WorldFrance › Vendée › La Tranche sur Mer

La Tranche sur Mer 65.0

#2720 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇫🇷 France · Vendée · near La Rochelle

Very consistent, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
La Tranche sur Mer, France
Photo: Minou85 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Surf score65.0 /100
Surfable days90% of the year
Clean days23% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell38% period 11 s+
Typical size1.2 m 4.1 ft median
Water15°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf La Tranche sur Mer

The best time to surf La Tranche sur Mer is March, April, November. The season runs Mar to Mar. In November the water sits around 14°C, so pack a 4/3 with boots, and the typical wave is 1.9 m. The nearest airport is BOD (177 km) and the nearest town is La Rochelle (29 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan86%26%1.7 m9°C6/5
Feb99%31%2.0 m10°C5/4
Mar95%40%1.6 m12°C5/4
Apr93%34%1.1 m14°C4/3
May94%9%1.0 m17°C3/2
Jun87%8%0.9 m20°C2mm
Jul72%2%0.8 m20°C2mm
Aug84%6%0.9 m20°C2mm
Sep87%14%0.9 m20°C2mm
Oct92%17%1.4 m17°C3/2
Nov95%50%1.9 m14°C4/3
Dec92%22%2.2 m12°C5/4

What is under La Tranche sur Mer

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 35 m.

Depth 8 km out35 m
Depth 4 km out30 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 65.0

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%
12.9
Best days 22.4%
15.3
Clean days 18.4%
10.2
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
1.0
Access 4.1%
2.5

The detail

Faces 180° with 36% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 59% of days. Mean peak period 10.5 s. Days over 3 m: 8%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.8 m, with a peak period of 13 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 47%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 46.344, -1.428 (OpenStreetMap).

Live here

3 homes for sale within 30 km of La Tranche sur Mer, up to 60,000 euro. Houses and flats you can move into, never plots of land. Cheapest right now €39,000. Checked 2026-09-13. Listings from Bien'ici and the agents themselves; we take no part in the deal.

€39,000House · 53 m² · 3 roomsMoutiers-les-Mauxfaits17 km from the spot →€39,600Flat · 52 m² · 3 roomsJard-sur-Mer14 km from the spot →€47,950House · 90 m² · 6 roomsL'Aiguillon-sur-Mer11 km from the spot →

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,380/ month
typically €1,210 – €1,540
Rent, one bedroom€727
Groceries€289
Eating out€166
Getting around€98
Phone + internet€102
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,690/ month
typically €2,370 – €3,020
Somewhere to stay€1,590
Eating out€565
Car, transfers, fuel€366
Data + extras€174
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below 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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Spots nearby

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