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Nouvelle-Aquitaine · La Rochelle / Aunis, Charente-Maritime · Charente-Maritime · Aytré

Aytre Plage

also known as Plage d'Aytré, Plage Platin, Aytré, La Colonelle

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

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

Nearby Chatelaillon-Plage 6 km · Rivedoux Plage Nord 11 km · Boyardville 18 km · Plage de la Gautrelle 19 km · Plage de Plaisance 20 km · La Faute-sur-Mer - Pointe d'Arcay 22 km · Banc du Bucheron 30 km · La Tranche-sur-Mer 35 km · Le Veillon 54 km · Bretignolles-sur-Mer - Plage des Dunes 2 77 km · straight-line distance

SeasonMar to Octthe months riders and schools name How windy15-25 ktmixed LaunchLarge beach with easy parking access, but strong-wind days can be crowded.access rules on record, below Watersea20°C in summer · 7 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools2named at this spot From the airport19 minRochelle - Île de Ré Airport (LRH)

On the clock

11:00 · 17:00

The strongest part of the day is generally 11:00-17:00.

The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.

Aytré Plage is the muddy bay just south of La Rochelle, and it is a high-tide spot only: the water is standing depth, from less than 1 m to 2 m, and the rest of the tide cycle is exposed mudflat, so there is no low-tide session to plan around.

SW, W or NW is what you want; SW and W come in side-on to side-shore and the water stays flat to short chop, while a straight onshore day roughens the edge. The bottom is mud with oyster and mussel shells in it. Booties, not optional.

Chatel Kite School teaches here from March to October and the local association, Aytré Kite & Wing 17, runs the FFVL practice site (ref. 2361), so this is a proper club beach rather than a spare patch of sand, and on a windy summer weekend it fills up.

Beginners can learn here because you can stand, but do it with a school: what goes wrong is the tide first, then the shells, then the traffic. Whether a dated 2026 municipal bylaw exists on top of the marked summer zones is unconfirmed; the national 300 m nearshore band near bathers applies either way.

The wind

Direction

cross-onSW

Kite sizes

567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: The strongest part of the day is generally 11:00-17:00.

Typical strength

No measurement exists at the beach. Published averages for the spot sit near 23 kt, while the nearest long-run mainland station recorded an 8 kt annual mean across all weather, calm days included; the two count different things. Take 15-25 kt as the indicative band a session lands in and go by the forecast rather than the average.

Sheltered and easy in the shallows once there is water over the mud; the tide decides the session more than the wind does.

Schools teach from March to October. The windiest months on paper are November to March, the Atlantic-depression season; which stretch is actually the best kite season here is unconfirmed.

Also on record

23.3

The quiver, in words

7-12 m for Aytré; choose by rider weight and actual wind.

Direction to shore

The beach faces roughly west-southwest. SW and W come in side-on to side-shore; a straight onshore day makes the edge choppier.

Dominant direction

SW, W, NW

Forecast

Month by month

Jan61
Feb55
Mar, riders' month70
Apr, riders' month66
May, riders' month69
Jun, riders' month57
Jul, riders' month66
Aug, riders' month51
Sep, riders' month56
Oct, riders' month60
Nov67
Dec69

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.

14Jan9°
13Feb9°
14Mar11°
14Apr14°
12May17°
12Jun21°
12Jul22°
12Aug23°
12Sep21°
14Oct18°
16Nov14°
14Dec10°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	61%	13.7 kt	NE	7°C	9°C
Feb	55%	13.4 kt	W	8.5°C	8.6°C
Mar	70%	14.4 kt	WSW	10.5°C	10.6°C
Apr	66%	13.6 kt	WSW	12.2°C	13.7°C
May	69%	12.4 kt	NE	16.1°C	17.3°C
Jun	57%	11.5 kt	W	19.5°C	21.2°C
Jul	66%	12.2 kt	WNW	20.5°C	22.2°C
Aug	51%	11.7 kt	NW	21.2°C	22.9°C
Sep	56%	12.3 kt	WSW	18.6°C	21.4°C
Oct	60%	14 kt	WSW	16.6°C	18.4°C
Nov	67%	15.7 kt	W	12.1°C	13.9°C
Dec	69%	14.3 kt	ENE	8.4°C	9.7°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

Mostly standing-depth shallows, from less than 1 m to 2 m; water is shallow enough to stand.

