: in Levante there is no shelter here, in Ponente the water flattens. An inlet closed between two points holds while the sea arrives across it; head on, it does not hold at all. At Santa Maria di Leuca whoever gets in first checks, whoever gets in out of habit is trusting yesterday. If the foam stays on the rock after a set has gone through, the water underneath is already milky.
conditions: The 10 m contour runs about 80 m from the shore and is the practical reference for this entry. The useful band lies between the 80 m of the ten-metre line and the 680 m of the twenty: that strip is where you work. Judge the colour from above before you get wet: from inside you lose the comparison. At Santa Maria di Leuca the good days are few and have to be taken when they come.
hazard: With Levante into the mouth of the bay the water leaves through the middle and comes back along the sides: keep it in mind for the return. At Santa Maria di Leuca, as along the whole Italian coast, the surface marker and the 50 m radius are not negotiable. If you find lost gear — weights, lines, nets — take it out: the next thing it snags may be yours. Check your gear beforehand, not in the water.
access: At Santa Maria di Leuca the entry at the head of the cove is the one that holds up best even in a made-up sea. From here to the 5 m contour is about 60 m, and it pays to measure them on the way out so as not to find them long on the way back. The route on land is not mapped: the survey only says where the rock ends and the water begins. Leave the place as you found it.

Limestone shelf north toward Tricase; sea bream, easy entry.

Google Maps

Marina di NovaglieSanta Maria di Leuca

borderline

Pro · subscribers

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: —

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app

Punta MelisoSanta Maria di Leuca

borderline

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: At Santa Maria di Leuca as anywhere else, the hours of the session are the hours of the sun. Sardinia and Sicily are autonomous regions and can have rules of their own on top. Arrive with time to look the place over before getting in. The last stretch, the 280 m out to ten metres of water, is the one you will swim tired: put it in the day's arithmetic.
tide: The useful figure is not the hour of low water but the direction of the inshore current. The current you will find towards the southeast will nearly always be wind-driven and not tidal. With the shore 30 m from the mark, the alongshore current counts for more than any table. At Santa Maria di Leuca the tide calendar is no substitute for reading the sea.
shelter: On the point at Santa Maria di Leuca it is the flank that gives you the shelter, not the general lie of the coast. With an exposure of 136° the awkward sector runs from east to south, and outside it the day is usually saved. The 280 m that separate the shore from ten metres of water tell you how much sea it takes to ruin the day. With Scirocco building, shorten the session instead of lengthening the route.
conditions: The bottom drops straight away: the 10 m contour runs about 280 m out and the 20 m contour 350 m. If you cannot see the bottom 270 m out, the day is over before it starts. At Santa Maria di Leuca it pays to come out feeling you stopped early. In Scirocco the suspension stays inshore; in Maestrale it is gone in half a day.
hazard: The cape exposes you to two seas at once, and the way back can be harder than the way out. Five hundred metres from used beaches: in summer it is the prohibition you run into most often. At Santa Maria di Leuca floating lines are seen late: keep an eye above you as well. With Scirocco strengthening the margin is spent without your noticing.
access: In Scirocco the only workable entry is the one on the opposite flank of the point. With the shore 30 m away and five metres of water at 270 m, the band to cross is a short one. At Santa Maria di Leuca many accesses cross private property: if it is signed, look for another one. If the sea has changed while you were under, come out at the lowest point and not at the nearest one.

Cape at the tip (Adriatic side); dentex, sea bream, sea bass. In the lee with westerly wind.

