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La Hume (Gujan-Mestras)

Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Bassin d'Arcachon · Gironde · Gujan-Mestras

also known as Plage de La Hume, Gujan-Mestras - Plage de La Hume

Part of Bassin d'Arcachon →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

lagoonbeginner-friendlyhigh 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

Apr–Sep

Months riders and schools name

How windy

10-25 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

lagoon

20–22 °C in summerFlat, sheltered Bassin d'Arcachon water with no ocean swell at the beach

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to intermediate

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

high crowds · busy Jul Aug

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Bordeaux-Merignac Airport (BOD)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

The summer thermal on the basin is an afternoon wind. No La Hume-specific onset time is confirmed.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Plage des Arbousiers (Arcachon)
La Salie Sud / La Salie (La Teste-de-Buch)
Le Betey (Andernos-les-Bains)
Bertic / Claouey
Truc Vert / Cap Ferret ocean beachno page yet
Sanguinet / Cazaux lake spotsno page yet

The spot

La Hume is the designated kitesurf beach on the south side of the Bassin d'Arcachon, at Gujan-Mestras beside Port de La Hume. It works because high water floods a wide, shallow, dead-flat bank, which is why the basin's schools teach here.

Tidal window

It also stops working: the usable window is roughly two to three hours around high water, and after that the flat drains into sand and mud you walk on.

Wind and hazards

The good sectors run W through N to NE, and the basin's annual average direction is WNW.

It is a beginner spot, not a harmless one. Stay inside the marked kite zone and away from the swimming area, the port channel, the wooden posts, the boats and the oyster structures.

Seasonal issues

In July and August you share the sand with lifeguarded swimming, families and several schools at once, so launch with your eyes open.

The other trap is autumn: the municipality has closed the spot for hunting in recent years, including 1 October to 20 November 2024, so check the current order before you book anything.

The wind

locals call it Atlantic westerlies plus Bassin d'Arcachon summer thermal sea breeze

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

WNW is the annual average across the Bassin d'Arcachon. The rideable sector is given as W through N to NE, and elsewhere as SW to NW; which of the two is right locally is unconfirmed.

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

No local quiver guidance is published. Read against the 10-25 kt band the schools teach in, a 75-85 kg rider is on roughly 12 m for 10-14 kt, 9-10 m for 15-20 kt and 7-8 m above 20 kt; unconfirmed against what local riders actually rig.Because the tide window is short and the water is flat and shallow, most people err one size up rather than down: sitting out a lull costs the session, not just a run.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

The Bassin d'Arcachon annual average is 6 kt, from observations between 2012-04-01 and 2024-02-29. La Hume itself has no station statistics, so read that figure as the basin rather than the spot.

Typical strength

Schools teach here in 10-25 kt. The basin's observation average is far lower, so treat that band as lesson conditions rather than a daily range.

Sheltered flat-water wind spot; local schools use it for teaching, but forecasts and usable tide window must align.

Practical riding runs spring to early autumn, with summer thermal support and Atlantic systems outside summer. The beach is also called kitesurfable year-round, which is true on paper and wrong every autumn, because municipal orders close or restrict the spot during the hunting period.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · the wind series here holds no strength figure

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

Measured at Arcachon / La Teste-de-Buch, ~4 km from the spot.

How this was measuredmeasured

The source named below holds no month-by-month figure for this place, so no season is drawn from it. The season is the one the spot record names.

Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

Arcachon / La Teste-de-Buch · Windfinder

The water

Type

lagoon

Standing depth

Yes, at the right tide. The sandbank carries standing-depth water for more than a kilometre out from the beach, which is exactly why the schools teach here. The same bank is dry or ankle-deep either side of the tide window, so depth is a function of the clock rather than of where you stand.

Tides

Strongly tide-dependent, and the published window varies: two hours either side of high water, two and a half hours either side, three hours either side, or simply from mid-tide to high water on both the flood and the ebb. A tidal height of about 2.5 m is given as the practical minimum for less experienced riders.Outside the window the flat drains and the bank becomes sand and mud you walk on.

Temperature

20–22 °C summer · 11–12 °C winter

Wetsuit

Shorty or 3/2 mm in summer if windy; 4/3 mm to 5/4 mm with boots/gloves for winter or early spring cold-water sessions.

Currents

Low inside the La Hume flat compared with the basin passes, but the basin is tidal and the port/boat channel must be treated as current/traffic water.

Conditions

Flat, sheltered Bassin d'Arcachon water with no ocean swell at the beach. Low tide exposes mud/sand flats and reduces usable water; the Bassin d'Arcachon has oyster parks, channels and extensive intertidal banks. Bottom is sand/mud with shells, so footwear can help.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for advanceds here

Best known as a beginner/progression spot because of shallow flat water, beach access and school use. Intermediates can freeride or practice flat-water skills. Advanced riders looking for waves, strong wind or big-air conditions usually need other Bassin/ocean spots.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreeridebeginner lessonslight-wind progressionfamily beach base

Who it suitsbeginner

Family beach and beginner-school scene: relaxed and accessible, but busy in high season with swimmers, paddlers, boats and multiple kite schools sharing a marked area.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

5 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

11 spots nearby

All 11 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

Two lifeguards watch the La Hume bathing area in July and August, 09:30-19:00; the beach post answers on 06 02 13 47 73. That cover is for swimmers, not for kiters.

