Map › France › Hyères - Presqu'île de Giens (L'Almanarre) › L'Ayguade - Le Mérou

Provence-Côte d'Azur · Var · Hyères

L'Ayguade - Le Mérou

also known as Plage du Mérou, Zone kite du Mérou, Ayguade, Plage de l'Ayguade

beginner-friendlyhigh crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

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

Nearby L'Almanarre 6 km · Plage de l'Argentière 7 km · Cabasson 12 km · Brutal Beach 30 km · straight-line distance

SeasonFeb, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Septhe months riders and schools name How windy22.2 knotssynoptic Launchmediumaccess rules on record, below Watersea22.8°C in summer · 15 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools7named at this spot From the airportno transfer time publishedToulon-Hyères Airport

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Le Mérou is the east-wind spot of Hyères, the fallback for the days Almanarre does not work. When the Marin blows from the E to SE, the east-facing beach at L'Ayguade gets side-shore to side-on wind and the water sits somewhere between flat and a formed chop, never real waves; in a NW Mistral, Almanarre is the better call.

The riding area is 250 m wide and buoyed, reached through a marked channel from the big beach parking at 1134 Boulevard Front de Mer, with a signposted rigging area behind the parking and trees downwind of it. The rules matter more here than the wind.

As of 2026 Hyères has two kite channels, Mérou and Almanarre, and they are the only legal way through the 300 m coastal band: no jumping or waiting inside the channel, buffer zones beside it closed to kites and swimmers alike, lines rolled up the moment you land.

Beginners cannot launch from the beach at all; as of 2026 they start from a school boat beyond 300 m. Best periods are February-April, June-July and September; spring is when the east wind shows up most.

There are rocks between L'Ayguade and Vieux Salins, and a beach marshal on the channels from 1 June to 31 August, or 15 June-15 September depending on which notice you read; unconfirmed which is current.

The wind

locals call it Marin / easterly; NW Mistral is common regionally but less preferred here

Direction

cross-on

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

synoptic

Typical strength

22.2 knots average, reportedly.

Hyères' east-wind/Marin zone and the fallback when Almanarre does not work. East days are reportedly flat and easy on some days and a formed E/SE chop on others.

Best periods are February-April, June-July and September. Spring often brings east wind, and the summer channel separates kite and bathing areas.

Also on record

22.2 knots, reportedly; methodology unknown.

The quiver, in words

Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, derived from the quoted east-wind averages rather than measured at the beach: around 9 m on a solid Marin near 20-25 knots, 11-12 m when it sits at 14-18, 7 m on the days it pushes past 28. Twin-tip sizes; foil riders go smaller.

Direction to shore

side-shore to side-on in east wind

Dominant direction

E to SE for the Mérou kite setup

Forecast

Month by month

Jan43
Feb, riders' month52
Mar, riders' month68
Apr, riders' month63
May35
Jun, riders' month51
Jul, riders' month63
Aug38
Sep, riders' month53
Oct48
Nov57
Dec45

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

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

12Jan14°
12Feb14°
14Mar14°
14Apr15°
11May18°
12Jun22°
12Jul25°
11Aug26°
12Sep24°
11Oct21°
12Nov17°
11Dec15°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	43%	11.5 kt	N	8.9°C	14.4°C
Feb	52%	11.7 kt	WNW	9.9°C	13.9°C
Mar	68%	14.1 kt	ENE	12°C	14.2°C
Apr	63%	13.7 kt	W	14.3°C	15.2°C
May	35%	10.7 kt	WSW	18.4°C	18.4°C
Jun	51%	12.1 kt	WSW	23.1°C	22.3°C
Jul	63%	12.1 kt	WSW	26.9°C	24.7°C
Aug	38%	11.1 kt	WSW	26.1°C	25.5°C
Sep	53%	12 kt	ENE	21.5°C	23.7°C
Oct	48%	11.2 kt	ENE	18.7°C	20.9°C
Nov	57%	12 kt	WNW	13.2°C	17.4°C
Dec	45%	10.7 kt	N	9.9°C	15.1°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

Reportedly standing depth at both high and low tide, with a sandy bottom that deepens gradually; the rules still send you out through the channel to beyond 300 m before you ride, so check on site.

Tides

Small Mediterranean tide range; the spot is listed as navigable at both high and low tide.

Temperature

22.8°C summer · 14.5°C winter

Wetsuit

Summer shorty or light neoprene depending on wind; winter full wetsuit.

14–26°C water

East-facing Mediterranean beach on the Hyères side between Port Saint-Pierre and Vieux Salins. Water is flat in east wind, though E/SE can create formed chop without significant waves.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Beginners only with a school: the 2026 Hyères rules require beginner kitesurfers to start from a boat beyond 300 m, booked through a kite school. Older descriptions of beginners launching straight off the beach no longer apply.

