Map › France › La Tranche-sur-Mer (Vendée) › Le Veillon

Pays de la Loire · Vendée - Talmont-Saint-Hilaire · Vendée · Talmont-Saint-Hilaire

Le Veillon

also known as Plage du Veillon, Estuaire du Payre, Veillon - Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, Lagon du Payre

lagoonbeginner-friendlyhigh crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

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

Nearby La Tranche-sur-Mer 20 km · Bretignolles-sur-Mer - Plage des Dunes 2 23 km · Banc du Bucheron 27 km · La Faute-sur-Mer - Pointe d'Arcay 35 km · Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie - Grande Plage 35 km · Rivedoux Plage Nord 44 km · Aytre Plage 54 km · Plage de Plaisance 56 km · Plage de la Gautrelle 57 km · Chatelaillon-Plage 60 km · Boyardville 61 km · straight-line distance

SeasonApr to Octthe months riders and schools name How windy15-25mixed Launchwide ocean beach launch, but reduced in summer at low tide when the SNSM bathing zone overlaps the kite area; estuary side is smaller and shared with lessonsaccess rules on record, below Waterlagoon / ocean beach20°C in summer · 11 things riders flag LevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools1named at this spot From the airport75 minNantes Atlantique Airport (NTE)

When it fills in

Midday and afternoon wind; no fixed onset hour confirmed.

Le Veillon is two spots on one beach. The ocean side of Plage du Veillon, facing SSW near Talmont-Saint-Hilaire in the Vendee, has waves and a big sandy launch and takes SE through S and SW to W, onshore or side-onshore.

Behind it the Payre estuary fills at high tide into a flat, shallow lagoon where you can stand on the sandbanks almost everywhere; W to SW is the direction for it, and it is small. That is the catch nobody mentions: the lagoon works around high tide only, and at low water the estuary side is not the same spot.

NW comes side-off and gusty under the dune, so pick another day. Ocean Players teaches kite and wingfoil from the beach and moves its lessons around with the wind, the waves and the tide. The Payre mouth runs a real current, the sandbanks move, and there is a rock zone whose current position is unconfirmed.

April to October is the season, though the spot is open all year; in July and August at low tide the SNSM bathing zone can swallow the kite zone; bathers and the surf school have priority and you launch at the far end of the beach.

The wind

Direction

wind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: Midday and afternoon wind; no fixed onset hour confirmed.

Typical strength

15-25

Versatile but tide-sensitive: flat lagoon progression at high tide, wave riding on the ocean side, and stronger safety demands near the Payre current.

April-October is the season and the spot is open all year. Ocean Players runs its lessons on weather-picked slots and shifts between the ocean side and the estuary depending on the wind, the swell and the tide.

The quiver, in words

Sizing for 75-85 kg, extrapolated from a 75 kg reference rather than a local table: 11-12 m at 13-16 kts, 10 m at 17-20, 9 m at 20-23, 7-8 m from 24 up. The spot's usual band is 15-25 kts, so a 9 and a 12 cover almost every day.The estuary lagoon is flat and carries a bigger kite comfortably; on the ocean side, in the waves and on a strapless board, take about a metre less.

Direction to shore

The beach faces SSW. Anything from SE round through S and SW to W comes in onshore to side-onshore on the ocean side; NW is side-offshore to offshore and gusty under the dune.

Dominant direction

SE through S and SW to W come in onshore to side-onshore on the ocean side; W to SW is the direction for the estuary lagoon around high tide; NW is side-offshore, gusty under the dune, and not one to plan around.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan53
Feb52
Mar67
Apr, riders' month53
May, riders' month61
Jun, riders' month51
Jul, riders' month59
Aug, riders' month41
Sep, riders' month51
Oct, riders' month61
Nov66
Dec70

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.

13Jan10°
13Feb10°
14Mar11°
13Apr13°
12May16°
11Jun19°
12Jul19°
11Aug21°
12Sep20°
13Oct18°
15Nov14°
14Dec11°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	53%	13.2 kt	WSW	6.9°C	10°C
Feb	52%	13 kt	WNW	8.4°C	9.7°C
Mar	67%	14 kt	WSW	10°C	10.7°C
Apr	53%	12.8 kt	NW	11.7°C	13°C
May	61%	11.9 kt	NE	15.7°C	15.9°C
Jun	51%	11.1 kt	NW	19.2°C	19.1°C
Jul	59%	11.5 kt	WNW	20.1°C	18.9°C
Aug	41%	10.9 kt	NW	20.8°C	20.5°C
Sep	51%	11.9 kt	WSW	18.1°C	20°C
Oct	61%	13.2 kt	SW	16.2°C	18.4°C
Nov	66%	15.4 kt	W	11.9°C	14.4°C
Dec	70%	14 kt	ENE	8.4°C	11°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

lagoon / ocean beach

Standing depth

You can stand on the Payre sandbanks and pools almost everywhere, sheltered from the waves; the estuary side is shallow except in the channels, and it is not a big area.

Tides

The estuary lagoon works around high tide only. The ocean side is a separate spot and is not tide-limited in the same way, though summer low tide leaves less room on the sand.

