Capbreton harbour at the south end, Seignosse dune at the north. You can drive end to end in fifteen minutes. Every break on the strip fires on a different tide, swell, and wind. This page tells you which is which, so when Monday's surf block points you somewhere, you already know what you're walking into.
Capbreton sits at the south, on the harbour mouth. Then north along the dune: La Sud, La Centrale, La Gravière, Les Estagnots, Les Bourdaines, up to the Seignosse end. The coast runs roughly north-south so one Atlantic swell hits every beach at the same moment. But the sandbar geometry under each one is its own thing — a day that's perfect at La Gravière can be slop at La Sud. The card for each break tells you what swell it likes, which tide, and the level of surfer it suits. Bring that knowledge to the Monday issue and you'll know where to park before you leave the house.
Tucked behind Capbreton's south harbour wall, which knocks the swell down before it hits the sand. When the rest of the strip is closing out, Le Prévent is still surfable — smaller, cleaner, slower. Weekend mornings it fills with families and learners. Go here when the forecast is too big for the open beaches.
The serious wave at the Capbreton end. Heavy beach break, fast hollow lefts and rights when the bank's right. Holds size up to head-and-a-half before it shuts down. Park at the north end of the Capbreton beach road and walk through the pines.
The most forgiving of the central Hossegor beaches. Smaller waves than La Gravière on the same swell, gentler bank, more whitewater. The default beginner spot when the swell isn't huge. Surf schools run the morning slots — by nine the line-up is half learners on softops, so if you're past that level, surf before 8am or after 11.
The middle of the bay. Best on a clean head-high swell at mid tide. The all-rounder of the strip — if you can surf comfortably here, you can surf most of the others. Less hollow than La Gravière, less forgiving than La Sud. Most weeks of the year, the wave you actually end up on.
The famous one. The Gouf de Capbreton — a 3,000-metre-deep submarine canyon — comes within 250 metres of the beach right here and funnels swell straight at the sand, fast and hollow. The barrelling beach break Hossegor is known for. Quiksilver Pro contest break. Heavy when it's on. Not a learner spot. If you can't duck-dive a 6'2" in head-high Atlantic, surf somewhere else when it's working.
North of La Gravière, the next major beach as you head up the dune. The bank usually holds an hour or two longer through the day than the Hossegor centre — when La Centrale is mush by 11am, Estagnots can still be running clean. Pro France WSL contest beach. Car park up at the top of the dune, walk down through the pines.
The northernmost beach we cover. Look for Le Tube concert venue on the dune — that's your landmark. The wave's softer than Estagnots, the carpark fills slower, and on a packed August Saturday Bourdaines is where the locals end up when the southern beaches are too much.
One Atlantic swell hits every beach at the same moment. One wind covers the strip. But the sandbars under each break shift every season, especially after a hard winter. A bank that fired in October can be dead by May. The Monday issue's surf block tells you which beach is working this week, based on the live forecast and recent reports from people who were in the water. Use this page to know what each break is. Use Monday's issue to know where to go on the day.