Surfing in France in November

Surfing in France in November

November is the last month of the good sandbanks: full autumn swell, an emptying coast, and the first storm that will flatten what September built.

  • Water temp.
    16 °C
  • For learning
    Off season
  • The month
    Very good

Conditions in November

  • Water temp. : 16 °C
  • Wetsuit : 4/3 mm, boots advised

November closes the good half of the year. The swells are bigger than October's and they arrive more often, and for the first two or three weeks they land on banks that are still holding their shape.

Then winter starts. One serious storm is enough to spread the sand out, and after it the beach that was a wave in October becomes a wall of whitewater. Which week that falls in changes every year, and no booking can be made around it.

The water is down to 16°C and the days are short enough that a session needs planning rather than a spare hour. What you get in exchange is space: in November the coast belongs to the people who live on it, plus whoever else has read the forecast.

Learning in November

  • For learning : Off season

No. Cold, powerful and short of daylight, and the schools have closed for the season.

Where a beginner goes in November

These spots are reachable all year. What the month changes is the size of the waves, not the access.

For an experienced surfer

  • Surf : Very good

Autumn swell on autumn banks, for as long as it lasts. A good November week is as good as October, and you will have the beach to yourself.

Where these figures come from

Air, rain and sunshine: WMO / NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Agadir Al Massira, a station some twenty kilometres inland and so a little warmer than the coast in summer. Swell, period and share of workable wind: Swell Archive and surf-forecast. Water temperature: seatemperature.org and weather-and-climate. Crowds and prices are an editorial judgement, not a measurement.

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