Map › Guadeloupe › Grande Anse (Trois-Rivières)

Basse-Terre · Trois-Rivières, south coast of Basse-Terre · Trois-Rivieres

Grande Anse (Trois-Rivières)

also known as Plage de Grande Anse, Grande-Anse Trois-Rivieres

beginner-friendlyonshorelow crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

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

Nearby La Saline (Le Gosier) 36 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Decthe months riders and schools name How windyunder Typical strength, belowtrade, onshore Launchtightaccess rules on record, below Wateropen_ocean28°C in summer · 4 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section

Schoolsnone named here

From the airport40 minMaryse Conde Airport (PTP)

When it fills in

The trade wind is synoptic: it can blow through the day and overnight, so there is no single fill-in hour to wait for. Late morning through the afternoon is usually the steadiest stretch, when the sea breeze adds to it. Indicative, with no local measurement.

Grande Anse at Trois-Rivieres is a black volcanic sand beach on the south coast of Basse-Terre, looking across to Les Saintes and Dominica. This is open ocean, not a learner lagoon: chop, small waves, and a shorebreak that can turn heavy. The wind is the alizes, anywhere from NE round through SE, onshore, and the spot is tide independent.

January-July and December are the best months, with 12-25 kt the regional trade range and 11-12 m the usual kite. The launch is small, and the left side of the beach is where you want it, because bathers take the rest.

It is marked beginner through expert, but this stretch of Basse-Terre is thinly ridden and assumes you already know what you are doing. A biotope order has protected the beach for marine turtles since 1997, so keep off nesting ground. Currents and rollers make swimming here hazardous, which is worth thinking about before you ride downwind of the launch.

The wind

locals call it alizes

Direction

onshoreNE

Kite sizes

91011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

trade

fills in: The trade wind is synoptic: it can blow through the day and overnight, so there is no single fill-in hour to wait for. Late morning through the afternoon is usually the steadiest stretch, when the sea breeze adds to it. Indicative, with no local measurement.

Typical strength

12-25 for Guadeloupe trade-wind season in regional guidance; no spot-specific knot range published

Exposed to the trades. Steadiness at this particular beach is unconfirmed.

January-July and December are the best months here. The wider trade-wind kite season runs December-June, with January-March usually the most favorable, and late August-October is hurricane season.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic

The quiver, in words

11-12 m average for Guadeloupe trade-wind trips; no Grande Anse-specific quiver is confirmed.

Dominant direction

NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE

Forecast

Month by month

Jan, riders' month60
Feb, riders' month54
Mar, riders' month62
Apr, riders' month53
May, riders' month49
Jun, riders' month74
Jul, riders' month82
Aug51
Sep20
Oct31
Nov50
Dec, riders' month48

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Dec.

12Jan27°
11Feb27°
12Mar27°
11Apr28°
11May29°
12Jun29°
13Jul29°
11Aug30°
9Sep31°
10Oct30°
11Nov29°
10Dec28°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	60%	11.7 kt	ENE	24.5°C	27.4°C
Feb	54%	11.2 kt	ENE	24.4°C	26.9°C
Mar	62%	11.7 kt	ENE	24.8°C	27.3°C
Apr	53%	10.9 kt	ENE	25.4°C	27.8°C
May	49%	11 kt	E	26.7°C	28.7°C
Jun	74%	12.2 kt	ENE	27.1°C	29.2°C
Jul	82%	12.9 kt	ENE	26.8°C	29.4°C
Aug	51%	11 kt	ENE	27.1°C	29.9°C
Sep	20%	9.2 kt	ENE	27.5°C	30.5°C
Oct	31%	9.8 kt	ENE	27.3°C	30.4°C
Nov	50%	10.7 kt	ENE	26.3°C	29.3°C
Dec	48%	10.3 kt	ENE	25.1°C	28.2°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

open_ocean

Standing depth

Undocumented. Rollers and current work the shore right at the black sand, so do not plan on a standing area to walk out from or to sort a kite in.

Tides

Tide independent.

Temperature

28°C summer · 27°C winter

Wetsuit

Shorts all year, no wetsuit. The water sits around 27-28 C through the windy season.

Currents

Currents, shorebreak rollers and an agitated sea make swimming here hazardous.

27–31°C water

Chop and small waves off a black volcanic sand beach, clear water, surf that is sometimes powerful, and a view across to Les Saintes and Dominica.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Beginner, intermediate and expert on paper. The south coast of Basse-Terre is less frequented and aimed at an informed public, so a first-timer should ride here supervised until briefed locally.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridesmall wavessurf-style riding

local and less frequented than Grande-Terre kite beaches, with only a few riders who know the place.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: tight

access rules on record

Somewhere else

La Saline (Le Gosier), 36 km

La Saline (Le Gosier)

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 club, no kite school and no rescue boat on this beach, and no lifeguard post is documented. A sea emergency goes to the French coastguard like anywhere else in France: 196 from a phone, VHF channel 16. The organised kite operations are all on Grande-Terre, so on the south coast of Basse-Terre you are your own safety cover.

Launch

Small sandy launch on black volcanic sand, on a beach of about 1.5 km with free permanent access and parking off the road. Use the left side of the beach: bathers make the rest of it difficult. The Ravine Cimetiere runs out in the middle of the sand.

Space

tight

Rules & access

1997: a biotope order dated 30 June 1997 protects the beach as habitat for marine turtles to feed, breed and nest, so keep off marked or active nesting ground and off the dry sand at night.
2026: no kite-specific municipal or maritime rule for Grande Anse is on record.

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

Rider tips

Watch the shorebreak from the sand before you rig; it is bigger than it looks from the parking.
Launch from the left side of the beach when bathers are in the water.
Ask a local rider or a Guadeloupe school before you treat this as a beginner venue.
Keep off marked or active turtle nesting ground: the beach is under a 1997 biotope order.
Drive in on the N1 then the D6 near Maison du Planteur; a car is essential for kite trips here.

Getting there

Airport

Guadeloupe Maryse Conde Airport (PTP), Les Abymes

Route

About 46 km from Pointe-a-Pitre airport, roughly 40 minutes by road: the N1 south along the coast, then the D6 near the Maison du Planteur, with the beach a couple of minutes west of Trois-Rivieres town and visible from the road. A car is essential for kite travel in Guadeloupe; the bus network is no use with a board bag.

Transfer

40 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

General accommodation is available around Guadeloupe; no rider-specific lodging at Trois-Rivieres.

No-wind days

surfing at Grande Anse when waves allow · Les Saintes day trip · hiking on Basse-Terre · waterfalls · snorkeling

Photos

Plage sable noir - panoramio — seaurouannie, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Grande Anse suitable for beginners?

It is listed for all levels, but local guidance describes this stretch of Basse-Terre as less frequented and better suited to riders who already know what they are doing.

When is the best time to kite?

January through July and December, on NE through SE trade winds.

What hazards are there?

Shorebreak rollers, currents, bathers on the beach, and a protected sea-turtle nesting area.

Where should you launch?

The left side of the black-sand beach is recommended when bathers make the main launch area difficult.

Last updated: August 2026