France

The region

The French Atlantic coast south of Bordeaux is one long, almost unbroken sand beach. Over hundreds of kilometres there is barely any rock — what breaks here breaks over sandbars. That has two consequences: the waves are fast and powerful, and the spot changes, because the bars migrate. What worked last year may sit somewhere else a season later.

The centre of it lies around Hossegor, Seignosse and Capbreton. An underwater canyon offshore funnels the swell in unusually directly, which is why the waves stand up steeply close to the beach. Further south around Biarritz the coast turns rockier and the orientations more varied.

September to November is the best window: the Atlantic is producing swell again while the water still holds its summer warmth. Expect a large tidal range — several metres is normal, and many banks only work within a certain tidal window. Without a look at the tide table you are planning blind here.