Map › France › Bretagne — Baie de Lancieux to Plage du Sillon › Plage du Sillon

Bretagne · Saint-Malo

Plage du Sillon

also known as Saint-Malo Le Sillon, Rochebonne, La Hoguette

advanced onlymedium crowds

On this page

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

Nearby Plage de Saint-Enogat 5 km · Plage de Longchamp 9 km · Baie de Lancieux 13 km · straight-line distance

Seasonno season namedthe months riders and schools name How windy9 knotssynoptic LaunchLarge at lower tide; limited or closed when the tide rises and beach depth is insufficient.access rules on record, below Waterocean18.5°C in summer · 10 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airport60 minRennes (RNS)

When it fills in

No daily thermal cycle here. The wind is synoptic and can be in at any hour, so the session window is set by the tide rather than the clock, and in summer the zone shuts once the water passes 7 m.

The Sillon is Saint-Malo's beach, 3 km of sand under the sea wall running out from the old town, and it is the only place in the commune where kiting is allowed.

Wind from W round to NE works; in the extreme directions you walk along the beach, toward Fort National or Plage du Pont, to get out of the disturbed air. Freeride and chop in front of the Surf School, more wave the further east you go toward Rochebonne. Everything depends on the tide.

At low water there is room for dozens of riders without a crossed line; on a rising tide the beach goes, and what is left is the historic breakwaters, the rocks and the wall.

From 1 July to 1 September launching and landing is confined to a 300 m technical zone between the Hotel Kyriad access and the access opposite avenue Fuentes, and it closes once the water height passes 7 m. Saint-Malo has come close to losing the spot over complaints, so the locals are strict about giving way to everyone else.

Full wetsuit all year; the water is around 18.5 C in summer and 8.6 C in winter.

The wind

Direction

onshoreW to NE

Character

synoptic

fills in: No daily thermal cycle here. The wind is synoptic and can be in at any hour, so the session window is set by the tide rather than the clock, and in summer the zone shuts once the water passes 7 m.

Typical strength

No station on the beach. The nearest one with published statistics, at the airport a few kilometres inland, averages 9 knots over the year with a mean gust of 22 knots and a west-dominant direction; indicative only, and an inland reading rather than what the sea wall gets.

Good whenever the tide leaves enough beach. The wind is cleaner toward Fort National or Plage du Pont, depending on direction.

Summer means the technical zone and the water-height closure. Nobody has published a best-months list for the beach.

Also on record

Direction to shore

North-facing beach, so the W to NE range comes in side to onshore. In the extreme directions riders move along the beach to get cleaner wind.

Forecast

Month by month

Jan72
Feb75
Mar78
Apr78
May75
Jun64
Jul73
Aug73
Sep72
Oct74
Nov81
Dec78

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

15Jan9°
15Feb9°
15Mar10°
15Apr12°
13May15°
13Jun18°
14Jul20°
14Aug20°
14Sep20°
15Oct17°
18Nov14°
17Dec11°

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

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	72%	15.2 kt	SW	7.3°C	9.2°C
Feb	75%	15.3 kt	WSW	8.6°C	9.1°C
Mar	78%	15.3 kt	SW	9.6°C	9.6°C
Apr	78%	14.9 kt	NE	10.9°C	11.6°C
May	75%	13.3 kt	NE	14°C	14.6°C
Jun	64%	12.8 kt	NW	16.8°C	17.9°C
Jul	73%	13.6 kt	NW	18.3°C	19.5°C
Aug	73%	13.6 kt	NW	19.1°C	20.2°C
Sep	72%	14.1 kt	E	17.5°C	19.5°C
Oct	74%	14.6 kt	S	15.3°C	17.1°C
Nov	81%	17.7 kt	SSW	11.6°C	13.5°C
Dec	78%	16.8 kt	SSW	8.7°C	10.7°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

ocean

Standing depth

Open beach, not a standing lagoon. Near shore it can be calm enough for first piloting; further out it is chop or waves depending on the tide.

Tides

Enormous range. On a big coefficient high water reaches roughly 12.2-12.7 m against a low of about 1.3-1.4 m, so the beach comes and goes inside a few hours.From 1 July to 1 September the practice zone is open only up to 7 m of water; above that it is closed, and at high water there is no beach left, only the sea wall, the breakwaters and the rocks they hide.

