MapRéunionSaint-Gilles / West CoastPointe au SelSaint-Gilles / West Coast

Pointe au Sel

Réunion · Headland north of L'Étang-Salé, west coast · Saint-Leu

also known as La Pointe au Sel, Pointe-au-Sel, Pointe de Bretagne

Part of Saint-Gilles / West Coast →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

wavesadvanced onlylow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

May–Nov

Months riders and schools name

How windy

20-25 knots

Character: mixed

Room to launch

tight

access rules on record, below

Water

waves

28 °C in summerFast hollow left-hand reef waves over very shallow, sharp reef

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Advanced only

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds

Schools

none named here

From the airport

60 min

Roland Garros Airport (RUN)

When it fills in

Mostly late afternoon when the trade wind reaches the leeward west coast; general Réunion wind pattern is calmer in the morning and stronger early afternoon.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Saint-Leu / La Gauche de Saint-Leu
Le Port de Saint-Leuno page yet
L'Étang-Saléno page yet
La Saline / Trou d'Eau

The spot

Pointe au Sel is a west-coast Réunion wave spot on the protected headland between Saint-Leu and L'Étang-Salé, and it is barely kited. There is no lagoon and no shelter: fast hollow left-hand waves breaking over very shallow, sharp reef, with large sets.

Conditions and access

It reportedly needs enough water on the reef and a wind southerly enough to come side-off at the break, which is why it works so rarely. Getting out can be the hard part, because there is often little wind near shore and the trade only reaches this leeward coast late in the afternoon. No road reaches the beach, so budget a 300-500 m carry with your gear.

Legal status

The real problem is legality: in 2025 a Saint-Leu municipal reminder put the site strictly off limits to bathing and nautical activities, and three people were fined after entering the water. Do not plan a trip around this spot. Check the municipal and marine-reserve status and ask riders who are on the coast now.

The wind

locals call it Alizés; southerly cold-front winds

Direction

cross-offwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

cross-off

Dominant direction

SE trades on the west coast, but the wave is reported to need wind blowing southerly enough for side-off conditions at the break.

Kite sizes

45678910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Local Réunion quiver guidance is 7-10 m as a core quiver, 5-14 m overall; 7 m is reported as the most-used size during May-November, while larger kites are more for December-April. Not spot-specific.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic

Typical strength

No measurement at the spot, so this is indicative and island-wide: models give 20-25 knots on a working trade-wind day, and the venturi between the reliefs can put 30-35 knots on exposed west-coast spots. Under the headland the shore itself is often much lighter than any of that. The nearest real reading is the Kelonia beacon, about 5 km north at Saint-Leu.

Regular enough when the trade wind reaches the spot, but the launch often has little wind, the shore is shadowed, and southerly cold-front sessions are more irregular and tied to swell.

May-November is the austral-winter trade-wind period with dominant SE alizes; December-April the SE flow weakens and a northwest flow takes over. Cold fronts through the winter bring south, SSW to SSE wind with more swell. This is the island pattern, not a monthly statistic for the point itself.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season

Jan6
Feb4
Mar2
Apr5
May, riders' month11
Jun, riders' month7
Jul, riders' month10
Aug, riders' month13
Sep, riders' month3
Oct, riders' month8
Nov, riders' month3
Dec0

windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)

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

Our wind model misses this spot's wind

The model puts wind on only 13% of days, even in its best month, which does not match the season and the wind strength riders and schools report here. That is why the bars are hatched instead of coloured: go by the ringed months, the ones riders name.

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.

Every figure, month by monthWindy days · Force 4+ · 12 kn or more · Knots · Wind from · Peaks at · Air · Water · Readings

Month	Windy days	Force 4+	12 kn or more	Knots	Wind from	Peaks at	Air	Water	Readings
Jan	6%	18%	11%	8.8 kt	SE	16:00	26.6 °C	28.4 °C	62
Feb	4%	19%	11%	7.8 kt	SSE	15:00	26.5 °C	28.6 °C	57
Mar	2%	11%	8%	7 kt	SE	14:00	26.4 °C	28.5 °C	62
Apr	5%	8%	8%	6.8 kt	SSE	13:00	25.6 °C	28 °C	60
May	11%	21%	13%	8.2 kt	SE	13:00	24.1 °C	27.3 °C	62
Jun	7%	15%	8%	7.7 kt	SE	13:00	22.1 °C	25.7 °C	60
Jul	10%	13%	13%	7.4 kt	SSE	14:00	21.4 °C	25 °C	62
Aug	13%	16%	16%	7.7 kt	SSE	14:00	21.7 °C	24.7 °C	62
Sep	3%	3%	3%	6.4 kt	SSE	13:00	22.4 °C	25.1 °C	60
Oct	8%	24%	13%	8.4 kt	SSE	13:00	23.4 °C	25.5 °C	62
Nov	3%	8%	3%	7.3 kt	SSE	13:00	24.4 °C	26.9 °C	60
Dec	0%	3%	2%	6.7 kt	SSE	14:00	25.6 °C	27.8 °C	62

About these figuresriders' months · 2023-2024

Riders and schools name these months. The model reads lower here, and both are shown rather than averaged.

