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Biarritz surf guide

Where European surfing began in 1957: an elegant Belle Époque resort with the Côte des Basques longboard wave, Grande Plage and La Milady.

Location
Basque Country, France (43.4832, -1.5586)
Best season
Mar – May, Sep – Nov: September, October, November, March, April, May
Water temperature
12–22°C (shorty or rash vest (warmest) to 5/4 mm + boots (coldest))
Waves
Beach break, Reef break
Suits
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers

Live surf cams in Biarritz

Surf clips from Biarritz

Surf spots in Biarritz

What's on in Biarritz

The liveliest nights on the Basque coast: bars around Port Vieux and the town centre, late clubs, a steady concert calendar at Atabal (rock, electro, dub) and live jazz and blues jam sessions at Prohibido from Thursday to Saturday. Winter is calmer than summer but the gig calendar keeps going.

Upcoming events

Updated 2026-11-02.

Where to stay in Biarritz

470 places to stay within 10 km: 209 hotel, 76 holiday rental, 48 bed and breakfast, 35 guest house, 25 camp site, 21 villa, 13 hostel, 11 resort, 9 chalet, 8 apartment, 8 surf camp, 5 caravan site, 2 motel. Compare them by distance to the nearest surf spot on the interactive map.

Surf camps: Biarritz Paradise Surf Camp, Surf Hostel Biarritz, Lagoondy Surf Camp, Biarritz Surf Lodge, Lagoondy Surf Camp, Joyu Surf Shack, Ocean Adventure Surf Camps, Hegoa Surf Camp.

Hostels: Outsite Coliving, Garden - Utopy Hostel, Spot Sleeping, Nami House, Auberge de Jeunesse de Biarritz, Chambre Habitant by Butrfly.

Cafés, food and surf shops

193 cafés and bakeries, 1043 restaurants and bars, 56 surf schools and 57 surf shops nearby. Surf schools: Plums Surf Sport, Pirogue & Surf, Grande-Plage Surf-Club, La Côte des Basques, Biarritz, Shining Surf School, La Maison du surf Biarritz, Surf With Charlie, Biarritz Surf Training.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to surf in Biarritz?

The best surf season in Biarritz is Mar – May, Sep – Nov (September, October, November, March, April, May). The sea ranges from 12°C to 22°C over the year.

Which months have the most good surf days in Biarritz?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Biarritz's best spot were good or better most often in December (76% of days, 47% great), February (69% of days, 46% great) and March (71% of days, 39% great), and least often in July (25%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

Do I need a wetsuit in Biarritz?

Water temperature in Biarritz is 12–22°C: shorty or rash vest (warmest) to 5/4 mm + boots (coldest).

Is Biarritz good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Biarritz suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Biarritz Grande Plage, Cote des Basques and Ilbarritz.

What are the surf spots in Biarritz?

Biarritz has 4 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Biarritz Grande Plage (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces NW (offshore wind from the SE), best at low to mid tide); Cote des Basques (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, best at low to mid tide); Le VVF (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces NW (offshore wind from the SE), best at all tides); Ilbarritz (Reef break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at low to mid tide).

Where should surfers stay in Biarritz?

Swell Cabin lists 470 places to stay within 10 km of Biarritz, including 8 surf camps such as Biarritz Paradise Surf Camp, Surf Hostel Biarritz, Lagoondy Surf Camp and Biarritz Surf Lodge, 13 hostels, 35 guesthouses and homestays, 97 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

What is the nightlife like in Biarritz?

The liveliest nights on the Basque coast: bars around Port Vieux and the town centre, late clubs, a steady concert calendar at Atabal (rock, electro, dub) and live jazz and blues jam sessions at Prohibido from Thursday to Saturday. Winter is calmer than summer but the gig calendar keeps going. Regular nights: Thursday: Live jazz, blues & jam sessions at Prohibido Biarritz Jazz Club; Friday: Live jazz, blues & jam sessions at Prohibido Biarritz Jazz Club; Saturday: Live jazz, blues & jam sessions at Prohibido Biarritz Jazz Club.

What is the surf forecast for Biarritz this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Biarritz and each of its 4 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/biarritz: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway).

When is the best tide to surf in Biarritz?

It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Biarritz weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times, predicted from the Bayonne Boucau tide gauge (6 km away).

How accurate is the surf forecast for Biarritz?

Swell Cabin checks it against the Anglet buoy (7 km away, E.U. Copernicus Marine Service): over 303 hours from 2026-10-24 to 2026-11-05 the forecast wave height was within 20% of the buoy 78% of the time. Last checked 2026-11-05.

Is the Biarritz surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Biarritz is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 37 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 41 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 85% of the time. Of the three wave models compared, ECMWF has been the closest to the satellites here. Nearer the coast, the buoy above decides the correction. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-03.

How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Biarritz?

Trust in this page's data is medium (55/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 4 spots fully verified, 4 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; no open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md).

Is there a live surf cam in Biarritz?

Yes: Grande Plage (Biarritz Grande Plage) on Viewsurf (free); Côte des Basques (panoramic) (Cote des Basques) on Ville de Biarritz (Viewsurf) (free); Le VVF on GoSurf (free); Côte des Basques (Cote des Basques) on GoSurf (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

Where can I take surf lessons in Biarritz?

Surf schools in and around Biarritz include Plums Surf Sport, Pirogue & Surf, Grande-Plage Surf-Club, La Côte des Basques, Biarritz, Shining Surf School and La Maison du surf Biarritz.

Nearby surf towns

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