Map › France › Agon-Coutainville

Normandie · Manche, Coutances coast · Manche

Agon-Coutainville

also known as Plage d'Agon-Coutainville, Plage de l'ecole de voile

beginner-friendlylow crowds

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Agon-Coutainville has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windy9 ktmixed Launchlarge except at some high tides away from the sailing-school endaccess rules on record, below Watersea18.2°C in summer · 5 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airportno transfer time published

When it fills in

There is no daily cycle to wait for. The wind here is frontal rather than thermal, so it can blow at any hour, and the timing question is the tide rather than the clock.

Agon-Coutainville is a big sandy beach on the west Cotentin coast, and the stretch by the sailing school is one of the four main lesson locations for the local mobile kite school. The tide is the whole story.

At low water the sea is several kilometres out and what is left is shallow and flat; at high water, on coefficients above about 65-70, the beach near the town centre can vanish and westerly wind puts up real waves. Ride the south end near the sailing school: more space, fewer rocks, and it is where the lessons run.

NW is the direction to hope for, since Pointe d'Agon shelters the water; south wind is offshore, and with a moderate south-to-north current on top, a shallow beach does not make this automatically safe for a first season.

The Plage de l'ecole de voile has a prevention watch but no delimited bathing area, while the 2022 municipal order bans kites inside the seasonal supervised swimming zone, up to 140 m by 100 m, marked with red-and-yellow flags. Lessons run year-round and no best month has been established.

Water is about 18 C in summer and around 9 C in winter, so a full suit all year.

The wind

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: There is no daily cycle to wait for. The wind here is frontal rather than thermal, so it can blow at any hour, and the timing question is the tide rather than the clock.

Typical strength

No station at the spot. The nearest airport record, 25 km south, gives a 9 kt annual average from the west-northwest with 14 kt average gusts, which is an all-hours coastal average and not a kite figure; the sessions are the frontal days above it. Indicative, no local measurement.

Exposed Channel coast. NW is the useful direction because Pointe d'Agon shelters the water; south is offshore and riskier.

Lessons run year-round; no best-month ranking is published.

The quiver, in words

Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider and derived rather than reported: 12 m for the marginal days that make up most of the year, 9 m when a front puts 18-22 kt on the beach, 7 m above that. No rider-reported sizes have been published for this beach.

Direction to shore

Northwest is the direction to want: the Pointe d'Agon takes the fetch out of it and the water stays flat. West comes in side-onshore with chop and a light swell. Southwest and north work as well. South blows offshore and is the one that catches people out.

Dominant direction

West-northwest over the year at the nearest coastal station, 25 km south. The spot itself works on anything from southwest round to north, and northwest is the one locals rate.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan54
Feb64
Mar67
Apr53
May46
Jun39
Jul41
Aug41
Sep37
Oct56
Nov69
Dec62

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

13Jan8°
13Feb8°
13Mar9°
12Apr12°
11May16°
11Jun19°
11Jul20°
11Aug21°
11Sep20°
12Oct17°
15Nov13°
14Dec9°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	54%	13 kt	SW	6.5°C	8.1°C
Feb	64%	13.1 kt	WSW	8.2°C	8.2°C
Mar	67%	13.3 kt	SSW	9.3°C	9.3°C
Apr	53%	12.4 kt	NE	10.5°C	11.8°C
May	46%	10.9 kt	NE	13.9°C	15.5°C
Jun	39%	10.5 kt	NE	16.8°C	19.1°C
Jul	41%	10.8 kt	WNW	18.3°C	20°C
Aug	41%	10.7 kt	WSW	18.9°C	20.7°C
Sep	37%	10.9 kt	ENE	17°C	19.8°C
Oct	56%	11.9 kt	S	14.6°C	16.6°C
Nov	69%	14.6 kt	SSW	10.8°C	12.6°C
Dec	62%	14.1 kt	SW	7.7°C	9.3°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

sea

Standing depth

true

Tides

Large tidal range: the sea retreats several kilometres at low tide, leaving shallow water; high tide with coefficients above about 65-70 can remove beach space near the town centre.

Temperature

18.2°C summer · 8.8°C winter

Wetsuit

Full wetsuit normally needed; summer water averages about 18 C and winter about 9 C.

Currents

Moderate south-to-north current reported.

8–21°C water

Large sandy beach on the west Cotentin coast. Low tide can be flat and shallow; high tide and westerly wind can create waves.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Beginner-friendly at low tide because the beach is wide and shallow. South wind (offshore) and the rocks and lost space at high tide push the requirement up.

The scene

What riders come here for

learningcoachingfreerideflat water at low tidesmall waves

Quiet Norman beach town. Summer bathers spread beyond the marked swim zones in July and August.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: large except at some high tides away from the sailing-school end

access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

The kite school runs a 6 m semi-rigid boat, used for foil initiations, coaching and lessons when the wind is offshore. The nautical club on the same beach is an approved BNSSA lifesaving training centre and teaches maritime safety and first aid. No independent kite rescue exists; in summer the flagged swimming zone has its own watch.

Launch

Prefer the south end near the sailing school/Plage de l'ecole de voile, where lessons run and there is more space and fewer rocks.

Space

large except at some high tides away from the sailing-school end

Rules & access

2022: the Agon-Coutainville permanent municipal beach order (n°139/2022, Plage de l'ecole de voile) sets a seasonal supervised swimming zone up to 140 m long by 100 m wide, marked by red-and-yellow flags and yellow buoys; kitesurf, along with sailing, windsurf, canoe, kayak and surf, is forbidden inside that zone, though inflatable bathing accessories are allowed. A separate boat-access channel next to the zone is reserved for motorised and sailing craft. Outside the marked swimming zone and channel, this order sets no kite-specific restriction and bathers/riders proceed at their own risk; dogs are banned from the beach 1 July-31 August.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

On big coefficients (above about 65-70) go to the sailing-school end at 104 avenue des dunes; the town-centre beach loses its sand at high tide and has rock rows.
Check the tide before you drive: low water is flat and shallow, high water is waves and less space.
South wind is offshore. Ride it only with a school boat on the water.
In summer stay out of the flagged swimming zone (red-and-yellow flags, yellow buoys); kites are banned inside it and there is a boat channel right next to it.
Full wetsuit even in July; the water only reaches about 18 C.
Do not wait for an afternoon thermal, there isn't one. Watch the front and the tide coefficient, not the hour.

Getting there

Route

Spot access is around the sailing-school beach at 104 avenue des dunes.

Staying

The kite school passes on accommodation contacts if you ask; no specific lodging has been checked.

No-wind days

sailing school beach · swimming at Plage de l'ecole de voile · Coutances coast activities

FAQ

Is Agon-Coutainville suitable for beginners?

The wide, shallow low-tide beach supports learning, but south wind blows offshore and there is a moderate current, so it is not automatically safe for independent beginners.

What is the wind like at Agon-Coutainville?

NW is considered the most useful direction because Pointe d'Agon shelters the water, while south wind is offshore and riskier.

Are there kite schools nearby?

Yes, Pole Kitesurf Normandie uses the beach near the sailing school as one of its four main teaching spots, and local clubs CNC Coutainville and Eden Kite are also active.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

A 2022 beach-police order covers the sailing-school beach, and bathing zones must be respected in high season, with launching recommended near the sailing school.

Last updated: August 2026