MapFranceCamargueBeauducCamargue

Beauduc

Metropolitan France · Camargue · Salin-de-Giraud

also known as Plage de Beauduc, Les Sablons, Golfe de Beauduc, La Comtesse

Part of Camargue →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendlymedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Mar–Nov

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-35 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

23 °C in summerLarge open sandy Mediterranean beach and U-shaped bay

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

104 min

When it fills in

Mistral and Tramontane run day and night, so the window follows the forecast rather than the clock and first-light sessions are normal. The summer south-west thermal is the opposite: it builds through the afternoon and fades toward sunset. Exact local onset hours are unconfirmed.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Piémansonno page yet
Plage Napoléonno page yet
Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhoneno page yet
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Merno page yet
Digue a la Merno page yet

The spot

Overview

Beauduc is a wild sandy stretch of the Grande Camargue near Salin-de-Giraud, officially recognised as a kitesurf spot and about as far from a serviced beach as France gets. The draw is scale: a U-shaped bay roughly 20 km across, so some corner of it works in most directions, with the Mistral, the south-easterly and the summer thermal all in play.

Water and access

You have your feet down for about 150 m off the sand, which is why the schools teach here, but the access is 8 km of rough track behind a width barrier, there is no water, no toilets and no shop, and phone coverage comes and goes.

Learning and wind

Beginners can learn at Beauduc with a school, or with partners who can actually help, and not otherwise. A straight easterly is offshore, and south-east is reportedly offshore too on the Comtesse sector, so read the direction before you commit to the drive.

Riding zones

Kiting is authorised in the La Comtesse sector only, to the right as you arrive, with the central beach left to swimmers and boats.

Best season

Come in spring or autumn if you can: June to August works, but you share the water with several hundred kites and the sand with the cars they came in.

The wind

locals call it Mistral, south-easterly/Marin, Tramontane, south-westerly thermal breeze

Direction

cross-onoffshorewind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

The bay is a U roughly 20 km across, so most directions leave a workable corner somewhere along it. North and north-west blow cross-shore over the salt flats, north-east and south-west come in side-on at La Comtesse, west is onshore and wants decent upwind ability.A straight easterly is the classic offshore direction; south-east is reportedly offshore too on the Comtesse sector, and schools shift north toward the Gacholle lighthouse when they need a cleaner angle back to the beach.

Dominant direction

N, NW, SE come up most often, with the S and SW thermal on top of them in summer.

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

For a 75-85 kg rider:12-14 m covers the 10-15 kt south-west thermal that runs through July and August,9-10 m the ordinary 18-22 kt day,7-8 m the regular 25-30 kt north-westerly, and5-6 m for the 40 kt Mistral episodes that are normal here rather than exceptional.Foilers go two to three sizes down and get sessions out of days nobody else rigs for. No school here publishes a size chart, so these follow the wind bands.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Typical strength

15-35 kt is the useful range (2026). About 15 kt is typical in the mid-June to mid-July thermal period, and 40 kt is common in Mistral episodes.

Clean and fairly steady over the low salt flats, with nothing upwind to break it. Strength depends on the system: a Mistral episode is a different sport from a July thermal.

Strong Mistral, south-east wind and summer thermals. The practical season is April to October, with June and July the peak; the Mistral itself can blow year-round, and winter here is cold and harsh.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season

No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Jul, Aug.

About these figuresno series

Nothing usable has been measured or modelled for this place. The months come from what riders say, or from nothing at all.

Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

You have your feet down for roughly 150 m off the central beach on fine sand, which is the reason beginners are taught here. Foilers ride further out or work north for depth. The beach itself sits only centimetres above sea level, so a surge episode puts water where you parked.

Tides

The Mediterranean tidal range is minimal, but high-water and surge episodes cover the beach for several days at a time.

Temperature

23 °C summer · 13 °C winter

Wetsuit

Summer can be shorty or light neoprene depending on wind; winter requires a full wetsuit, with cold mistral sessions reported.

Currents

none significant reported

Conditions

Large open sandy Mediterranean beach and U-shaped bay. Water is flat to choppy; strong Mistral or south-westerly wind can create small waves, and a strong south-westerly can flood the beach.

Sea temperature for Beauduc/Saintes-Maries is roughly 20–26 °C in August, with winter lows around 12–13 °C.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

The size of the launch, the shallow water and the schools working the beach are why people learn here. The remoteness, the patchy signal, the absence of rescue, the Mistral and the offshore easterly are why a first-timer should be with a school or riding well inside their limits.

Some 2026 material rates the spot intermediate, which is about the access and the exposure rather than the space.

The scene

What riders come here for

freerideflat waterfoilfreestylebeginner lessonsdownwinderswild-camping style day tripsfoil when riding into deeper water

Who it suitsbeginner

Wild, low-development Camargue kite scene with large amounts of space but real summer pressure; up to 700 kiters can come in summer, and parking is packed though space can usually still be found.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

9 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

VHF channel 16

Rescue — full text1 min read

No lifeguard, no rescue post and no VHF watch on the beach. Accidents are handled by the fire service or the gendarmerie at Salin-de-Giraud or Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer; at sea the number is 196 or VHF channel 16. Phone coverage is patchy, and any vehicle needs 20-30 minutes on the track before it reaches tarmac, so plan on being your own first responder.

