WorldFrance › Guyane française › Ilet Du Novotel 2

Ilet Du Novotel 2 44.1

#4465 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇫🇷 France · Guyane française · near Cayenne

Works almost every day, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterIntermediate
Ilet Du Novotel 2, France
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source · photo taken 1.3 km from the spot
Surf score44.1 /100
Surfable days99% of the year
Clean days3% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell8% period 11 s+
Typical size1.1 m 3.5 ft median
Water28°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Ilet Du Novotel 2

The best time to surf Ilet Du Novotel 2 is September, October, November. It rarely works. In September the water sits around 28°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 0.8 m. The nearest airport is CAY (16 km) and the nearest town is Cayenne (4 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%0%1.3 m27°Cboardies
Feb100%0%1.4 m27°Cboardies
Mar100%1%1.3 m27°Cboardies
Apr100%1%1.2 m28°Cboardies
May100%0%1.1 m28°Cboardies
Jun100%0%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Jul99%0%0.8 m29°Cboardies
Aug94%0%0.7 m28°Cboardies
Sep98%12%0.8 m28°Cboardies
Oct100%10%0.9 m29°Cboardies
Nov100%10%1.0 m28°Cboardies
Dec100%3%1.2 m28°Cboardies

What is under Ilet Du Novotel 2

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor falls away into open ocean, 1,023 m, deep right up to the door, so swell arrives with its energy intact. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 1924 m against 1023 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out1023 m
Depth 4 km out607 m
Channel beside it1924 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 44.1

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
6.2
Best days 22.4%
6.6
Clean days 18.4%
0.9
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
4.1

The detail

Faces 35° with 58% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 36% of days. Mean peak period 8.6 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.4 m, with a peak period of 10 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 66%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 4.954, -52.297 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,860/ month
typically €1,640 – €2,090
Rent, one bedroom€983
Groceries€391
Eating out€224
Getting around€132
Phone + internet€138
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,640/ month
typically €3,210 – €4,080
Somewhere to stay€2,150
Eating out€765
Car, transfers, fuel€494
Data + extras€236
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 15% above the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for France (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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