Nearby Palm Beach Cannes 30 km · straight-line distance
When it fills in
The Ponant gets up in the early afternoon and drops in the evening. East-sector and Mistral wind is weather-system driven and keeps no daily schedule.
The wind
locals call it Ponant; Mistral
Direction
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
Character
mixed
fills in: The Ponant gets up in the early afternoon and drops in the evening. East-sector and Mistral wind is weather-system driven and keeps no daily schedule.
Typical strength
South Ponant thermal around 10-20 kt is the figure that recurs; 12-15 kt and 12-25 kt are also quoted for the same wind. East-sector days are a different animal at 25-40 kt, and the offshore Mistral runs 25-45 kt.
Thermal or synoptic
thermal and synoptic
The quiver, in words
Indicative for a 75-85 kg rider: 12-15 m for the summer Ponant at 10-20 kt, dropping to 9-10 m if it settles at the top of that, and 7 m or less on an east-sector day at 25-40 kt. Nobody rides the Mistral here, so the smallest kite in the bag mostly stays in it.
Direction to shore
The south Ponant is side-onshore and lines up with the summer channel, which is why the channel points where it does. The east sector, NE through SE, is fully onshore and comes with waves and shore break; from the beach it takes four to six tacks to reach the 300 m line.Anything from NW round to SW is the Mistral: fully offshore, gusty, and not ridden here.
Dominant direction
S for the summer thermal Ponant; NE through SE for the wave days; NW round to SW for the offshore Mistral
Forecast
Month by month
- Jan23
- Feb19
- Mar42
- Apr, riders' month40
- May, riders' month16
- Jun, riders' month20
- Jul, riders' month18
- Aug, riders' month21
- Sep, riders' month28
- Oct29
- Nov35
- Dec31
windy days per month (3 h+ at 12 kn+)
Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
- 23%Jan15°
- 19%Feb14°
- 42%Mar14°
- 40%Apr15°
- 16%May19°
- 20%Jun23°
- 18%Jul26°
- 21%Aug27°
- 28%Sep24°
- 29%Oct21°
- 35%Nov18°
- 31%Dec16°
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 | 23% | 47% | 40% | 12.2 kt | WNW | 11:00 | 7.9°C | 14.8°C | 62 |
| Feb | 19% | 26% | 25% | 11.2 kt | E | 13:00 | 9.2°C | 14.2°C | 57 |
| Mar | 42% | 60% | 55% | 14.1 kt | WNW | 15:00 | 11.5°C | 14.2°C | 62 |
| Apr | 40% | 68% | 62% | 14.1 kt | WNW | 15:00 | 13.8°C | 15.4°C | 60 |
| May | 16% | 40% | 35% | 11.2 kt | E | 14:00 | 17.8°C | 18.6°C | 62 |
| Jun | 20% | 50% | 40% | 11.9 kt | E | 14:00 | 22.5°C | 22.6°C | 60 |
| Jul | 18% | 58% | 45% | 12.1 kt | S | 16:00 | 26°C | 25.7°C | 62 |
| Aug | 21% | 37% | 27% | 11.1 kt | SSE | 15:00 | 25.7°C | 26.8°C | 62 |
| Sep | 28% | 48% | 38% | 12 kt | E | 14:00 | 21°C | 24.1°C | 60 |
| Oct | 29% | 53% | 50% | 12.6 kt | E | 15:00 | 18.3°C | 21.2°C | 62 |
| Nov | 35% | 52% | 52% | 12.2 kt | W | 12:00 | 12.6°C | 18.2°C | 60 |
| Dec | 31% | 42% | 42% | 12.4 kt | NW | 10:00 | 9.2°C | 16.1°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
sea
Standing depth
A protected, gently shelving shallow launch sits between two rock groynes, shallow enough to start a lesson in and to walk a kite out. It is tide-independent, so the band does not move through the day. What does move it is the Argens: after a flood the sandbanks in front of the channel are not where they were last season.
