All you need to know about surfing conditions in Biarritz
In most surf schools, you are taught all the basics to be able to manage in surfing. But beyond the simple fact of knowing how to surf, you also need to know when is the best time to surf, and it’s not that simple.
In this article we give you tips on when to surf the Biarritz surf spots as well as good applications to consult to get an idea of the surf conditions.
Rules to know to surf at the Côte des Basques in Biarritz :
Rule N°1 (and by far the most important): know the tide times
Surfing in Biarritz, but also on the Atlantic coast in general, depends (unfortunately) on the tides. This is also what makes this sport so attractive and what makes a real surfer addicted to it: you have to adapt to the ocean and its hazards.
So how do you adapt to these famous tides ?!
How to know the best time of day to surf in Biarritz ?!
You should know that surfing in Biarritz is generally done around low tide. Very few spots are surfed at high tide.
So we take the low tide time as a reference.
We then apply the -3 hours / + 3 hours rule which will determine the mid-tide times.
Surfing is possible between this famous 6-hour tide range.
To simplify:
- At low tide -3 hours, you can start to enter the water
- At low tide +3 hours, you have to start to leave the water
For example, if the tide is low at 12pm, you can surf from 9am to about 3pm.
You can check the tide times at this link: https://tourisme.biarritz.fr/fr/actualites/calendrier-des-marees-2022
Or ask for your paper calendar at the HASTEA surf school at the Côte des Basques in Biarritz.
How to match the tide times to your surfing level?
- Surfers who are starting to go offshore will often prefer the mid-tide times (in our example, 9am and around 2pm depending on how long they want to be in the water)
- Beginners who stay in the white washes in the front will prefer to surf around low tide, i.e. between 10.30am and 1pm in our example.
PLEASE NOTE !!
If you don’t respect these schedules it can become dangerous, especially on the Côte des Basques spot where the beach disappears completely when the tide comes in. Making it impossible to get out of the water.
Rule N°2: analyze the spot prior to surfing in order to know where to go according to your level
The beach of the Côte des Basques is quite large.
It is often divided into three parts:
- La mousse : on the left when facing the ocean
- La villa Belza : on the right when facing the ocean, near the small castle named Belza
- Les 100 marches : different peaks between the moss and the Belza villa, which faces the famous stairs of the Côte des Basques, which descend from Etxola Bibi.
GOOD TO KNOW:
The further south you go (to the left facing the ocean), the more powerful the waves are.
It is therefore recommended that beginners stay closer to Villa Belza. The more experienced surfers will surf further south of the beach.
NB: The bigger the wave size, the more time you should spend analyzing the surf spot in order to understand all the dangers: frequency between sets, wave size per set, currents and waves, number and level of people in the water etc.
The best applications to know the surf conditions in Biarritz:
There are several applications that allow you to study the surf conditions. The most used are the following ones :
Windguru :
… the one that the Hastea surf school, and many other surf schools, use to make their planning.
Surf Report :
… the HASTEA surf school gives you a daily live photo report from the spot !
Magic Seaweed :
… ideal application for when you travel abroad, it lists many surf spots and is easy to understand.
Yadusurf :
… less precise than the ones above but more fun with its small analysis of conditions
FOCUS: How to analyze Windguru ?
So now you know when to come and surf in Biarritz!
Normally with all this information, you should not make any mistake about the timing of your surfing sessions.
Remember, it’s up to you to adapt to the ocean and not the other way around.
If you have any doubts, don’t hesitate to call us or ask for advice, that’s what we are here for!!
