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Le Vauclin · Atlantic (windward) coast, southeast Martinique

Pointe Faula

also known as La Pointe Faula, Le Vauclin, Pointe Faula Beach, Plage de la Pointe Faula

beginner-friendlyhigh crowds
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Pointe Faula has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

SeasonJan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Decthe months riders and schools nameHow windy15-25 knotstradeLaunchokaccess rules on record, belowWatermixed28.4°C in summer · 10 things riders flagLevelBeginner to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level sectionSchools1named at this spotFrom the airport30 minInternational Airport (FDF)

trade winds

14:00

Best riding is late morning through the early afternoon. The trade commonly softens after about 14:00, so on a marginal forecast get on the water early rather than waiting for a build that will not come.

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.

Pointe Faula is the main kitesurf and wing spot at Le Vauclin, on Martinique's southeast Atlantic coast. The riding area is a shallow warm lagoon behind a coral barrier reef: flat over the inner sandbanks, more technical out where the reef waves break.
Schools work on site and the lagoon is forgiving, which is why it is the best-known kite spot on the island. The wind is the easterly to northeasterly trade, with December to June the broad season and December-April or February-May the reliable core inside it. The launch is not open beach.
You share the Pointe with swimmers and other watersports, the bathing, buffer and navigation zones are marked, and palm trees stand close to the rigging area. In season and at weekends it fills up, and sargassum is a real trip-planning variable on this exposed Atlantic coast.
Foil and wing riders often need about 200 m offshore before there is enough water under the board.

The wind

locals call it Alizes / trade winds

Direction

beachwater
cross-onE to NE

Kite sizes

45678910111213141516

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

trade

fills in: Best riding is late morning through the early afternoon. The trade commonly softens after about 14:00, so on a marginal forecast get on the water early rather than waiting for a build that will not come.

Typical strength

15-25 knots in the trade-wind season. The nearest station (Le Vauclin) showed 15 kt from E in August 2026.

Regular trade-wind riding in season, but not wind every day; count on some calm or light-wind days.
December to June is the commonly cited trade-wind window, with December to April or February to May the more reliable stretches inside it. Wet and hurricane season risk rises from June to November, worst August to October.

Also on record

15

The quiver, in words

A 12 m is the workhorse for a 75-85 kg rider across the trade season, dropping to 9 m when the alizé pushes past 22 kt and going up to 14 m for the light spells. Wings sit around 5 m for the 12-14 kt sessions.

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

E to NE, with SE also reported as workable

Forecast

This week, from Windguru · full forecast

Month by month

  1. Jan, riders' month73
  2. Feb, riders' month73
  3. Mar, riders' month68
  4. Apr, riders' month72
  5. May, riders' month70
  6. Jun, riders' month81
  7. Jul87
  8. Aug51
  9. Sep23
  10. Oct37
  11. Nov61
  12. Dec, riders' month54

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Dec.

  1. 13Jan27°
  2. 12Feb27°
  3. 12Mar28°
  4. 12Apr28°
  5. 12May29°
  6. 13Jun29°
  7. 13Jul29°
  8. 11Aug30°
  9. 10Sep30°
  10. 10Oct30°
  11. 11Nov29°
  12. 11Dec28°

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

MonthForce 4+KnotsFromAirWater
Jan73%12.6 ktENE25.3°C27.3°C
Feb73%12.4 ktENE25.3°C27.1°C
Mar68%12.2 ktENE25.7°C27.5°C
Apr72%12 ktE26.4°C27.9°C
May70%12 ktE27.4°C28.6°C
Jun81%13.1 ktE27.5°C29.1°C
Jul87%13.2 ktENE27.3°C29.2°C
Aug51%11.2 ktENE27.5°C29.9°C
Sep23%9.5 ktE27.7°C30.4°C
Oct37%10.4 ktE27.6°C30.2°C
Nov61%11.4 ktE26.8°C29.2°C
Dec54%10.9 ktENE25.9°C28.3°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

mixed

Standing depth

Sandy fonds blancs where you can walk more than 400 m out from the beach, knee to waist deep over much of the school zone. Foil and wing riders need roughly 200 m offshore before there is enough water under the board. The mangrove edges are the exception: deeper, and with a wind shadow on top.

Tides

Tidal range of 20 to 40 cm, with no useful effect on the riding. Low water only leaves more sandbank to walk on.

Temperature

28.4°C summer · 27.2°C winter

Wetsuit

No wetsuit normally needed; shorts and a lycra work year-round.

Currents

A light set of about 0.6-0.9 kt runs WSW to WNW across the lagoon, broadly aligned with the trade wind, which keeps the surface smooth rather than stacked up. It is not a current that will take you anywhere you cannot walk back from inside the sandbank.

27–30°C water
The main riding area is a warm, shallow lagoon protected by reef: mostly flat, choppier as the wind builds, with small to medium reef waves in a zone near the barrier reef for experienced riders. The bottom over the lagoon and sandbank is sand.
Sargassum reaches Pointe Faula and the southeast Atlantic coast, so read the current bulletins before committing to a trip.

Your level

beginnerintermediateadvanced
The lagoon, the shallow water, the sandy bottom and the schools make this a place to learn and progress. Beginners still need care at the launch and in the exit channel: swimmers, other water users, beginners trying to get upwind, palm and coconut trees close to the launch, and a more technical outer reef and wave area that belongs to advanced riders.

