Map › France › Bretagne — Isthme de Penthievre to Petite Mer de Gavres › Plage de Sainte-Barbe
Bretagne · Baie de Quiberon - Plouharnel · Morbihan · Plouharnel
Plage de Sainte-Barbe
also known as Le Mentor, Mane Guen, Plouharnel Sainte-Barbe, Sainte Barbe, Mané Guen
Nearby Plage de Kerhillio 2 km · Plage des Sables Blancs 3 km · Isthme de Penthievre 6 km · Grande Plage de Carnac 7 km · Petite Mer de Gavres 15 km · Plage de la Falaise 33 km · straight-line distance
On the clock
16:00 · 19:00
Weather-system dependent for most of the year. In summer the average day builds slowly from around midday and peaks late, roughly 16:00 to 19:00, with mornings from June to August the lightest hours; the west thermal is an afternoon and evening wind, not a lunchtime one.
The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.
The wind
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: Weather-system dependent for most of the year. In summer the average day builds slowly from around midday and peaks late, roughly 16:00 to 19:00, with mornings from June to August the lightest hours; the west thermal is an afternoon and evening wind, not a lunchtime one.
Typical strength
12-30+ knots across South Brittany regimes: anticyclonic E-NE 12-18 kt, summer W thermal 15-18 kt, and depression winds 15 to 30+ kt
The quiver, in words
Indicative sizing derived from the wind ranges recorded for the beach, not a local table: a 75-85 kg rider is on 12 m through the 12-18 kt anticyclonic E-NE and the summer west thermal, 9-10 m when a depression puts 20-25 kt on the sand, 7 m or smaller past 28 kt.Wave days are ridden on a directional, and the swell decides the session before the kite size does.
Direction to shore
The beach faces southwest. W and NW are the wave-kite directions; NE is offshore to side-off on this stretch and expert-only.
Dominant direction
S, SW, W, NW; N and SE also work
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan47
- Feb40
- Mar69
- Apr55
- May52
- Jun40
- Jul52
- Aug40
- Sep40
- Oct40
- Nov47
- Dec60
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
- 47%Jan10°
- 40%Feb10°
- 69%Mar11°
- 55%Apr13°
- 52%May16°
- 40%Jun18°
- 52%Jul18°
- 40%Aug19°
- 40%Sep18°
- 40%Oct17°
- 47%Nov14°
- 60%Dec11°
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 | 47% | 66% | 58% | 17.2 kt | SW | 14:00 | 7.3°C | 10.2°C | 62 |
| Feb | 40% | 65% | 54% | 14.5 kt | NE | 14:00 | 8.8°C | 10.1°C | 57 |
| Mar | 69% | 87% | 79% | 18.2 kt | SW | 15:00 | 9.9°C | 11°C | 62 |
| Apr | 55% | 70% | 67% | 15.4 kt | W | 15:00 | 11.2°C | 12.6°C | 60 |
| May | 52% | 84% | 76% | 14.1 kt | NNE | 16:00 | 14.7°C | 15.5°C | 62 |
| Jun | 40% | 73% | 65% | 13.2 kt | W | 17:00 | 17.8°C | 18°C | 60 |
| Jul | 52% | 68% | 65% | 14.2 kt | W | 17:00 | 18.6°C | 17.5°C | 62 |
| Aug | 40% | 71% | 55% | 13.6 kt | W | 16:00 | 19.3°C | 18.8°C | 62 |
| Sep | 40% | 68% | 55% | 14.2 kt | W | 15:00 | 17.3°C | 18.4°C | 60 |
| Oct | 40% | 56% | 55% | 14.9 kt | WSW | 14:00 | 15.2°C | 17°C | 62 |
| Nov | 47% | 62% | 57% | 17.6 kt | W | 14:00 | 11.9°C | 14°C | 60 |
| Dec | 60% | 74% | 69% | 16.8 kt | WNW | 14:00 | 8.8°C | 11.2°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
ocean
Standing depth
No depth profile has been measured here. The banks and the baine channels move with the swell, so shallow water over a bar at low tide can drop into a trough a few steps further out. Walk the stretch you plan to launch through and look at where the water is running back out before you count on standing anywhere.
Tides
Sainte-Barbe works at all tides. Next door at Mane Gwen/Mentor the beach steepens and gives a rebound at high tide.
Temperature
16-19°C summer · 9-11°C winter
Wetsuit
3/2 or shorty in summer, 4/3 in the shoulder seasons, 5/3 with booties in winter.
Currents
Baïnes and rip channels along the beach; no measured current data has been published for the spot.
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: large, but restricted to the marked kite zone in high season
Somewhere else
Plage de Kerhillio, 2 km
Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.
Rescue
VHF channel 16
Launch
Rig on the sand inside the signed kite zone when the high-season zoning is on: the Sainte-Barbe zone sits between posts 25 and 26, about 300 m to the right as you arrive on the beach.The sand is clear of rocks and obstacles, so what you read before launching is the swell and the position of the baines, not the beach itself.
Space
large, but restricted to the marked kite zone in high season
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- Arrive at the beach and walk about 300 m to the right: the kite zone is between posts 25 and 26 and it is the only legal launch from 1 April to 30 September.
- Read the swell before the wind. Above about 3 m the waves are for experienced wave riders only, whatever the knots on the forecast.
- Walk the beach and find the baïnes before you launch; keep your downwind line clear of them.
- Skip NE days here unless you are expert and have someone on the beach; that wind is offshore to side-off along Plouharnel.
- Bring a 4/3 in spring and autumn and a 5/3 with booties in winter; the water is 9-11 C then.
- From 4 July to 30 August 2026 the supervised bathing zone runs 13:00-19:00; ride mornings or evenings if you want the sand to yourself.
Getting there
Airport
Lorient Bretagne-Sud Airport or Nantes-Atlantique International Airport
Route
Drive from Plouharnel toward Erdeven and turn left at the Sainte-Barbe sign. From further away, the Baie de Quiberon is reached by the RN165 from Nantes; regional buses run under BreizhGo/MobiBreizh.
Transfer
95 min
Cost level
medium
Staying
Camping Kersily is the campsite for Sainte-Barbe; Plouharnel, Carnac and Quiberon have more campsites and the usual holiday lets.
No-wind days
Surf at Sainte-Barbe/Plouharnel, beach walks in the dune system, Carnac megaliths, Quiberon peninsula visits, cycling and shore activities.
FAQ
Is Plage de Sainte-Barbe suitable for beginners?
Levels are said to range from beginners to experts depending on conditions, but sources also warn about powerful waves and baïnes and rate it intermediate to expert, so independent beginners should avoid it in swell.
What is the wind like?
The beach works in N, NW, W, SW and SE wind, faces southwest, and is best known for wave riding in W and NW; a local wind table lists 224 days per year at Beaufort 4 or more.
Is the spot usable at all tides?
Yes; it is listed as an all-tide spot.
Are there rules or restricted zones?
A 2024 municipal order sets the high-season kite zone between posts 25 and 26 about 300 m from the beach entrance, with kitesurf outside dedicated zones required to stay more than 200 m from the waterline.
What are the main hazards?
Powerful waves that can reach about 3 m in strong swell, and occasional baïnes or rip channels.
Last updated: August 2026