Temperature

20°C summer · 9°C winter

Wetsuit

Use a full suit most of the year; summer commonly suits 3/2 mm or a shorty on warm days, while winter requires a thick full suit with boots/gloves.

Currents

Current at the Payre mouth and tidal flow between the ocean and estuary sides are reported hazards; no measured current speed was found.

10–21°C water

Two-sided spot at Plage du Veillon: ocean side with waves and a large sandy launch, and Payre estuary side with flat shallow water around high tide.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced

Beginners do fine in the high-tide lagoon with Ocean Players. Ridden independently it is an intermediate spot: waves on the ocean side, the Payre current, sandbanks that move, not much room in the estuary and a crowded beach in summer.

The scene

What riders come here for

learningfreeridewaveswingfoilsurf

Popular multi-use beach and school spot; freeriders should be careful around lessons, surfers and summer bathers.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

1 school names this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: wide ocean beach launch, but reduced in summer at low tide when the SNSM bathing zone overlaps the kite area; estuary side is smaller and shared with lessons

access rules on record

Somewhere else

La Tranche-sur-Mer, 20 km

La Tranche-sur-Mer Bretignolles-sur-Mer - Plage des Dunes 2 Banc du Bucheron

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

Rescue

VHF channel 16

The beach post is staffed from 8 May to 27 September 2026, weekends only in May and September and every day from 13 June to 13 September, 12:00 to 19:00; a new post building opened in June 2026. It covers the flagged bathing zone on the ocean side and not the kite area or the estuary, so outside those hours and outside that zone you are on your own.

For an incident on the water the number is 196, free and round the clock from any French phone, or VHF channel 16 with a radio. The school runs boat sessions out of Jard-sur-Mer and Port Bourgenay for its own clients.

Launch

Walk 5-10 minutes past the bathing area to the kite zone. The ocean side has a large setup and launch area; the estuary side has a smaller flat zone that the school uses around high tide.

Space

wide ocean beach launch, but reduced in summer at low tide when the SNSM bathing zone overlaps the kite area; estuary side is smaller and shared with lessons

Hazards riders report 11

tide-dependent lagoon
estuary current
shared surf and beach use
Payre estuary current, especially with tidal flow.
Shallow sandbanks and channels on the estuary side.
Sand that moves and a rock zone whose position shifts with it.
Ocean-side waves and shorebreak.
Summer bathing zone, surf school and beach users.
Reduced kite space in summer at low tide.
NW wind is offshore to side-offshore and gusty under the dune.
The rock zone sits downwind of the kite area, uncovered by sand movement, and more rock appeared after recent storms; nobody has mapped where it is now.

Rules & access

2026: the spot is open all year and no kitesurf-specific municipal order for Plage du Veillon has surfaced online. The lifeguard post runs 8 May-27 September 2026, weekends only in May and September and daily from 13 June to 13 September, 12:00 to 19:00. While the flags are up, the bathing zone at low tide can spread over the kite area and shrink it; bathers and the surf school have priority, and you launch from the far end of the beach only, past the bathing area, after a 5-10 minute walk.

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

Rider tips

Ride the estuary around high tide only; at low water the Payre side is sand and channels, not a lagoon.
Park on Avenue de la Plage on the north side, then walk 5-10 minutes past the bathing area before you rig.
Use W to SW for the flattest water in the estuary; in NW the wind comes over the dune side-off and gusty, so leave it.
Keep clear of the Ocean Players lesson area; at high tide the flat zone is small and the lessons were there first.
Walk the sandbanks and look for the rock patch before you ride the estuary; the sand shifts and nobody has pinned down where the rocks sit this year.
In July and August at low tide expect the SNSM bathing zone to overlap the kite area; bathers and the surf school have priority and you launch at the end of the beach.
Bring a full suit most of the year: the water is about 20 C in summer and 9 C in winter; add boots and gloves once it turns cold.

Getting there

Airport

Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE)

Route

Drive to Talmont-Saint-Hilaire / Port Bourgenay, park by Avenue de la Plage on the north side and walk past the bathing zone to the kite area. About 30 minutes from Les Sables-d'Olonne or La Roche-sur-Yon, about 1h15 from Nantes.

Transfer

75 min

Staying

Stay around Talmont-Saint-Hilaire, Port Bourgenay, Les Sables-d'Olonne, Jard-sur-Mer or the wider Vendee Grand Littoral holiday area.

No-wind days

Surf/bodyboard lessons, SUP/kayak, catamaran and sailing with Ocean Players, coastal walks around the Payre estuary, Port Bourgenay, Les Sables-d'Olonne, cycling and beach activities.

Photos

Mobeye-ÉtéDesVilles-Talmont-Saint-Hilaire-787 — Chris, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time?

April to October is the best-documented season, though the spot is listed as open year-round depending on conditions.

Is it suitable for beginners?

The high-tide estuary lagoon suits beginner lessons with Ocean Players, while the open ocean side is rated intermediate because of waves and current.

What is the wind like?

West to southwest gives the flattest estuary setup, while southeast through southwest is onshore to side-onshore on the ocean side.

What are the main hazards?

Current at the Payre estuary mouth, shifting sandbanks and channels, and summer bathing zones that can overlap the kite area at low tide.

Last updated: August 2026