The scene

What riders come here for

freeridefreestylelearningwingfoilkitefoilfamily beach dayswarm-water cruising
Martinique's busiest and best-known kite and wing spot, with schools on site and a friendly mixed-level scene; weekends and events fill it, and the beach also draws families and non-kiters.

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: ok

access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

No public rescue service and no permanent cover for independent riders. The schools put a safety boat on the water during their own lessons and that is the only boat cover on the spot; it is not there for you if you rigged alone.
Plan the session so that self-rescue and a walk back across the sandbank are always the fallback.

Launch

Rigging is mainly on grass and sand at Pointe Faula near the water. The grassy area is large, but the swimming area and the palm trees cut down what you can use; set up close to the water and take the marked channel out toward the main lagoon instead of crossing the bathing area.

Space

ok

Hazards riders report 10

  • Designated bathing area and buffer/no-navigation zones: do not kite or walk through them with a kite (signage posted in 2017).
  • Shared water with swimmers, windsurfers, wingfoilers, sailing craft, kayaks and other beach users.
  • Palm trees/coconut trees and wind shadow near the launch; launch close to the water rather than under the trees.
  • Short upwind exit from the launch/channel can be awkward, especially in light wind or around beginners.
  • Shallow coral/reef and reef waves outside the lagoon are for experienced riders only.
  • Mangrove areas can have wind shadow and deeper water where you may not stand.
  • Sargassum landings can make the beach or water unpleasant and may change quickly.
  • Wind can weaken after about 14:00; head back early if it drops.
  • Coral heads and seagrass beds sit close under the surface in the shallow band, so a fall on the outer sandbank is not always onto sand.
  • Jet ski base and boat traffic sharing the point.
Rules & access
2026: no municipal bylaw for Le Vauclin and no published buoyage plan could be found for Pointe Faula. What binds you is the signage and the buoys on the ground: reading left to right along the point, a bathing zone closed to kites, a buffer strip with no navigation, a zone for boats and then the kite zone, several hundred metres wide. Locally these are described as set by a prefectural decree, but no number or date for it is published anywhere. Read the beach and ask the school on site before you rig; do not walk a kite through the bathing zone even to get to the water.

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

Rider tips

  • Read the buoyage and the signs on site before launching; no current official regulation turned up in the 2026 searches.
  • Rig close to the water and away from the palm and coconut trees, for the wind shadow and for what sits over your head.
  • In light wind, walk upwind through the allowed areas and water-start there rather than fighting the short exit channel among beginners.
  • Stay out of the bathing zone completely, including walking through it with the kite in the air.
  • Bring medium and larger kites rather than a small-wind quiver, unless the forecast calls for stronger trades.
  • Check the sargassum bulletins before you book accommodation, and again each morning.
  • On foil or wing, plan on getting well offshore before you have the depth.
  • Ride the middle of the day. The trade tends to fade after about 14:00, and a late start on a marginal day is a wasted one.
  • You can walk more than 400 m out on the sandbank, so a long swim back is rarely the problem; coral and seagrass under a shallow fall are.

Getting there

Airport

Martinique Aime Cesaire International Airport (FDF), Le Lamentin

Route

Drive from the airport toward Le Vauclin, follow the signs to Pointe Faula, pass the port area and continue right to the parking. It is 24.2 km by road from FDF, and a bus via Le Lamentin/Le Vauclin takes about 1 h 6 min; with kite gear, take a car.

Transfer

30 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Accommodation exists directly around Pointe Faula/Le Vauclin, including Le Village de la Pointe and Salty Lodge partner accommodation a few hundred metres from the lagoon, plus apartments/villas in Le Vauclin; broader resort options are in Sainte-Luce, Le Francois and the south coast.

No-wind days

Windsurfing, wingfoil, sailing/UCPA activities, paddle, jet ski, restaurants at Pointe Faula, snorkeling and boat trips, hiking including Trace des Caps/Macabou area, surf day trips to Basse-Pointe or Anse Trabaud, and exploring Le Vauclin/Martinique's Atlantic and south-coast beaches.

Photos

Vue sur le Vauclin et la Pointe Faula
Olivier.jarfas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Pointe Faula?

December to June is the broad trade-wind season, with December-April or February-May often cited as the most reliable stretch; hurricane-season risk rises June-November.

Is Pointe Faula suitable for beginners?

Yes, the shallow lagoon with a sandy bottom and on-site schools suits lessons and progression, though beginners should watch for swimmers, other water users and the exit channel near the launch.

What is the wind like at Pointe Faula?

The easterly to northeasterly trade wind typically blows 15-25 knots in season, most often used with a 10-14 m kite, though calm or light-wind days do occur.

Are there kite schools at Pointe Faula?

Yes, several schools operate on site, including Airfly Ecole de Kite Martinique, Martinique Kiteschool, UCPA Martinique Le Vauclin and Blue Lagoon Kitesurf.

Are there rules at Pointe Faula?

Local 2017 signage describes a bathing zone forbidden to kites, a buffer no-navigation zone, and a marked navigation/exit channel for kiters; current regulation should be confirmed with the Le Vauclin commune and on-site signage.

Last updated: August 2026