Surfing in Seignosse
A guide to surfing in Seignosse
With Les Casernes, Le Penon, Les Bourdaines and Les Estagnots in its arsenal, Seignosse has some of the best beachbreaks on the planet.
Winter storms batter the coast from January to April, redistributing the sandbars for the summer season ahead. Each break keeps its fundamental traits though; Le Penon entertains with its fun shorebreak, Les Bourdaines is a more shallow takeoff with peaks up and down the beach and Les Estagnots is a fast, hollow wave that can hold shape to well over head high.
Seignosse Webcam | Where to stay, eat and party in Hossegor
Seignosse Surf Camps
A stay at a surf camp is a great way to discover Seignosse’s beaches, learn to surf, have fun and meet new like-minded people.
Seignosse Surf Forecast
Seignosse, Les Bourdaines surf forecast – surf report and surfing conditions for the next 3 days with swell components including wave height, wave direction and wave period, wind direction and weather forecast.
Seignosse surf forecast courtesy of surf-forecast.com.
Seignosse Surf Spots
Kevin’s take: Former ASP pro surfer Kevin Olsen gives us his take on Seignosse’s surf spots.
Former pro surfer and South Africa team coach, Kevin Olsen, now provides private surf coaching sessions and surf guiding around Hossegor, Seignosse and Capbreton and will show you the best spots on the day. For each spot covered below, Kevin offers his take on Seignosse’s perfect beachies. Kevin owns and runs Plonka Surfboards and the Seignosse Surf Villa, a luxury surf and yoga retreat located just 5 minutes from the beach.
1. Casernes
Spot type: Beachbreak. Offshore wind: Easterly. Bottom type: Sand. Best tide: Mid
Wave size: 0.5 to 2.5 m. Swell direction: West, North Lat Long: 43.723639, -1.430379.
Sunset surf session in Seignosse | © Flickr – BlackSpeed1
Les Casernes is an exposed beachbreak that doesn’t work that consistently well. What’s more, it’s a 10 minute hike from the car park to the top of the dune, so you can’t just have a quick check of the conditions the way you can at Les Bourdaines and Les Estagnots. You can surf here all year round and it’s super quiet in winter when the campsite is closed. The spot works best at mid-tide in a northwesterly swell and straight easterly wind, but you can get a wave at any tide, just watch out for unforgiving currents in spring. It’s quite a well respected surf spot and can get busy in summer, but you can always walk up the beach and get a peak to yourself.
Kevin’s take:
Great spot in summer and the beach is endless sandbank after sandbank. When the banks are good, the waves can be world class and the spot works best when its around 1 metre swells and a low period. Works best on both tides. Get there early and avoid the weird blokes walking naked on the beach trying to befriend you.
2. Le Penon
Spot type: Peaky Beachbreak. Offshore wind: Easterly. Bottom type: Sand. Best tide: All.
Wave size: 0.3 to 2.4 m. Swell direction: West, North Lat Long: 43.709221, -1.434320.
Mick Fanning surfing in Le Penon, Seignosse | © Active Azur
Le Penon is an outstanding beach break. The quality of the surf varies with the swell and the banks, but you can get nice waves here all year round. A light easterly wind combined with a westerly swell provides the perfect off-shore conditions. There are always a few surfable peaks up and down the beach with both lefts and rights. Often in summer, within a couple of hundred metres there’ll be a nice longboarder’s wave out back and a fast and fun little wave breaking right on the beach. Mid tide is best but you can surf at low and high tides if there’s enough swell. As with everywhere in Seignosse, you need to be wary of the powerful rips.
Kevin’s take:
One of my favourite spots in Seignosse with some of the longest ridable waves in town. All year round this is the most consistent and perfect wave with some heavy sections when the swell is good. I’ve had some of my best barrels here for the past 10 years. Very reliable and consistent. In the winter and summer ‘Le Penon’ and to the south of the skatepark can be amazing when the sandbars are lined up. When the surf’s small, you’ll get a perfectlong-boarding wave and easy surfing. Works best on the lower tides. Can be an easy paddle out, but be wary of the shorebreak.
3. Les Bourdaines
Spot type: Beachbreak. Offshore wind: Easterly. Bottom type: Sand. Best tide: Mid
Wave size: 0.5 to 2.5 m. Swell direction: West, North Lat Long: 43.697970, -1.437947.
John John Florence surfing in Seignosse | © Flickr – Wanaku
When you talk about surfing in Seignosse, you really have to put Les Bourdaines on a pedestal. The spot consistently gets world-class waves with lefts and rights popping off up and down the beach. With a westerly swell and an easterly wind you can get unreal glassy conditions. The ever-shifting sandbanks make it difficult to predict where the peak will be, but as general rule, the southern end of the beach is more mellow with a shallower drop-in, whereas at the northern end the waves are hollower and you can even get barrelled. When it’s working well, Les Bourdaines can get super crowded. With the often heavy shorebreak and strong currents, it’s not the best spot for learning, although some Seignosse surf schools do provide lessons here in the summer months.
Kevin’s take:
Les Bourdaines is always great in summer and everyone’s favorite summer beachie. Some of the best and most ripable waves and it works in all conditions. I used to have a surf school here (years ago) and we never had to leave or move to another location, because Bourdaines is a wave that works on the inside with the high tide or you can paddle out to the lower tide banks and surf alone. Works best on the mid to high tide and if the inside sandbar lines up expect perfect beach break barrels spitting onto dry sand. And hot babes on the beach too. Many surf schools so expect the crowds of all types.
4. Les Estagnots
Spot type: Beachbreak. Offshore wind: Easterly. Bottom type: Sand. Best tide: Mid
Wave size: 0.5 to 2.5 m. Swell direction: West, North Lat Long: 43.686346, -1.438828.
Gabriel Medina surfing in les Estagnots, Seignosse © Flickr – chde.eu
Les Estagnots is undoubtedly Seignosse’s most famous surf spot. This beach break continues to hold up huge rideable waves when everywhere else in Seignosse is maxed out. You can get good waves here at any time of the year and it works best in an easterly off-shore wind with a westerly swell direction. You’ll find quality A-frame peaks with as many lefts as rights and at high tide the spot can produce fast hollow barrels. When it’s working, it can get ridiculously crowded and you have to compete for waves with over-enthusiastic locals. Les Estagnots is often used for the Quiksilver Pro France event held in early October, which sees the best surfers in the world compete as part of the WSL pro tour.
Kevin’s take:
Possibly the best wave in France when the surf gets in the 2-3 m range and world class rides can be had when the best surfers in town use the jet ski and tow-in. Perfect barrel ride and another favorite spot. If you can’t ride the bigger stuff then in summer Les Estagnots is just the perfect spot for everyone. Had some of my best waves of my life here and expect the barrels of your life when the swell is good and the wind is blowing off-shore. Works in all the conditions though. When it’s small, it’s great for long-boarding and when it’s big you’ll see some life changing waves like never before. Now go surfing!
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Please leave a comment below if you need specific advice for your surf trip to Seignosse, or if you have any recommendations to help us improve this guide. Happy holidays!