The scene

What riders come here for

freerideflat waterbackup to Almanarreeast-wind sessionslessons with school support

A municipal kite zone, run by the rulebook and policed hard in summer, with beach traffic to match; a local, practical spot rather than a pretty one.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

7 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: medium

access rules on record

Somewhere else

L'Almanarre, 6 km

L'Almanarre Plage de l'Argentière Cabasson

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

Rescue

VHF 16

A beach marshal covers the kite channels from 1 June to 31 August (2026); beyond that it is the nearest first-aid post, the firefighters, CROSSMED on 196 or VHF 16, and the police. No dedicated year-round kite rescue is on record.

Launch

Use the official Mérou kite zone and channel at/near 1134 Boulevard Front de Mer, L'Ayguade. The city has a dedicated Mérou kite channel and a signposted beach preparation area behind the large Mérou beach parking.

Space

medium

Hazards riders report 15

rocks between Ayguade and Vieux Salins
strict marked-channel rules
nearby swimming zone
lines must be rolled up on sand
Strict official kite channel and 300 m coastal-band rules
Navigation forbidden in the 300 m band outside kite channels under Hyères rules
Channel is for entering/leaving only; jumps and lingering in the channel are forbidden
Buffer zones beside channels are closed to kitesurfing and swimming
Lines must be rolled immediately after landing
Trees downwind of the preparation/launch area.
Rocks in some zones between L'Ayguade and Vieux Salins.
Very busy in summer.
Kitesurfing in the 300 m band is forbidden year-round outside the two marked zones, Mérou and Almanarre (2026 decree)
Rigging or leaving gear outside the signposted preparation area is itself an offence (2026 decree)
Motorised craft use the access channels along this stretch

Rules & access

2026, Hyeres municipal decree no. 2026-1420 (which replaced decree no. 1281 of 26 June 2026), Article 7: inside the 300 m coastal band, kitesurfing from the town's beaches is allowed only for departure and arrival, and only in the zones specially marked for it at Plage du Merou and Plage de l'Almanarre; outside those two zones kitesurfing in the 300 m band is forbidden all year.

Rigging or leaving gear outside the marked preparation areas is forbidden. The channels are for getting beyond 300 m and back, with no jumps and no lingering near shore; buffer zones beside them are closed to kites and to swimmers; priority goes to the rider leaving the beach over the one coming in; lines are rolled up as soon as you land.

Beginners must start from a boat beyond 300 m, arranged through a kite school. Motorised craft, windsurf, wingfoil and parawing leave and return perpendicular to the shore at 5 knots maximum. The 2026 buoyage plan draws the Merou corridor inside the 300 m band but prints no width and no coordinates.

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

Rider tips

Read the current Hyères balisage and the beach signs before you rig.
Use the Mérou channel to get out past 300 m and to come back, nothing else: no jumps, no waiting inside it.
Roll your lines the moment you land; it is in the city rules and it is enforced in summer.
Rig with an eye on the trees downwind of the preparation area.
Expect flat water on some east days and a formed E/SE chop on others; there are no real waves either way.
For a first lesson, book a Hyères school: since 2026 beginners must start from a boat beyond 300 m.
The 2026 buoyage plan shows the Mérou corridor but gives no width on paper, so take the buoys on the day as the boundary.
Rig only inside the signposted preparation area; leaving gear on the sand outside it is against the 2026 decree, not just bad manners.

Getting there

Airport

Toulon-Hyères Airport; Hyères is also reached by rail and by road on the A570.

Route

Drive to Boulevard Front de Mer / Plage du Mérou in L'Ayguade and park in the beach parking. Hyères has rail, regional buses, car rental and taxis, but with kite gear a car or the school's van is the practical choice.

Staying

Hyères, L'Ayguade, Les Salins, La Capte and the Presqu'île de Giens have hotels, campings, rentals and residences; no spot-specific lodging at the launch is listed.

No-wind days

Hyères old town, Port Saint-Pierre, Porquerolles and Port-Cros boat trips, Salins birdwatching, coastal cycling, paddle/SUP, diving and the beaches of L'Ayguade/La Capte.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Le Mérou?

February to April, June to July and September are cited as the best periods, with average wind around 22 knots on days it works.

Is Le Mérou suitable for beginners?

Under 2026 Hyères rules, beginner riders must depart from a boat beyond 300 m by contacting a kite school rather than launching independently from the beach.

What is the wind like?

The Mérou setup works with east to southeast Marin wind, described as side-shore to side-on, though sources disagree on whether this produces flat water or chop.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Under 2026 Hyères municipal rules, navigation is forbidden in the 300 m coastal band outside the Mérou and Almanarre kite channels, and lines must be rolled up immediately after landing.

Last updated: August 2026