Google Maps

Punta RistolaSanta Maria di Leuca

borderline

swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: With ten metres of water 270 m from the shore, the band where you meet the local orders is all of it right here. Spearfishing on breath-hold is allowed by day; at night it is banned under DPR 1639/1968. At Santa Maria di Leuca the season conditions the law more than it conditions the sea. The buoy lines marking off the beaches are a legal reference, not a suggestion.
tide: Under half a metre of range means the only real variable left is the swell. Between the shore and five metres of water there are 120 m, and no tide shifts that line appreciably. If the current takes you past the 270 m of the ten-metre line, head straight back for land. At Santa Maria di Leuca the local currents depend more on the shape of the bottom than on the hour.
shelter: A headland gathers sea from a wide sector, so yesterday's swell counts for as much as today's wind from south. The open sea lies to the south: in Ostro the swell works straight onto the entry, while from the north you stay in the lee of the land. At Santa Maria di Leuca the difference between a bad day and a good one is a hundred metres of coast, not an hour of waiting. If the swell starts working inside the 120 m of coastal strip, the session is over.
conditions: With 100 m reached about 2600 m out, the limit of the day is set by your breath and not by the distance. On a medium slope the murky inshore strip usually ends well before 770 m. At Santa Maria di Leuca the inshore current shifts the murk within hours: waiting sometimes works better than moving. Past 270 m from the shore it is the water that decides the day and not the willingness.
hazard: The law asks for the marker in sight and a maximum radius of 50 m: it is also the only thing that makes you visible to anyone under way. In Ostro the point becomes the worst place on this coast to get out of the water. With 120 m out to five metres, the exit is short only if you decide on it in time. At Santa Maria di Leuca the conditions change faster than the forecast does.
access: The first 120 m are the murkiest, and after them the bottom starts to read. At Santa Maria di Leuca the point is reached on foot, and the long part of the day is the part out of the water. Park where it is allowed: a towed car ruins more than the day. Count the 120 m that separate you from the five-metre contour: they are the measure of the way back.

Cape at the tip (Ionian side); deep rock, in the lee with easterly wind.

Torre San GregorioSanta Maria di Leuca

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swell on the quarter today (city-level)

window: —

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SOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.

Look at the water
right now.

Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».

connecting to the stream…

● LIVE↗

Morciano di Leuca › West: Marina di Torre Vado in PugliaWindy webcam (Morciano di Leuca › West: Marina di Torre Vado in Puglia) — official webcams.windy.com player, plays inline. Read the water and surf before you go.camera: windy ↗Webcams provided by windy.com - add new webcam

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now

European seabass
<4 m · — · dawn/dusk
min. 25 cm · legal target
Gilthead seabream
1–4 m · over sand/weed · dawn
min. 20 cm · legal target
White seabream
1–5 m · in the surf on the reef · dawn
min. 23 cm · legal target
Two-banded seabream
1–8 m · — · dawn
min. 18 cm · legal target
Sharpsnout seabream
2–10 m · — · dawn
min. 18 cm · legal target
Annular seabream
0–5 m · — · daytime
min. 12 cm · legal target
Common dentex
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 30 cm · legal target
Red porgy
min. 18 cm · legal target
Common pandora
min. 18 cm · Sardinia 20 cm · legal target
Axillary seabream
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 18 cm · legal target
Blackspot seabream
min. 33 cm · legal target
Striped seabream
0–5 m · — · dawn
min. 20 cm · legal target
Black seabream
2–6 m · — · —
min. 15 cm · legal target
Bogue
min. 15 cm · legal target
Salema
0–2 m · — · daytime
min. 15 cm · legal target
Dusky grouper
5–40 m · — · daytime
min. 45 cm · RESTRICTED · max 1 grouper/day; BANNED in Sardegna & MPAs
Wreckfish
min. 45 cm · RESTRICTED · max 1 grouper/day; BANNED in Sardegna & MPAs
Brown meagre
2–15 m · — · twilight
min. 20 cm · RESTRICTED · protected in several MPAs · (verify against the norm in force)
Greater amberjack
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 60 cm · legal target · (verify against the norm in force)
Leerfish
min. 15 cm · Sardinia 60 cm · legal target
Grey mullet
0–2 m · — · —
min. 20 cm · Sardinia 25 cm · legal target
Red scorpionfish
3–20 m · — · daytime
min. 15 cm · legal target
Moray eel
1–15 m · — · twilight
min. 25 cm · Sardinia 60 cm · legal target
European conger
2–25 m · — · night
min. 25 cm · Sardinia 50 cm · legal target
Wrasse
min. 15 cm · legal target
Red mullet
min. 11 cm · legal target
Atlantic bonito
min. 25 cm · legal target
Common octopus
1–6 m · — · twilight
min. 450 g · legal target
Cuttlefish
legal target · (verify against the norm in force)

