WorldFrance › Pyrénées-Atlantiques › Les Alcyons Avalanche

Les Alcyons Avalanche 78.5

#1398 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇫🇷 France · Pyrénées-Atlantiques · near Biarritz

Very consistent, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Les Alcyons Avalanche, France
Photo: Hydrel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Surf score78.5 /100
Surfable days87% of the year
Clean days36% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell48% period 11 s+
Typical size1.1 m 3.8 ft median
Water18°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Les Alcyons Avalanche

The best time to surf Les Alcyons Avalanche is February, March, November. The season runs Nov to Apr. In February the water sits around 13°C, so pack a 5/4 with boots and hood, and the typical wave is 1.9 m. The nearest airport is BIO (106 km) and the nearest town is Biarritz (7 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan88%41%1.5 m14°C4/3
Feb99%66%1.9 m13°C5/4
Mar95%55%1.5 m13°C4/3
Apr83%46%1.0 m15°C4/3
May83%21%1.0 m17°C3/2
Jun85%13%0.9 m21°C2mm
Jul72%6%0.7 m24°Cvest
Aug80%12%0.8 m23°Cvest
Sep84%23%0.9 m21°C2mm
Oct90%36%1.2 m19°C2mm
Nov97%53%1.8 m17°C3/2
Dec88%45%1.7 m15°C4/3

What is under Les Alcyons Avalanche

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 82 m.

Depth 8 km out82 m
Depth 4 km out44 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 78.5

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%
18.6
Best days 22.4%
13.3
Clean days 18.4%
16.3
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
2.0
Access 4.1%
3.5

The detail

Faces 315° with 39% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 74% of days. Mean peak period 11.2 s. Days over 3 m: 5%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.4 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 51%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 43.427, -1.612 (OpenStreetMap).

Live here

2 homes for sale within 30 km of Les Alcyons Avalanche, up to 60,000 euro. Houses and flats you can move into, never plots of land. Cheapest right now €46,050. Checked 2026-09-13. Listings from Bien'ici and the agents themselves; we take no part in the deal.

€46,050Flat · 64 m² · 3 roomsBayonne15 km from the spot →€47,100Flat · 41 m² · 2 roomsHendaye16 km from the spot →

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,620/ month
typically €1,430 – €1,810
Rent, one bedroom€855
Groceries€340
Eating out€195
Getting around€115
Phone + internet€120
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,170/ month
typically €2,790 – €3,550
Somewhere to stay€1,870
Eating out€665
Car, transfers, fuel€430
Data + extras€205
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

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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