Forecasts › Surf spots by wind direction

Surfing with a south-west wind

A south-west wind is offshore when it blows from land to sea: it smooths the face of the waves and holds them up slightly. This ranking only looks at each beach's orientation; local dunes, cliffs and headlands can shelter or funnel the wind, and only the day's forecast counts.

No spot in the reference is clearly sheltered from this wind.

Cross-offshore: 4 spots

Grande Plage · Trestel · Longchamp · Le Sillon

For the other 75 spots this wind blows across the beach (11) or onshore from the sea (64): waves are messier, best kept for days with nothing better.

Careful: a strong offshore wind pushes you away from the shore and makes the way back hard, especially on a board or bodyboard; do not go out alone.

Other wind directions

north · north-east · east · south-east · south · south-west · west · north-west

Read next

• Water safety: rip channels, flags, emergency numbers
• How to read a surf forecast
• Spots for beginners, area by area
• Which spot for which wind
• Gentle waves today
• Understanding swell, period and direction
• Spotting and avoiding rip channels (baïnes)
• Surfing in Lacanau

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