Tides

High tide only. The rest of the cycle is exposed mud, so there is no low-tide session here.

Temperature

20°C summer · 9°C winter

Wetsuit

Water is about 20 C in August and about 9 C in February: a shorty or light fullsuit in summer, a thick fullsuit with hood and boots in winter.

9–23°C water

Shallow muddy-sandy bay with flat water to small chop; the bottom includes mud, oyster shells and mussel shells.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

You can stand, so it works for learning and for anyone else; one listing rates it expert, which probably reflects the tide window and the traffic more than the water. Beginners should be with a school here.

The scene

What riders come here for

learningfreerideshallow waterflat waterwingfoil

Local club and school scene; convivial but busy in strong wind.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: Large beach with easy parking access, but strong-wind days can be crowded.

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Chatelaillon-Plage, 6 km

Chatelaillon-Plage Rivedoux Plage Nord Boyardville

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

VHF channel 16

No lifeguard post is confirmed on the sand, and bathing has been closed here since 2018 over water quality, which leaves a post little to supervise. Riders cover each other, and the local club is the practical first call on the beach.

From the water, 196 on a phone or VHF channel 16 reaches the sea-rescue coordination centre, which tasks the volunteer lifeboat crews; both are free. Nothing kite-specific is published.

Launch

Rig from the wide beach behind the dune-side parking and ride the shallow bay around high tide.

Space

Large beach with easy parking access, but strong-wind days can be crowded.

Rules & access

2026: in summer keep to the marked kite zones, and note that the swimming zone you would normally avoid is not in use. Bathing has been closed by the municipality since 2018 because water quality fails the sanitary criteria, and reopening needs three consecutive years of samples under the regulatory thresholds. The beach is a registered FFVL practice site (Aytré Beach, FFVL ref. 2361) run with the local association Aytré Kite & Wing 17, and their zone map is the one to follow. Sand yachting is banned from 15 June to 15 September, and dogs over the same dates. The national rule for towed craft applies on top: inside the 300 m nearshore band you go at low speed near swimmers unless an exemption says otherwise. No dated Aytré-specific municipal bylaw text has turned up.

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

Rider tips

Check the La Rochelle tide table before you drive: the bay only works around high tide, and at low water it is mudflat.
Wear booties; the mud is full of oyster and mussel shells.
Aim for 11:00-17:00, when the wind is usually strongest, and arrive early on a windy weekend from June to September because the launch fills.
Pack kites in the 7-12 m range and pick the size by the wind on the beach, not the forecast.
In summer stay inside the marked kite zones and, within 300 m of shore, slow down near swimmers; Aytré Kite & Wing 17 knows the current zone layout.
Without a car, take the TER from La Rochelle to the Aytré Plage stop; the beach is a short walk from there.
Bathing has been shut here since 2018 on water-quality grounds, so there is no supervised swimming zone to work around; the kite zone marking still stands.
There is no lifeguard cover to fall back on. Programme 196 into your phone before you launch.

Getting there

Airport

La Rochelle - Île de Ré Airport (LRH)

Route

Aytré is just south of La Rochelle. Local bus links run from La Rochelle airport toward Aytré, and there is a TER rail stop at Aytré Plage from La Rochelle.

Transfer

19 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Stay in Aytré, La Rochelle, Châtelaillon-Plage or nearby campsites/apartments along the Aunis coast.

No-wind days

La Rochelle old port and aquarium, Île de Ré day trips, cycling, beaches, salt marshes and oyster/seafood villages.

Photos

La plage et la dune d'Aytré — Jmdigne, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Aytre Plage suitable for beginners?

Yes, several sources describe it as suitable for learning because the bay is shallow enough to stand, though it should be treated as school-supervised due to tide, shells and crowding.

What is the wind like at Aytre Plage?

SW, W and NW are the main directions, averaging around 23.3 knots, with the strongest wind generally between 11:00 and 17:00.

Is there a kite school at Aytre Plage?

Yes, Chatel Kite School and the Aytre Kite & Wing 17 association both use the spot.

What hazards are there at Aytre Plage?

The muddy bottom holds oyster and mussel shells, so booties are recommended, and the mudflats are exposed at low tide, so plan around high tide.

Last updated: August 2026