Les Estagnots surf guide
Surf: Top quality peaks when a good W-NW swell hits the sand. Handles a bit more size than Bourdaines and Penon, but expect severe long-shore drift when bigger. High tide inside banks can be hollow and fast.
Directions: D79
Environment: Always a crowd and the odd combative local. Large car park used to be free-camp central, but it is now forbidden to park campervans in any Seignosse car park overnight. The fine is €11, which may work out cheaper than the Aire de Camping back on the D79 or any of the big campsites within 10mins walk of here. Restaurants, bars, shops and a well-stocked surf shop add to the usual set up.
Surf: General: This stretch of beach has an excellent reputation for producing quality, consistent banks. Can produce long walls at low and hollow, fast waves at high when the shorebreak can be punishing, especially when the size picks up. Can handle a bit more swell than the breaks just to the north.
Tides: Works on all tides.
Size: Waist high to double overhead
Wind: E, ESE
Swell: NW, W
Bottom: Sandbanks
Paddling: The rip can become a travelator as the size picks up.
Spot Rating: A quality, often powerful beach break that handles a little more swell than its Seignosse cousins to the north.
Access: Car park in the dunes.
Crowds: Crowd Factor: Popular spot, nearly always crowded.
Local Vibe: Competitive.
Environment: Good, but suffers after heavy rains.
Hazards: Rips and longshore drift, especially as it picks up.
Season: September - February for the biggest swells and most consistency.