Law

✓NO paid licence, but a free MASAF REGISTRATION is mandatory (recreational sea-fishing declaration, online via SIAN/SPID, annual) — it is not a «licence».
✓Free-diving only: scuba/rebreather/hookah BANNED (art. 128-bis DPR 1639/68). The 16+ rule comes from a different act — D.Lgs 4/2012, art. 6 c. 5; handing a speargun to an under-16 is an offence (art. 13-octies c. 3 b, as replaced by L. 75/2026).
✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only from dawn to sunset (art. 129e DPR 1639/68).
✓Distances (art. 129 DPR 1639/68): ≥500 m from beaches with bathers; ≥100 m from fixed gear/set nets and from vessels anchored outside ports.
✓Buoy MANDATORY (art. 130 DPR 1639/68): float with a red flag bearing a white diagonal stripe, visible ≥300 m; the diver stays within 50 m of the buoy/support boat.
✓The speargun may not be kept armed out of the water (art. 131 DPR 1639/68) — load only when submerged.
✓The spearfisher may NOT gather corals, crustaceans or molluscs — the second paragraph of the same article (art. 128-bis DPR 1639/68; the same rule in D.M. 249/1987, art. 2). BUT cephalopods are EXCLUDED: octopus, cuttlefish and squid may be taken — the exception is kept in terms by the official guidance (circolare 6227201 of 23.07.1987). Mussels — up to 3 kg per person per day, but only with the Capo del Compartimento Marittimo's authorisation. The 5 kg daily cap counts EVERYTHING taken that day (D.Lgs 4/2012, art. 13-octies c. 4, as replaced by L. 75/2026).
✓You MAY carry a speargun and a breathing apparatus on the same boat — but at most ONE cylinder of up to 10 L per vessel, and using it to fish is prohibited (art. 128-ter DPR 1639/68). While you are down, at least one person must stay aboard ready to intervene, and there must be a rope long enough to recover the diver.
✓Sale of recreational catch is PROHIBITED (EU control regime, Reg. CE 1224/2009).
✓The 5 kg/person daily cap IS in force and carries a fine: €500–3 000 up to 10 kg, €2 000–12 000 up to 50 kg, €12 000–50 000 above (D.Lgs 4/2012, art. 13-octies c. 4, as replaced by Law 21 Apr 2026 no. 75). Exception: a single fish heavier than 5 kg. Recovery-plan species and bluefin tuna: +1/3 (c. 5).

⛔ Date mussels (Lithophaga lithophaga) — TOTAL BAN: fishing, possession, transport, sale (D.M. 16/10/1998; EU-protected). Never touch.

Safety protocol

Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. On a rocky/boulder shore a 0.5 m rise in swell can make the exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer.
Headland rip: prominent points often have a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
Afternoon wind: on many coasts the wind builds from midday — plan to be out of the water by midday; the chop builds — get out.
UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.

FAQ — spearfishing in Santa Maria di Leuca

Where can I spearfish in Santa Maria di Leuca?

Santa Maria di Leuca has rock entry points such as Punta Meliso, Punta Ristola and Marina Serra. The tip of Italy's heel, with two seas: Punta Meliso on the Adriatic side is in the lee with a westerly, Punta Ristola on the Ionian side with an easterly. Below you'll find each spot (access, shelter and hazards) and today's forecast.

When is the best season in Santa Maria di Leuca?

A long season on the Gargano and in the Salento, with often crystal-clear turquoise water (Mattinata, Otranto, Leuca). The Adriatic Salento opens with a westerly, the Ionian one with an easterly — there's almost always a side that works.

How cold is the water in Santa Maria di Leuca?

Warm: ~14–27 °C. A 3 mm suit in summer, 5 mm in the shoulder months. The white cliffs of the Gargano and the Salento give clear turquoise water, with quick drop-offs.

Is Santa Maria di Leuca good for a beginner?

Intermediate: cliffs dropping into depth and very clear water (Otranto, Castro, Leuca). The Salento is exposed to opposite wind arcs — pick the day's sheltered side. Mind the set nets near the rock. Buoy always.

Do I need a licence in Santa Maria di Leuca?

No — in Santa Maria di Leuca there is no paid licence; a free MASAF declaration is mandatory (the recreational sea-fishing communication, online via SIAN/SPID, renewed each year), which is not a «licence». Breath-hold only (no scuba), with a marker buoy and no selling the catch. See the guide.

Full guide: spearfishing in Italy →

Surface

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and the day's trends.

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The water column

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The seabed

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Surfacing

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Santa Maria di Leuca

Campania

Sicily

Abruzzo

Santa Maria di Leuca spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility & live cameras

Windows, hours and the day's trends.

Get the go / no-go verdict for Santa Maria di Leuca by email

Spots in Italy

🇮🇹Italy

Nearby towns

Apulia

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Help us make it better

A marine instrument, go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.The call is on the rock.

Where to get in off the rocks.

Look at the water right now.

What's in season, what the law says.

FAQ — spearfishing in Santa Maria di Leuca

Campania

Sicily

Abruzzo

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Look at the water
right now.

What's in season,
what the law says.