Nearby Plage du Cavaou 20 km · Prado Beaches 24 km · Carteau 25 km · Pointe de la Gracieuse 30 km · Grande Plage de La Ciotat 45 km · Les Lecques 50 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
The Mistral is synoptic. It can be blowing at dawn and hold for several days on end, which is why it does not have an hour. The July-August thermal is the one on a clock, reportedly predictable enough to plan around, but no fill-in time has been published.
The wind
locals call it Mistral
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: The Mistral is synoptic. It can be blowing at dawn and hold for several days on end, which is why it does not have an hour. The July-August thermal is the one on a clock, reportedly predictable enough to plan around, but no fill-in time has been published.
Typical strength
No spot average has been published. What is documented is the strong end: a violent Mistral runs 30-40 kt and extreme episodes have been recorded past 50 kt with ultra-violent gusts. The July-August thermal is the moderate wind of the year. The figure repeated locally is 250 windy days.
Thermal or synoptic
thermal and synoptic
The quiver, in words
No spot-specific quiver guidance exists; these are indicative for a 75-85 kg rider, read off the wind ranges reported here. The July-August thermal is 11-12 m weather. A moderate Mistral day is a 9 m.Once it is into the thirties you are on 7 m or less, and on a 40 kt day the answer is 5 m or the beach.
Direction to shore
NW/N Mistral is onshore on the NW-facing beach; W is cross-shore; SE is offshore.
Dominant direction
W, NW and N are the working directions, with SW also rideable. SE and E are offshore and belong to riders who can be relied on to come back upwind.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season
- Jan, riders' month40
- Feb, riders' month39
- Mar, riders' month50
- Apr, riders' month48
- May, riders' month31
- Jun, riders' month33
- Jul, riders' month40
- Aug, riders' month37
- Sep, riders' month47
- Oct, riders' month39
- Nov, riders' month35
- Dec, riders' month39
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.
The model is wrong here
The model reads 50% of days at its best month, which does not sit with the season and the wind strength this record states. The figures are kept and drawn as hatching so no wind colour can be read off them, and the ringed months are the ones riders name.
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40% | 56% | 52% | 14.3 kt | NW | 15:00 | 7.5°C | 14.4°C | 62 |
| Feb | 39% | 47% | 42% | 12.7 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 9.5°C | 13.6°C | 57 |
| Mar | 50% | 69% | 63% | 15.9 kt | NW | 15:00 | 11.9°C | 13.9°C | 62 |
| Apr | 48% | 78% | 65% | 16.9 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 14.2°C | 14.6°C | 60 |
| May | 31% | 68% | 56% | 13.7 kt | S | 15:00 | 18.4°C | 17.2°C | 62 |
| Jun | 33% | 73% | 57% | 14.6 kt | S | 15:00 | 23.2°C | 21.2°C | 60 |
| Jul | 40% | 71% | 61% | 14.3 kt | S | 16:00 | 26.1°C | 22.8°C | 62 |
| Aug | 37% | 63% | 53% | 14.5 kt | S | 16:00 | 25.4°C | 23.3°C | 62 |
| Sep | 47% | 60% | 58% | 14.1 kt | S | 16:00 | 21°C | 22.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 39% | 55% | 52% | 13.2 kt | SSE | 15:00 | 18.8°C | 20.2°C | 62 |
| Nov | 35% | 55% | 52% | 13.4 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 12.6°C | 17.4°C | 60 |
| Dec | 39% | 52% | 47% | 14.3 kt | NNW | 14:00 | 8.9°C | 15°C | 62 |
riders' months
Riders and schools name these months. The model reads lower here, and both are shown rather than averaged.
Modelled from the operational forecast archive at 1.5–7 km (2023-2024), daylight hours only, not a ground station: it resolves thermal, lake and valley winds far better than coarse reanalysis but still tends to understate a strong local thermal. A windy day has at least three consecutive daylight hours at 12 knots or more. 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.
High-resolution weather model (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical forecast archive — best-match operational model (ICON-D2 / AROME / ICON-EU / GFS by region), not a ground station · 2023-2024
The water
Type
lagoon
Standing depth
Shallow a long way out on the Etang de Berre side, far enough that you can stand well beyond where a sea spot would drop away, which is what makes first sessions possible here. No survey depth has been published and there is no tide to change it.
Tides
Nothing to plan around. This is an enclosed salt lagoon; the water level moves with wind and weather rather than with a tide table.
Temperature
18-22°C summer · 9-11°C winter
Wetsuit
Shorty or light full suit in summer when windy; full winter wetsuit in winter.
Currents
No significant current has been documented on the Berre side. What moves you here is the wind, and in a southeasterly that means away from the beach.
Your level
The scene
What riders come here for
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
On your own
Room to launch: Narrow beach with about 40-50 parking spaces close to the launch; it fills fast on a windy weekend. The fallback is to park at the far end of the kite zone and walk the gear down.
Somewhere else
Plage du Cavaou, 20 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Launch from the regulated kite area on Plage du Jai, Avenue Henri Fabre, on the Etang de Berre side after the small bridge. The spit runs about 5 km long and 250 m wide, and riding is inside a zone marked by yellow buoys out to roughly 300 m.Taking off and landing from the water rather than off the narrow sand strip is what the regulars do.
Space
Narrow beach with about 40-50 parking spaces close to the launch; it fills fast on a windy weekend. The fallback is to park at the far end of the kite zone and walk the gear down.
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Get there early on a windy weekend: there are only about 40-50 parking spaces near the launch and they go fast.
- In July and August do not bother driving onto the spit without a resident, campsite or Kite13 sticker; camper vans are banned there by municipal order, and the rest of the year the parking along the spit is free.
- Cross the small bridge before you rig: the stretch before it, with the rocks and the houses, is a no-kite zone.
- Ride the Etang de Berre side only and keep out of the roped bathing zones.
- If you are learning, pick a moderate Mistral day or a July-August westerly thermal, and never go out in SE without a boat: it is offshore.
- Mind the tamarisk trees along parts of the strip when you walk the kite down to the water.
- Ride the Etang de Berre side only, stay inside the yellow buoys at about 300 m, and keep out of the roped bathing zones.
- Take off and land in the water rather than on the sand. The strip is narrow and the Mistral is unpredictable exactly when you are hooking in.
- If you are learning, use the inner sector to the southwest, pick a moderate Mistral day or a July-August thermal, and never go out in SE without a boat: it is offshore.
- If the near parking is full, park at the far end of the kite zone and walk in rather than circling.
Getting there
Airport
Aeroport Marseille Provence
Route
By car from Marseille, use the A7 toward Marseille Provence airport, then local roads toward Marignane and the route de la plage/avenue Henri Fabre. The spot is about 30 minutes west of Marseille and close to Marseille Provence airport.
Transfer
30 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Hotels around Marseille Provence airport and Marignane; there is a campsite right next to the spot in summer.
No-wind days
Marignane and Etang de Berre waterfront · Marseille · Martigues · Club nautique multiglisse activities including sailing, paddle and windsurf where available
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time?
The spot works all year, with Mistral blowing most often in winter and early spring and a westerly thermal in July and August.
Is it suitable for beginners?
Yes, the shallow lagoon suits learning, though beginners should avoid strong or gusty Mistral and the offshore southeast wind.
What is the wind like?
West, northwest and north are the main directions, with the Mistral capable of strong, gusty conditions and southeast wind blowing offshore.
Are there rules?
As of 2026, the spot is regulated with zones reserved for kitesurfers separate from bathing areas, and kiting is restricted to the Étang de Berre side.
Last updated: August 2026