Where to stay to surf in Lacanau?
When you surf, sleeping 200 metres from the spot changes the day: a one-minute walk from the gîtes takes you to the top of the dune, where you can watch the waves and choose your surf spot before heading into the water. Plage Sud is at the bottom of the path, Surf Kalani 300 metres away, Cheeky Family 500, on our road. Back home, the walk-in shower rinses off the salt, the terrace dries the wetsuit, and the quiet of the pines sends you to bed early. Our guests get discounts at both schools.
The spot three minutes away, the schools on the same road.
Plage Sud, 200 metres. A beach break that is often clean in the morning, while the wind still comes off the land. You walk there, board under your arm, along the path through the pines.
Two schools on route du Lion. Surf Kalani 300 metres away, Cheeky Family 500: lessons for all levels, equipment provided, rental outside lessons, and discounts for our guests.
Back at the gîte. A walk-in shower, a terrace for the wetsuit, a kitchen to eat on the tide's schedule, and the silence of the pines to get to bed early before the morning session.
Plage Sud, the most natural break of Lacanau Océan.
Plage Sud is the most natural beach in the resort, and the least crowded compared with the seafront. Everything depends on swell and tide: when the swell is over 1.5 metres the wave hollows out at mid rising tide; on the falling tide it softens and forgives more. The sandbar is almost always cleaner in the morning, before the north-westerly gets up and ruffles it. That is why the morning slots go first at the schools in summer.
In July and August a lifeguard post and a marked swimming area are in place. Before you head down, live weather and waves are on our home page, and detailed forecasts for the Lacanau Sud spot are on Windguru or Magic Seaweed.
Surf Kalani 300 metres away, Cheeky Family 500.
Surf Kalani, at 62 route du Lion, is the closest school to us: under a minute on foot, and direct access to Plage Sud. Group lessons of five to eight people, multi-day courses, all levels from age 6, foam board and wetsuit provided, and sessions timed to the conditions of the day. In July and August, book the morning slot.
Cheeky Family, at 5 route du Lion, 500 metres and seven minutes on foot, is a surf school, a surf camp and a place to live all at once. State-certified instructors, lessons for all levels timed with the tides from April to November, from the 1h30 private lesson to the course of five two-hour lessons, board and wetsuit rental to get back in the water between lessons, yoga before or after the session, and a guinguette open from lunch to dinner to end the day.
At both, our guests get discounts on surf lessons and water activities. Ask us for the details when booking; prices are confirmed directly with the schools.
Rinse, dry, eat, sleep early.
After the session, each gîte has its walk-in shower for the sand and salt, and its private terrace where the wetsuit dries in the sun while you have lunch. The kitchen lets you eat on the tide's schedule rather than the restaurants', and the washing machine in the shared laundry room earns its keep over a week of surf.
The Plage Sud neighbourhood has no shopping street and no late terraces: you go to bed early and get up with a clean sandbar. The five gîtes of 35 m² for two can be visited in 3D in the immersive tour. To choose your neighbourhood knowingly, also read staying near Plage Sud.
When the wave is too big, or after the session.
Too big on the day? The lake of Lacanau is twenty-five minutes by bike on a flat path: paddleboard, kayak and wakeboard with Évolution 2 on perfectly flat water. After the session, the wooden terrace of the Rainbow Café, five minutes on foot, or dinner facing the Atlantic at Le Café Maritime on the seafront, where the aperitif is on us for our guests.
For a livelier day, the central beach and the seafront are ten minutes by bike, with the summer surf competitions. And for a stay for two, see romantic weekend in Lacanau Océan.
April to November with the schools, all year for independent surfers.
The schools on route du Lion give lessons from April to November. July and August: the beach is lifeguarded, the morning slots get booked, and so do the gîtes, several months ahead. June and September: the ocean is warm, the beach empties, and you progress because you have the room. Autumn is our favourite season for surfing, with the swells coming back and an almost empty beach; the gîtes, well heated, welcome independent surfers into winter.
“The surfers who sleep with us have a ritual: a one-minute walk to the top of the dune to watch the waves and choose their surf spot, then they head into the water before the beach wakes up.”
Before booking your surf trip.
How far are the gîtes from the spot?
Two hundred metres, three minutes on foot along the path through the pines. You leave 43 route du Lion with the board under your arm.
Can a beginner learn to surf?
Yes, and it is the ideal place for it: Surf Kalani, 300 metres away, takes beginners from age 6 with equipment provided; Cheeky Family, 500 metres away, coaches all levels with state-certified instructors from April to November. Our guests get discounts at both.
Can you rent a board without taking a lesson?
Yes, at Cheeky Family, which rents boards and wetsuits outside lessons, seven minutes on foot.
How do you check the conditions?
A glance at the live weather and waves on our home page, then Windguru or Magic Seaweed for the Lacanau Sud spot. Above all: rising tide, and the morning, before the north-westerly wind gets up.
When is the best season?
With the schools, April to November. In summer, book the morning slot. Autumn is our favourite: the beach empties and the swell comes back.
More guides by your hosts.
Five gîtes for two people, the Plage Sud spot 200 m away, direct booking with your hosts, no commission and no middleman.
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