The schools that work the beach run their own safety boat during lessons, with the instructor following by boat and talking to students by radio at a maximum of four or five per instructor, and that cover ends when the lesson does.

Launch

Very large sandy beach with extensive rigging space, but kiting is officially directed to the La Comtesse sector to the right when arriving at Beauduc; central beach is assigned to bathing/boating uses and zones are buoyed when marked.

Hazards riders report 22 reported

Wind

Strong Mistral can reach around 40 kt.
A straight easterly blows offshore, and other directions can reportedly push riders out to sea.
A straight easterly blows offshore, and south-east is reportedly offshore too on the Comtesse sector.

Protected areas and rules

Protected dunes, lagoons, bird areas and shellfish/herbarium zones require strict respect.

Other

remote location with no lifeguard or rescue infrastructure nearby
rough dirt-track access with bollards limiting vehicle size
no facilities on site - bring water, food and a repair kit
Remote, with patchy phone coverage and slow emergency access.
Several kilometres of rough dirt/sand access track; vehicle width is limited by a regulator at the main access.
No water, electricity, toilets or shops on the beach; be autonomous for water and food.
Beach flooding/overwash can occur during strong south-westerly or high-water episodes.
Poles/stakes in the water are reported if riding far from the usual area.
Weever fish stings are reported.
Car break-ins are reported.
Mosquitoes are a nuisance in the marsh behind the beach.
Phone coverage is patchy and emergency vehicles are slow to arrive.
No water, electricity, toilets or shops on the beach; be fully autonomous for the day.
Beach flooding and overwash during strong south-westerly or high-water episodes; the water can cover the beach for several days.
Poles and stakes stick out of the water away from the usual riding area.
Weever fish stings are reported; soft booties do not stop the spine.
Mosquitoes are a real nuisance in the marsh behind the beach.
Several hundred kites can be on the water on a good summer day, sharing a launch area with parked cars.

Rules & access

1 min read

Launch zones

2026: kitesurfing is authorized only in the La Comtesse sector, to the right when arriving at Beauduc, subject to the posted regulations.

Beach access rules

Beach driving is prohibited except for public-service and professional authorized vehicles such as kite schools, and all motor vehicles must use the natural parking area. Motorized access is limited to vehicles under 2.08 m wide, with 2.10 m also published, so plan on the lower figure. Quads and motocross are banned under the Arles municipal order of 10 June 2021.

Camping and wildlife

Camping and caravaning are prohibited, and only a bivouac dismantled during the day is tolerated. Dogs must be leashed and fire restrictions apply. Pointe de Beauduc carries additional bird-protection limits from 1 April to 30 September under the biotope protection order of 30 September 2013.

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

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Check the current Arles and Parc Camargue access pages before you drive: the vehicle width limit is regulated and the published figure runs from 2.07 m to 2.10 m, so plan on the lowest.
Allow 20-30 minutes for the last 8 km of track, more in a low car, and do your shopping in Salin-de-Giraud because there is nothing at the beach.
Carry water, food, shade, a repair kit, first aid and a charged phone; coverage is patchy and any vehicle needs 20-30 minutes on the track before it reaches tarmac.
Rig in the La Comtesse sector, to the right as you arrive, and stay out of the central bathing area and the protected dune, lagoon or bird zones.
Treat a straight east as offshore unless a school on the beach confirms a plan for the day, and be as careful with a south-east.
Pack a 5-6 m alongside the usual quiver and arrive early on summer wind days: 40 kt Mistral episodes are normal here, and the parking fills.

Getting there

Airport

Marseille Provence or Montpellier: about 1 h 44 min from Marseille and 1 h 40 min from Montpellier by road.

Route

Drive to Salin-de-Giraud, then on towards Beauduc by the authorized communal access and the Belugue C130 route, and several kilometres of dirt and sand track through the salt-marsh. The Draille de Faraman route is closed. Track condition varies, and every vehicle has to park at the natural parking area by the beach.

Transfer

104 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Nothing on the beach: no facilities and no formal accommodation. Salin-de-Giraud has the hotels, the B&Bs, the restaurants, the supplies and the kite schools. Camping and caravaning on the beach are prohibited, and only a bivouac dismantled during the day is tolerated.

No-wind days

Camargue nature and birdwatching, cycling on flat routes, Salin-de-Giraud village/salt landscape, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Arles heritage sites, and nearby Piémanson/Plage Napoleon coast trips.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Beauduc?

The practical season runs April to October, with June-July often cited as peak, while the Mistral can blow strong year-round.

Is Beauduc suitable for beginners?

The huge shallow beach supports beginners, but remoteness, limited phone coverage and strong offshore-prone wind mean first-timers should use a school or ride conservatively.

What is the wind like at Beauduc?

Mistral, southeasterly and summer thermal winds all occur, with a useful range cited around 15-35 knots and Mistral gusts up to about 40 knots.

Are there rules or restricted zones at Beauduc?

Kitesurfing is authorized only in the La Comtesse sector, motorized access is width-limited, camping is prohibited, and bird-protection rules apply at Pointe de Beauduc from 1 April to 30 September.

What hazards are there at Beauduc?

Hazards include remote rescue access, a rough dirt-track drive, no on-site facilities, and straight easterly wind that guide sources describe as offshore.

The bigger pictureEverything about Camargue

Last updated: August 2026