MapRéunionSaint-Gilles / West CoastSaint-LeuSaint-Gilles / West Coast

Saint-Leu

Réunion · West coast, north beach entrance and harbour jetty

also known as La Gauche, Saint-Leu Le Port, La Gauche de Saint-Leu, Baie de Saint-Leu

Part of Saint-Gilles / West Coast →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

wavesadvanced onlymedium 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

6–9 kt

Modelled monthly average; no knot figure publishedCharacter: mixed

See Month by month

Room to launch

tight

access rules on record, below

Water

waves

26–29 °C in summerYou sail the bay in full ocean conditions with waves, not a protected teaching lagoon

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Advanced only

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Roland Garros Airport (RUN)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

L'Etang-Saléno page yet
Saint-Pierre La Gendarmerieno page yet
Saint-Pierre Ravine Blancheno page yet

The spot

Saint-Leu is a selective Réunion kite spot built around La Gauche, the left-hand wave the town is known for, and it is nobody's teaching beach.

Launch access

Launching from Saint-Leu beach is forbidden; the launch zone is the ravine mouth, delicate and heavily wind-shadowed.

Water conditions

Once out you are in full ocean wave water shared with surfers and windsurfers, over reef, inside marine-reserve zoning you need to have read, with shark risk on top.

Wind and exposure

The wind is the reason it stays empty: south sector, S-SSE above all, holds up despite the shadow, and N to NW episodes come through in austral summer, but the direction often simply does not suit the launch.

Alternative launch

There is a second way in at Saint-Leu Le Port, and it is harder, because you walk into the water beside a pebble and stone projection and you need a hand to land.

Preparation

Speak to Saint-Leu riders before you rig.

The wind

locals call it alizé

Direction

Dominant direction

S-SSE, with N-NW episodes in austral summer

Character

mixed

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic

Strength

No knot figure is published for this spot.

Modelled monthly average: 6–9 kt — see Month by month

Selective, and shadowed at the launch. The spot is little kited: the wind conditions often do not suit, and the launch and landing area sits very leeward.

The main trade-wind period runs May to November. Saint-Leu works mainly on south-sector wind, S-SSE above all despite the wind shadow, and it also works on N to NW wind in austral summer.

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 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	21.5 °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	24.5 °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

false

Tides

The reef wave is better and safer at higher tide, because coral heads can emerge at low tide. No kite-specific tide window is on record.

Temperature

26–29 °C summer · 22–24 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 25–29 °C

Wetsuit

Warm year-round; a rash vest and board shorts are normally enough, with the coldest water still about 22–24 °C.

Currents

There is current in the Plage du Centre lagoon. No kite-specific current pattern for the ravine or La Gauche launch is published.

Conditions

You sail the bay in full ocean conditions with waves, not a protected teaching lagoon. La Gauche is the well-known left-hand surf wave; the harbour option means launching from or beside a pebble and stone projection into the sea.

Saint-Leu lies within the west-coast marine-reserve sector except for the port, and a sanctuary zone covers part of the Saint-Leu lagoon, so check the posted reserve zoning before entering lagoon areas.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners herenot for intermediates here

Every listed Réunion kite spot expects an autonomous confirmed-to-expert rider, and the Saint-Leu entry asks you to check with locals. Only Trou d'Eau and La Saline are described as accessible to intermediates; this one is not.

The scene

What riders come here for

wave ridingfreeride

The kite crowd is low, since the spot is little kited, but the bay has a long history with surfers and windsurfers and riders are asked to keep relations good and observe priority rules.

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: tight

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

6 spots nearby

All 6 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No formal rescue service for kitesurfing is published. Never sail alone, ask locals before launching, and do not count on school support: no active kite school on the island either.

Launch

For La Gauche and the bay, launching from Saint-Leu beach is forbidden and the launch zone is at the ravine mouth; launch and landing are delicate and very wind-shadowed. Saint-Leu Le Port is a separate launch where you go into the water beside a pebble or stone projection, and you need help to land.

Hazards riders report 13 reported

Wind

Delicate, wind-shadowed launch and landing at the ravine

Crowds and zones

pebble jetty launch at the harbour sub-spot
needs a hand to land at the harbour launch
Harbour/port launch requires entering the water near a pebble or stone projection
Help needed for landing at the harbour/port launch
Shared water with surfers and windsurfers

Bottom

reef/rocks

Waves and currents

Full-ocean wave spot
Reef and coral heads, especially around low tide
Strong swell can trigger municipal closure of the littoral and nautical activities

Protected areas and rules

Marine-reserve and sanctuary zoning nearby

Other

Shark risk on full-ocean spots
Beach launch is forbidden.

Rules & access

1 min read

As of 2026, launching from Saint-Leu beach is forbidden and the launch zone is the ravine mouth. The rules draw on national Division 240, the 2007 Réunion Marine Reserve decree, and prefectural orders 1744 of 15 July 2008 and 2205 of 12 June 2019 (as referenced in 2022), with municipal orders also able to regulate the 300 m coastal band; this list is not necessarily legally exhaustive.

Marine reserve

Saint-Leu beaches and coves lie within the Réunion Marine Reserve, where protection-integrale sanctuary zones forbid all human activity. In 2025 and 2026, municipal high-swell orders temporarily banned access to the Saint-Leu littoral, bathing, leisure and nautical activities included, during wave-submersion events.

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

Ask local riders before a first session here.
Do not launch from Saint-Leu beach. Use the ravine-mouth zone.
Read the Réunion Marine Reserve zoning and the posted sanctuary markers before you go near the lagoon or the reef.
Do not go out alone.
Give way to surfers and windsurfers on La Gauche and in the bay.
Check swell alerts and municipal closure notices before you drive down; high-swell orders shut the littoral and nautical activities.

Getting there

Airport

La Réunion Roland Garros Airport (RUN)

Route

Saint-Leu is on Réunion's west coast. Roland Garros airport has car hire, taxis, VTC transfers and coach services, and Car Jaune bus routes from the airport serve Saint-Leu. It is about 57 km and about 47 minutes by car from Roland Garros, with bus journeys around 1 h 29 min.

Transfer

47 minutes by car from Roland Garros Airport to Saint-Leu.

Staying

Saint-Leu and the west coast have hotels and holiday rentals, 2176+ of them listed near the town, but nothing rider-specific is listed.

No-wind days

surf lessons when authorised/supervised · paragliding over Saint-Leu lagoon · Kélonia turtle observatory · snorkelling or paddle/kayak in authorised lagoon areas · Stella Matutina museum · Le Souffleur · whale watching from June to October

Photos

St-Leu — Adie090291, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is Saint-Leu suitable for beginners?

No, only Trou d'Eau and La Saline are rated accessible to intermediates on Réunion; Saint-Leu and other spots require confirmed-to-expert ability.

Where do kiters launch?

Launching from Saint-Leu beach is forbidden; the recognized launch zone is at the ravine mouth, described as delicate and heavily wind-shadowed.

What is the wind like?

Saint-Leu works mainly with south-sector wind, especially S-SSE despite wind shadow, and can also work with N-NW wind in austral summer; it is little kited because conditions rarely suit the launch.

Are there rules or restricted zones?

Saint-Leu lies within the Réunion Marine Reserve, and municipal high-swell orders have temporarily closed the littoral to bathing and nautical activities during wave-submersion events.

What are the main hazards?

Reef and coral heads, especially around low tide, shark risk on this full-ocean spot, and shared water with surfers and windsurfers.

The bigger pictureEverything about Saint-Gilles / West Coast

Last updated: August 2026