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

waves

Standing depth

No standing-depth lagoon; this is an open-ocean reef wave spot.

Tides

Micro-tidal. Heights at Saint-Leu run between roughly 0.0 and 0.6 m, so there is barely half a metre of play across a spring cycle, and the wave still wants the upper part of it to cover the reef. Which exact part is undocumented.

Temperature

28 °C summer · 23 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 25–29 °C

Wetsuit

Warm water year-round; boardshorts/rash vest are generally enough, with an optional 1.5 mm top in winter or long sessions.

Conditions

Fast hollow left-hand reef waves over very shallow, sharp reef. No lagoon protection, and large sets are specifically flagged by local kite sources.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners herenot for intermediates here

Selective, and reserved for confirmed or experienced riders. It suits surfers who already know how to kite rather than kiters learning to surf.

The scene

What riders come here for

wave ridingexpert wave ridingstrapless wave riding

Rarely kited, so the kite crowd is low when it does work, but surfers and bodyboarders nearby can be numerous and local priority holds.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

No school names this spot

Nobody has been recorded teaching or running a boat here.

On your own

Room to launch: tight

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

6 spots nearby

All 6 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No dedicated kite rescue is on record, and the standing local rule is never to sail alone. In 2019 a kitesurfer in difficulty at Pointe au Sel was recovered by helicopter.

Launch

No road reaches the beach; expect a 300-500 m gear carry depending on the put-in. There can be little wind for getting out and no lagoon, so launch/return should be treated as expert-only and locally checked.

Hazards riders report 12 reported

Wind

cross-off or side-off wind at the break
little wind or wind shadow near shore

Bottom

very shallow reef
very shallow sharp reef

Waves and currents

requires precise tide and wind alignment
fast hollow left-hand waves with little margin for mistakes
surf and bodyboard users nearby; respect local priority and ask locals first

Protected areas and rules

no lagoon protection/open-ocean exposure
unclear or possibly prohibited nautical access under 2025 Saint-Leu municipal enforcement

Other

large sets
shark risk on open-water Réunion spots
long gear carry with no road to the beach

Rules & access

1 min read

Official prohibition

2025: a Saint-Leu municipal reminder stated that Pointe-au-Sel is strictly prohibited for bathing and nautical activities, and three people were fined after entering the water.

Local sources

Local kite association pages from 2022 through 2026 still list Pointe au Sel as a spot while requiring an autonomous confirmed-to-expert level, local advice, weather, tide and swell checks, and no solo riding. A 2021 marine-reserve kite leaflet identifies Pointe au Sel/BGR5 in the reserve context, and navigation inside the Réserve Marine Nationale de La Réunion is generally prohibited outside prefect-authorized zones.

Unconfirmed status

Spot-specific authorization for 2026 remains unconfirmed.

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

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Treat Pointe au Sel as a local expert wave option, not a holiday kite spot.
Verify the current Saint-Leu municipal and marine-reserve rules before you enter the water; in 2025 nautical activities were reported as prohibited at Pointe-au-Sel.
Line up tide, swell, wind direction and wind strength before committing. The spot needs the right tide and a southerly-enough wind.
Ask local riders before launching, and do not ride alone.
Bring footwear and the judgement to self-rescue over reef described as very shallow and sharp.
Plan for the 300-500 m gear carry. No vehicle reaches the beach.

Getting there

Airport

Réunion Roland Garros Airport (RUN)

Route

Drive or take the bus toward Saint-Leu, then use the Route des Plages/N1A between Saint-Leu and L'Étang-Salé. Access and parking near the protected Pointe au Sel site are signed, and the kitesurf put-in may still mean a 300-500 m gear carry.

Transfer

60 min

Staying

Base yourself in Saint-Leu or the west-coast towns. On the Conservatoire du Littoral land at Pointe au Sel, camping, bivouac, fires, littering and motor vehicles are all prohibited.

No-wind days

Musée du Sel · Pointe au Sel coastal walk · Bassin Caverne viewpoint · souffleurs/blowholes south of the point · Stella Matutina museum · Saint-Leu town

Photos

FAQ

Is Pointe au Sel suitable for beginners?

No, it is selective and reserved for confirmed or expert riders; one source says it suits only surfers who already know how to kite.

What are the main hazards?

Very shallow sharp reef, large sets, little wind or wind shadow near shore, and no lagoon protection, with shark risk typical of open-water Réunion spots.

Are there rules or access restrictions?

A 2025 report says Saint-Leu authorities fined visitors after a municipal reminder declared Pointe-au-Sel strictly prohibited for bathing and nautical activities; current status should be verified locally before going.

How do you get to the launch?

No road reaches the beach, so expect a 300-500 m gear carry, and there can be little wind for getting out because the trade wind mainly reaches this coast late in the afternoon.

The bigger pictureEverything about Saint-Gilles / West Coast

Last updated: August 2026