There is no rescue boat and no club safety watch for independent riders: outside a paid lesson, assume self-rescue and a long walk back across the bank, and time your session so the tide is still carrying water when you come in.

Launch

Sandy beach beside Port de La Hume, reached from the parking area around Allee de l'Infante/La Hume beach. A dedicated kitesurf launch/landing zone, about 50 m wide per the 2020 municipal order, is located north of the supervised bathing area; an information board and buoyed/marked areas are in place in season.

Hazards riders report 13 reported

Wind

Wooden posts and the boat access channel by the port; do not cross the channel, and least of all in an east wind.
Easterly wind can make the channel/return more consequential because the beach is no longer a simple onshore return.
Wooden posts marking the boat access channel near the port; do not cross it, and least of all in an east wind.

Crowds and zones

Crowded lesson zone in peak season
Boat traffic entering and leaving Port de La Hume.
Crowded shared beach in July and August with swimmers, families, schools and other watersports.
No kite rescue: the July-August lifeguards cover the bathing zone only.

Bottom

Oyster farming areas and shellfish/shells in the wider Bassin d'Arcachon.

Waves and currents

Fast-changing tide exposing sandbanks and mudflats
Very limited tide window; outside the high-water window the flat dries into sand/mud banks.

Other

Oyster farming structures (parcs à huîtres) in parts of the basin
Hunting installations/tonnes to the right of the riding area and autumn hunting closures/restrictions.
Oyster farming structures (parcs a huitres) in parts of the basin

Rules & access

1 min read

Reserved zones

2026: each nautical activity at Gujan-Mestras, kitesurf included, has its own reserved zone, and a school zone on the right-hand side of the spot is marked out with buoys. An information board at the beach entrance sets out the navigation zone, the rules and the safety advice, and in season the buoyage is the reference.

Regulations

A 2026 municipal order on La Hume port traffic references ARR 2026.176.348.ED.AL of 11 May 2026 regulating nautical activities and bathing safety, and its full text is unconfirmed. 2020 municipal order No.2020.120.159.ED.AL article 7 created the La Hume zones, including a kite launch and landing strip about 50 m wide starting at least 30 m north of the supervised bathing limit, plus separate bathing, paddle, light-craft and boat-launch areas.

Hunting closures

Kiting closes each autumn for hunting: the 2023 order ran 7 October to 20 November 2023 and the 2024 order 1 October to 20 November 2024, and the closure runs roughly 1 October to 20 November every year with the exact dates set by that year's order. No 2025 or 2026 hunting order has surfaced.

How to ride

In season, enter and leave by the navigation channel and stay out of the bathing zone and the boat channel.

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

Read the Arcachon tide table before the forecast. Without water on the bank there is no session, whatever the wind does.
In July and August get there early; the beach, the parking and the marked water are shared with everyone else.
Do not cross the port access channel, and least of all in an east wind. The wooden posts mark it.
Bring booties: the bottom is sand and mud with shells, and you will end up walking on it.
Read the information board at the beach entrance before rigging, because the buoyed zones move between seasons.
Before any autumn session, check the municipal site for the current hunting-period order.

Getting there

Airport

Bordeaux-Merignac Airport (BOD)

Route

By car, the A63/A660 from Bordeaux toward Gujan-Mestras/La Hume. By train, La Hume has its own station on the Bordeaux Saint-Jean to Arcachon TER line, inside Gujan-Mestras, with direct services of about 44-52 minutes depending on the train.

Transfer

About 40-60 minutes by road from Bordeaux Airport depending on traffic; by public transport, airport bus/tram connection plus TER is roughly around 1 hour or more depending on connection.

Cost level

medium

Staying

Hotels, campsites, holiday homes, furnished rentals and B&Bs around Gujan-Mestras, some campsites sitting on the coastal path near La Hume beach, and chain hotels around Gujan-Mestras and La Teste.

No-wind days

Beach day at La Hume, stand-up paddle from spring, summer sea-kayak trips, boat trips from Port de La Hume, the seven oyster ports and Maison de l'Huitre, cycling around the Bassin, Dune du Pilat from Arcachon/La Teste, Kid Parc/Aqualand/La Coccinelle, and Arcachon town.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at La Hume?

April to September is the practical riding season, but sessions depend on a usable tide window of roughly two to three hours around high water.

Is La Hume suitable for beginners?

Yes, it is a well-known progression spot with over a kilometre of shallow, standing-depth water over the sandbank at the right tide, used by several schools.

What is the wind like?

Local sectors run from west through north to northeast, with 10-25 knots cited for lesson conditions on the Bassin d'Arcachon.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

A 2020 municipal order sets a dedicated kite launch and landing zone about 50 m wide north of the supervised bathing area, and hunting-period closures have been issued in recent Octobers-Novembers.

What hazards should I know about?

The tide exposes sand and mud banks quickly outside the high-water window, and riders should avoid crossing the boat channel near the port, especially in east wind.

The bigger pictureEverything about Bassin d'Arcachon

Last updated: August 2026