Tides
Mediterranean, effectively tideless. Neither the launch nor the channel depends on the state of the tide.
Temperature
23°C summer · 13°C winter
Wetsuit
Shorts or shorty from about May to October; full winter wetsuit in winter, especially after Mistral cooling.
Currents
No general sea current to speak of, but there is current near the Argens mouth and the buoy lines in a Ponant, and the beach changes shape after river floods.
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
2 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: Medium to large sandy launch depending on season, Argens river shape and beach crowding.
Somewhere else
Palm Beach Cannes, 30 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
In summer, rig and launch at Plage du Pacha on the north side of Saint-Aygulf at the Argens mouth, about a 10 minute walk from the Base Nature parking or reached by the cycle path near the Reyran bridge.The buoyed channel takes you out past 300 m; the buffer zones either side of it are closed to riders and swimmers alike. Once the bathing buoys come out the spot widens to the stretch between the last dike and Bambusa.
Space
Medium to large sandy launch depending on season, Argens river shape and beach crowding.
Rules & access
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Rider tips
- In summer launch only inside the Plage du Pacha channel from the Base Nature side, ride straight out past the 300 m line and never cut across the swimming area; launching outside the channel gets enforced.
- Blue sky with a W/NW Mistral means offshore and gusty: stay on the beach even if the water looks flat.
- In an easterly go out only if you can hold upwind through real shorebreak; it is a wave day, not a learning day.
- Look at the Argens mouth before you rig: river floods reshape the sandbanks, the buoy lines sit close to the channel and there is current near them in a Ponant.
- Park at Base Nature; the summer spot is about a 10 minute walk from the parking.
- Outside the buoyed bathing season the spot moves to Saint-Aygulf, between the last dike and Bambusa, with far more room.
- Blue sky with a Mistral means offshore and gusty: stay on the beach even if the water looks flat. The sector runs NW right round to SW.
- In an easterly go out only if you can hold upwind through real shorebreak; it is a wave day, not a learning day, and it takes four to six tacks to clear 300 m.
- Park at Base Nature; the summer spot is about a 10 minute walk from the parking. Beach parking is free October to May and full in July and August.
- The Ponant is a 12-15 m wind for most people. Small kites are for the east-sector days, not for the Mistral you should be sitting out.
- Offshore trouble in France is 196 by phone, VHF 16 by radio.
Getting there
Airport
Nice Cote d'Azur (NCE), 60 km / about 50 minutes by car.
Route
Nice Cote d'Azur is 60 km, about 50 minutes by car. TER trains and buses reach Frejus and Saint-Raphael, with a local hop to Saint-Aygulf and Base Nature from there. Park at Base Nature: the summer spot is a 10 minute walk, or take the cycle path near the Reyran bridge.Beach parking is free from October to May and hard to find in the warm months.
Transfer
50 min
Cost level
medium-high
Staying
Frejus, Saint-Aygulf and Saint-Raphael offer Riviera hotels, campsites, holiday rentals and beach-resort accommodation.
No-wind days
Base Nature Francois Leotard · Frejus and Saint-Raphael beaches · cycling and skating at Base Nature · Port Frejus · Esterel coast trips
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kite at Saint-Aygulf?
April through September is the main season, using the summer Plage du Pacha channel; outside the bathing season the spot shifts to a broader winter area at Saint-Aygulf itself.
Is Saint-Aygulf suitable for beginners?
Yes, all levels are supported in good south thermal conditions within the official zone, though east wind's shorebreak and the offshore Mistral are not beginner conditions.
What is the wind like at Saint-Aygulf?
The south thermal Ponant is the best-quality summer wind, side-onshore and building in early afternoon at 12-25 knots; west-northwest Mistral is offshore and considered impracticable here.
Are there rules or restricted zones at Saint-Aygulf?
In 2024 the summer zone was at Plage du Pacha, where riders must use the marked channel, navigate beyond 300 m, and avoid launching or swimming in the channel buffer zones.
Last updated: August 2026