Temperature

18.5°C summer · 8.6°C winter

Wetsuit

Full wetsuit is normal year-round; summer water averages around 18.5 C and winter water around 8.6 C.

9–20°C water

Long urban sandy beach with freeride, chop and waves; waves are more likely toward Rochebonne from the Surf School area eastward.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Beginners do their first piloting here in calm water with the schools, but the breakwaters, the sea wall and high tide make it a dangerous beach to learn on alone. Intermediate and advanced for independent riding.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesfreerideurban sessionchop

Urban and in full view of the promenade. A Sunday with wind puts dozens of riders on the water, and everyone keeps their distance from the other beach users because complaints have already put the spot at risk before.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: Large at lower tide; limited or closed when the tide rises and beach depth is insufficient.

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Plage de Saint-Enogat, 5 km

Plage de Saint-Enogat Plage de Longchamp Baie de Lancieux

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

Rescue

The lifeguards mark out the summer technical zone while the beach is supervised; there is no kite rescue as such.

Launch

Local riders usually gather at the Surf School / Thermes Marins area. From 1 July to 1 September the municipal zone is the 300 m by 40 m technical area between the access opposite Hotel Kyriad, 45 chaussée du Sillon, and the access opposite avenue Fuentes, marked out with flags on 4 m poles and a transit channel through the 300 m band.

Space

Large at lower tide; limited or closed when the tide rises and beach depth is insufficient.

Rules & access

The 2015 municipal order, restated in 2021, allows kitesurfing in Saint-Malo only on the Grande Plage du Sillon inside a set practice zone. From 1 July to 1 September launch and landing must happen in the technical area between the beach-access stairs opposite the Hotel Kyriad, at 45 chaussée du Sillon, and the stairs opposite avenue Fuentes: 300 m wide and at least 40 m deep, marked with bright markers and flags on 4 m poles, with a transit channel out through the 300 m band.

Riding at the water's edge inside that technical area is not allowed, to keep the launch clear. The zone is open only up to 7 m of water height; above that, kiting on the Sillon is forbidden.

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

Rider tips

Check the tide height before you drive over: above 7 m of water the summer zone is closed and there is no beach anyway.
Do not launch near the breakwaters or under the sea wall at high tide; the rocks are hidden then.
Give way to everyone else on the sand and in the water, including the surfers and the land-yachts; kites are last in line here and complaints have put the spot at risk before.
In summer rig only inside the 300 m zone between the Hotel Kyriad access and the avenue Fuentes access, and use the marked transit channel to get out.
If the wind is coming in badly disturbed, walk toward Fort National or Plage du Pont rather than fighting it in front of the Surf School.
Sundays with wind put dozens of riders on the water; come on a weekday if you want space.
On a big coefficient high water passes 12 m, and the summer zone shuts above 7 m; work backwards from the tide table to find the hours you can actually ride.
Do not ride along the water's edge inside the technical area in summer; that strip is kept clear for launching and landing.

Getting there

Airport

Rennes (RNS) is the nearest regular airport option; Dinard-Pleurtuit-Saint-Malo is nearby but limited, and Nantes is also used for rail connections.

Route

Direct TGV from Paris to Saint-Malo. From Rennes it is about 45 minutes by road on the RD137, or 45 minutes to 1 hour on the TER.

Transfer

60 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Hotels and rentals in the old town and along the Sillon; Hotel Ar Iniz is on the beach itself.

No-wind days

Walk the Saint-Malo ramparts and Intra-Muros, visit the Grand Aquarium, take the Dinard ferry in season, or use the local surf/land-sailing schools.

Photos

Saint-Malo 20190529 14 — Georges Seguin (Okki), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Plage du Sillon suitable for beginners?

It is rated intermediate and above; breakwaters, the sea wall and high tide are flagged as potentially dangerous for beginners despite calmer water near shore.

What is the wind like at Plage du Sillon?

The useful range is west to northeast, and riders shift along the beach toward Fort National or Plage du Pont to find less disturbed wind at the extremes.

Are there rules or restricted zones at Plage du Sillon?

A municipal order restricts kitesurfing to a marked 300 m technical zone between 1 July and 1 September, with a transit channel through it, and the zone closes above 7 m water height.

What hazards should riders know at Plage du Sillon?

Historic breakwaters and stakes, rocks exposed at low tide, the sea wall, and a rising tide that can remove the launch are the main hazards.

Last updated: August 2026