Map › France › Bassin d'Arcachon › Le Porge Ocean
Nouvelle-Aquitaine · Medoc Atlantique, Gironde · Gironde · Le Porge
Le Porge Ocean
also known as Plage du Gressier, Le Porge Océan, Le Gressier
Nearby Lacanau Ocean 12 km · Lac de Lacanau - Lacanau-Ville 13 km · Claouey 17 km · Le Betey 20 km · Les Arbousiers (Arcachon) 26 km · La Hume (Gujan-Mestras) 29 km · Lachanau 32 km · Hourtin Port 33 km · La Salie (La Teste-de-Buch) 41 km · Port de l'Estey 47 km · Biscarrosse Plage Sud 50 km · Mayotte 51 km · Navarrosse 51 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
Warm-season thermal pattern can turn NW around midday and strengthen in the afternoon.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Warm-season thermal pattern can turn NW around midday and strengthen in the afternoon.
Typical strength
Regional thermals are often 8-15 knots; stronger depression winds are common from November to April and can exceed 50 knots.
Thermal or synoptic
thermal in warm season; synoptic depressions November-April
The quiver, in words
11-14 m light-wind kites for the summer thermal and 6-9 m for the stronger winter sessions, rider dependent; the sizing comes from Lacanau next door, not from Le Porge itself.
Direction to shore
For the west-facing beach, NW to N is described as side-on to side-shore and S to SW as side-shore.
Dominant direction
NW thermal and Atlantic west-sector winds; NW to N and S to SW are the useful sectors.
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan45
- Feb37
- Mar47
- Apr58
- May, riders' month52
- Jun, riders' month43
- Jul, riders' month52
- Aug, riders' month55
- Sep, riders' month33
- Oct44
- Nov52
- Dec44
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- 45%Jan12°
- 37%Feb12°
- 47%Mar12°
- 58%Apr14°
- 52%May16°
- 43%Jun20°
- 52%Jul21°
- 55%Aug22°
- 33%Sep21°
- 44%Oct20°
- 52%Nov16°
- 44%Dec13°
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+) · water °C below · season highlighted
| Month | Windy days | Force 4+ | 12 kn or more | Knots | From | Peaks at | Air | Water | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 45% | 63% | 55% | 16 kt | WNW | 13:00 | 7.5°C | 12.4°C | 62 |
| Feb | 37% | 54% | 49% | 15.1 kt | N | 13:00 | 9°C | 11.9°C | 57 |
| Mar | 47% | 73% | 68% | 16.8 kt | SSW | 13:00 | 11.2°C | 12.3°C | 62 |
| Apr | 58% | 77% | 73% | 16.4 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 12.9°C | 14.1°C | 60 |
| May | 52% | 85% | 77% | 15.4 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 16.5°C | 16.3°C | 62 |
| Jun | 43% | 80% | 67% | 14.1 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 20°C | 19.6°C | 60 |
| Jul | 52% | 77% | 68% | 13.8 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 21.4°C | 20.8°C | 62 |
| Aug | 55% | 81% | 74% | 15.2 kt | NNW | 16:00 | 22°C | 22.2°C | 62 |
| Sep | 33% | 72% | 57% | 14.3 kt | N | 15:00 | 19.1°C | 21.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 44% | 71% | 61% | 16.9 kt | SSW | 13:00 | 17.4°C | 19.7°C | 62 |
| Nov | 52% | 72% | 68% | 17.6 kt | W | 11:00 | 12.6°C | 15.9°C | 60 |
| Dec | 44% | 60% | 48% | 15.8 kt | W | 11:00 | 9.1°C | 13.2°C | 62 |
modelled
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.
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
sea
Standing depth
Partial: standable low-tide areas/channels are reported, but the spot is an exposed Atlantic beach.
Tides
Usable at both low and high tide; low tide opens flatter baïne and channel sections, high tide is choppier with waves. Tide state also decides the rip: the first three hours of the flood and the last three of the ebb are when the baïnes drain hardest.
Temperature
20.3°C summer · 11.9°C winter
Wetsuit
2 mm long-sleeve shorty or 3/2 mm spring wetsuit around the August peak if windy; thick full winter wetsuit in winter.
Currents
Real Atlantic current plus baïne rip channels, the same as Lacanau next door. The baïnes pull hardest through the first three hours of the rising tide and the last three of the falling tide, and the water inside them looks calm, which is the trap. If one takes you, do not swim against it.
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
5 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: Very large 13 km sandy beach, but summer bathing zones and surveillance rules restrict where kiters can pass and ride.
Somewhere else
Lacanau Ocean, 12 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
Launch
Launch on the wide sandy ocean beach outside the marked bathing zone, which sits between two blue flags with a buffer strip on each side. In season use the marked kite/funboard passage about 250-300 m south of the Gressier lifeguard post, then ride beyond the 300 m band.Showers, toilets, picnic tables, a bar and food service are at the beach entrance, with car and coach parking behind the dune.
Space
Very large 13 km sandy beach, but summer bathing zones and surveillance rules restrict where kiters can pass and ride.
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Check the surveillance dates and find the kite passage flags before you rig: in season it is the 50 m gap between 250 and 300 m south of the Gressier post, 5 knots through it, then beyond the 300 m band.
- Walk the beach at low tide and look at where the baïnes drain before you go out; the current on this coast is strong.
- In a north wind the dune shadows the beach; launch from the water rather than fighting the lull on the sand.
- Drop the kite and stay put the moment a rescue helicopter comes in, and wait until it has fully left; that is the municipal rule.
- Pack 11-14 m for the summer thermal and 6-9 m for winter; the sizing is the Lacanau twintip rule of thumb and it applies here.
- Bus 4210 runs from Bordeaux Saint-Jean to Le Porge Océan if you are without a car; otherwise budget about 50 minutes from Bordeaux-Mérignac.
- The post is staffed 13-30 June and 31 August-13 September 13:30-18:00 and 1 July-30 August 11:00-18:30 (2026); it answers on 05 56 26 58 56 while manned, and 112 the rest of the year.
- The bathing zone is the water between the two blue flags, with a buffer strip either side. Both are off limits to kites during surveillance hours.
- Time your session against the tide, not just the wind: the baïnes are worst on the first three hours of the flood and the last three of the ebb.
Getting there
Airport
Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport (BOD)
Route
By car from Bordeaux or Bordeaux-Mérignac through Le Porge village to Le Porge Océan and Plage du Gressier; regional bus 4210 runs from Bordeaux Saint-Jean to Le Porge Océan, and there is parking at the beach plus a cycle path from the village.
Transfer
50 min
Staying
Stay in Le Porge, Le Porge Océan seasonal accommodation, Lacanau or the northern Bassin/Cap-Ferret area.
No-wind days
Surf, bodyboard, stand-up paddle, cycling through the pine forest, beach walks and the Le Porge village market.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time?
May to September is the main thermal season, while stronger depression winds from November to April can exceed 50 knots.
Is it suitable for beginners?
No, the spot has the same constraints as Lacanau Ocean, with waves, shorebreak and current requiring a good level.
What is the wind like?
Northwest to north and south to southwest are the useful sectors, with warm-season thermals often turning northwest by midday.
Are there rules?
As of 2026, a roughly 50 m kite passage south of the Gressier lifeguard post is limited to 5 knots, and riders must otherwise stay 300 m beyond the bathing band during surveillance.
Last updated: August 2026