WorldFrance › Landes › Vieux Boucau (north beach)

Vieux Boucau (north beach) 76.1

#1751 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇫🇷 France · Landes · near Biarritz

Works almost every day, no off season, real size comes through.

Works all yearBig waveIntermediate
Surf score76.1 /100
Surfable days93% of the year
Clean days29% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell48% period 11 s+
Typical size1.5 m 5.1 ft median
Water18°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Vieux Boucau (north beach)

The best time to surf Vieux Boucau (north beach) is March, April, November. The season runs Feb to Apr. In November the water sits around 17°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 2.4 m. The nearest airport is BOD (128 km) and the nearest town is Biarritz (38 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan86%28%2.1 m13°C4/3
Feb95%40%2.5 m12°C5/4
Mar94%52%1.9 m13°C4/3
Apr95%46%1.4 m15°C4/3
May99%18%1.3 m18°C3/2
Jun97%10%1.2 m21°C2mm
Jul93%5%1.0 m24°Cvest
Aug96%7%1.1 m23°Cvest
Sep94%27%1.2 m21°C2mm
Oct94%27%1.7 m19°C3/2
Nov92%53%2.4 m17°C3/2
Dec83%30%2.4 m15°C4/3

What is under Vieux Boucau (north beach)

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 96 m, shoaling steadily over the last kilometres. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 427 m against 96 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out96 m
Depth 4 km out42 m
Channel beside it427 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 76.1

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%
15.9
Best days 22.4%
17.5
Clean days 18.4%
13.3
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
2.0
Access 4.1%
2.8

The detail

Faces 280° with 50% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 61% of days. Mean peak period 11.1 s. Days over 3 m: 13%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 3.2 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 33%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 43.796, -1.413 (OpenStreetMap).

Live here

3 homes for sale within 30 km of Vieux Boucau (north beach), up to 60,000 euro. Houses and flats you can move into, never plots of land. Cheapest right now €40,000. Checked 2026-09-13. Listings from Bien'ici and the agents themselves; we take no part in the deal.

€40,000Flat · 37 m² · 2 roomsCastets24 km from the spot →€44,338House · 100 m² · 5 roomsDax30 km from the spot →€53,000Flat · 17 m² · 1 roomSeignosse10 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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