Day rhythm
05:54
21:14
15.3h of daylight — 05:54 → 21:14
Hyères — La Capte / Presqu'île de Giens
Partial dataFrance
Hyères — La Capte / Presqu'île de Giens is a kitesurf spot with flat water, medium depth, with no significant tide, in France. Ideal between 15 and 32 knots, April to September.
Level
Intermediate
Optimal wind
15-32 kts
Season
April to September
Today's tide
→ Slack water· coef 53
00h06h12h18h24h
No significant tide impact at this spot — verified.
Comfort & gear
Air
26°C
hot
Water
19°C
warm
Wetsuit
3/2 mm
light fullsuit
Sky
100%
overcast
7-day forecast
Tap a slot for a detailed forecast.
What riders experienced here
No validations for this spot yet.
Weather risk
No risk
No rain expected
The spot
Discover Hyères — La Capte / Presqu'île de Giens
La Capte is the calm side of the Giens peninsula: the eastern arm of the double tombolo, facing Hyères bay and the Golden Isles. Fine sand, clear shallow water, palm trees and a harbour — the exact reverse of l’Almanarre. And there lies the catch: what is onshore at l’Almanarre is offshore here. The easterly makes the spot work; the westerly mistral smooths the water but blows off the land, out to sea.
La Capte is l’Almanarre turned inside out. Where l’Almanarre, on the western side of the Giens double tombolo, is the mistral spot par excellence, La Capte holds the eastern side, facing Hyères bay and the Golden Isles: fine sand, clear shallow water, palm trees, the harbour and a quiet village. Calmer and often less crowded, it’s a sector local guides like for learning or for an easy session, leaning more towards wing and school than big kiting. But the trap is in that symmetry: the wind logic is reversed. The easterly (E/ENE), onshore here, is the wind that makes the spot work — the very direction that blows off the land at l’Almanarre. And the westerly mistral, which beautifully smooths the water on the eastern side (a true mirror for speed), comes off the land: it is offshore and disturbed by the peninsula, with boats moored in front of the spot. The rules weigh on the area: the town recognises only two channels for beach craft, the Mérou channel and the l’Almanarre channel, and bans navigation within the 300-metre coastal strip outside those channels. There is no kite channel at La Capte. Hyères’ official easterly-wind kite zone is Le Mérou, at L’Ayguade, north-east of the bay — not to be confused with the eastern tombolo. On the Badine / Capte sector, riding off the beach is documented as tolerated off-season and closed in summer. In the end it’s a spot you read through its relationship to l’Almanarre: a gorgeous postcard reverse, flat in a westerly and waves in an easterly, but to be ridden within a framework — a school, a sea launch in season, and absolute caution the moment the wind comes off the west.
Who & when
Level and best time
Who it's for
A dual profile. The shallow water and the mistral-sheltered bay make a sound place to learn — with a school, and in season by boat drop-off, since the official framework requires launching out at sea. But in a firm easterly the neighbouring La Badine sector kicks up waves that sources reserve for advanced riders. Riding solo off the beach: off-season only, under a tolerance, and never in a westerly, which here is offshore and turbulent.
source : letskite.ch ↗Best time
The reference wind is the easterly (E/ENE): it blows onshore on this side of the tombolo and makes the spot work — “the easterly is ideal here and creates perfect conditions”. In spring the wind tends to come from the east over Hyères. In a mistral / westerly, the eastern side is well sheltered and the water turns flat, great for speed — but the wind is then offshore and disturbed by the peninsula. Note: in an easterly during the summer season, Hyères’ official kite zone is Le Mérou (at L’Ayguade), not the eastern tombolo.
source : campingportpothuau.com ↗On site
Arrival guide
Access & facilities
The village of La Capte with its harbour and palm-lined beach; an easy entry into the water despite a few small pebbles before the sand. Free car parks at La Capte (by the shops) and at La Badine, to the south on the same tombolo. Two outfits are based at La Capte: The Ridery (kite & wing shop) and the Kraken Sports Nautiques watersports base. Beach patrolled in summer under the local beach-marking plan.
source : campingportpothuau.com ↗One tombolo, two coasts
La Capte is the eastern side of the Giens double tombolo, a formation that is nearly unique in the world: l’Almanarre sits on the western side, the other shore. Between the two lies a protected wetland, the Pesquiers salt marshes (Conservatoire du littoral) — flamingos and nesting birds, a protected area, not a playground. The two coasts work in exact opposition: flat in a mistral (westerly) on the eastern side, choppy in an easterly; the reverse at l’Almanarre.
source : conservatoire-du-littoral.fr ↗Before you go
Safety
Westerly / mistral: offshore
This is the trap of the eastern side. In a westerly the water turns flat and tempting — but the wind comes off the land: it is offshore, pushing you towards the bay and the open sea, and it is disturbed by the peninsula. The sources are explicit: “wind disturbed by the peninsula — do not launch from the beach in a westerly”. To be avoided when riding solo off the beach. At the slightest land component, stay cautious, keep a margin from the open sea, and don’t ride alone.
source : letskite.ch ↗Submerged obstacles & moorings
Off the mouth of La Capte harbour, anti-swell booms sit just below the surface: a real hazard, especially on a foil. The Ridery warns that on a foil you must move at least 100 m off the beach to have enough depth. In a westerly, boats lie at anchor in front of the spot, and the neighbouring La Badine sector has a few mooring buoys. Scout these obstacles before riding.
source : theridery.com ↗No kite channel: the rule
The town provides only two channels for beach craft — the Mérou channel and the l’Almanarre channel — and bans navigation within the 300-metre coastal strip outside those channels (municipal order of 9 June 2021, prefectural order no. 019/2018). There would therefore be no kite channel at La Capte. The Badine / Capte sector is reportedly tolerated off-season and closed in summer; in a summer easterly, the official fallback is Le Mérou, at L’Ayguade. Launching should then be done at sea, through the schools. Emergencies: fire 18, CROSS Med 196 or VHF channel 16, police 17.
source : hyeres.fr ↗Community
Soon, by the riders
These spaces will fill up with the community’s feedback.
Session reports (eastern side: flat in a westerly, waves in an easterly, state of the moorings)
Is the Badine / Capte sector rideable right now, or should you fall back on Le Mérou?