Month guide · July

Surfing in July

Holiday season: warm water, small waves and busy beaches

July is summer at full volume. The French school holidays begin on the first weekend, the resorts fill up, and every beach with a surf school has a line of foam boards on the sand, from the Landes to Peniche, Cornwall and Donegal. The water is warm enough for a thin suit in the south, and the evenings are long and golden.

Travel guides are honest about it: summer brings the smallest waves and the biggest crowds of the year. That suits beginners and longboarders perfectly. For everyone else the secret is timing, with early mornings and late evenings, and geography: the long, empty beaches of the Landes and Gironde, the west-facing coasts of Asturias and Galicia, Sennen at Land's End, which catches the smallest swell, or the Aegean, where the summer meltemi builds its own waves.

At a glance

🌡️ Water: 11 °C Lofoten – 24 °C Aegean
Averages are about 11 °C in Lofoten, 12.5 °C in Orkney, 15.5 °C at Galway and 16.5 °C off the Isles of Scilly. Brest is about 17 °C, A Coruña 18 °C, Lisbon 20 °C and Biarritz 21 °C. The Azores and Gran Canaria reach about 22 °C, and Crete 24 °C.
🧥 Wetsuit: Shorty or 3/2 south · 4/3 north
A 3/2 mm or even a shorty on warm days in the Basque Country, the Landes and the Mediterranean. Brittany, Normandy, Galicia and Portugal are cooler: a 3/2 mm, or 4/3 mm early in the morning. Britain and Ireland call for a 4/3 mm, and Scotland and Norway a 5/4 mm.
🌊 Swell: Small and inconsistent
Summer is the smallest season on the Atlantic. Guides to France describe July and August as crowded with smaller waves, and the Basque Country as the part of north Spain with the most summer flat spells. South swells reach the south coasts of the Canaries and the Azores, and in the Aegean the meltemi builds short wind swell on north-facing beaches.
🌬️ Wind: Sea breezes, nortada, meltemi
Afternoon sea breezes are frequent on sunny days. Along the Spanish north coast, summer north-easterlies keep the west-facing beaches of Asturias and Galicia cleaner. Portugal has its afternoon north wind, the nortada, and the Aegean its strong north wind, the meltemi.
☀️ Air: Highs 16–29 °C
Average highs are about 16 °C in Lofoten and Orkney, 19.5 °C in Galway, 21 °C on the Channel and in Brest, 24 °C in Biarritz, 28 °C in Lisbon and 29 °C on the Algarve and in Crete.
👥 Crowds: Peak season, very busy
French summer holidays start on 3 July 2027. Resorts, campsites and the most famous beaches are at their busiest, and many schools work the same peaks. Popular learner beaches elsewhere, like Baleal, Arrifana and Polzeath, are also at their busiest.
🌅 Daylight: ~14–18 h · sunset around 21:45–22:15
Mid-month the sun rises around 06:30–06:40 and sets around 21:45 in Biarritz and 22:15 in Brest. Thurso has nearly 18 hours of daylight and Las Palmas about 14. Lofoten's midnight sun ends in mid-July.

Where to go

Gironde

Lacanau and the long Médoc beaches have room to spread out, plenty of schools and a relaxed summer vibe.

Landes

Endless sand from Biscarrosse to Capbreton. Walk away from the lifeguard posts of the busy resorts and the crowds thin out quickly, but always respect the flags and the rips.

Asturias

The regional tourism office names summer as the best season to learn, and the west-facing beaches stay clean in the north-easterlies.

Galicia Norte

More space, cooler water and beaches that face the open Atlantic. Nemiña hides from the summer north-easterlies.

Portugal Centro

Baleal's bay is the summer base around Peniche: the island shelters it from the afternoon north wind, and it is full of schools.

Algarve

Arrifana and Amado on the Costa Vicentina catch small summer swells, with schools in every bay. Highs reach about 29 °C on the Algarve.

Cornwall

Sennen picks up the smallest swell in summer, and Polzeath is one of Britain's classic family and learner beaches. Both get very busy.

Ireland North West

Rossnowlagh's long beach deep in Donegal Bay has gentle peaks and plenty of room for families, and the evenings stay light past 22:00.

Ireland South

Inch Strand reaches out into Dingle Bay under the Kerry mountains, with slow waves made for learners and longboards.

Eastern Mediterranean

In the Aegean, summer is meltemi season: the strong north wind builds short swells on north-facing beaches like Mesakti on Ikaria. The sea is about 24 °C.

The 20 best spots in July

  1. Lacanau – Plage Centrale

    Lacanau · Gironde · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    Gironde's busiest surf spot, where jetties keep the banks fairly stable and give peaks between them. Schools, shops and a lively seafront; very busy in July.

  2. Baleal – Cantinho da Baía

    Peniche · Portugal Centro · Beginner · Beach break

    A safe corner of the Baleal bay where the island blocks the north wind of summer afternoons, so it stays clean when much of the coast is choppy. The busiest surf-school spot around Peniche; friendly, but very crowded in high summer.

  3. Carcans Plage

    Carcans · Gironde · Beginner · Beach break

    A small, low-key resort between the dunes and the forest, with an open beach and several peaks. Usually calmer than Lacanau.

  4. Arrifana – beach

    Aljezur · Algarve · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    A cliff-backed bay south-west of Aljezur that is sheltered from the north wind, with peaks at either end that suit learners. Full of surf schools; very busy in July.

  5. Biarritz – Côte des Basques

    Biarritz · Pays Basque · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    Long, gentle waves ideal for longboards and learners. The cradle of European surfing, and lively all summer.

  6. Sennen Cove

    Sennen · Cornwall · Beginner · Beach break

    England's westernmost surf beach picks up even the smallest Atlantic swell, so it often has waves in summer when the rest of Cornwall is flat. The harbour end suits learners; busy with holidaymakers, but mostly friendly.

  7. Contis Plage

    Saint-Julien-en-Born · Landes · Beginner · Beach break · 2 live cams

    A small resort with a long, undeveloped beach split by the Courant de Contis; room for plenty of people and peaks for all levels.

  8. Rossnowlagh

    Ireland North West · Beginner · Beach break

    A 3 km beach deep inside Donegal Bay, where the bay takes the power out of the swell. Gentle peaks, plenty of room and a relaxed, family mood, even in summer.

  9. Mimizan – Plage Nord

    Mimizan · Landes · Beginner · Beach break · 2 live cams

    A straightforward beach break that is usually fun rather than heavy, and much less crowded than the spots further south.

  10. Muxía – Nemiña

    Muxía · Galicia Norte · Intermediate · Beach break

    Sheltered from the north-easterlies that blow out much of Galicia in summer, with a long right at the north end. Intermediate.

  11. Polzeath

    Cornwall · Beginner · Beach break

    A wide, flat beach on the Camel estuary and one of Cornwall's best-known learner beaches, with gentle waves on most tides. Very busy in summer with families and schools.

  12. Capbreton – Le Prévent

    Capbreton · Landes · Beginner · Beach break

    Relatively sheltered between jetties, with fun peaks; popular with families and surf schools.

  13. Playa del Inglés

    San Bartolomé de Tirajana · Western Canaries · Beginner · Beach break

    Maspalomas' long resort beach in the south of Gran Canaria gets small, easy peaks from the summer south swells. Good for learners and bodyboarders; crowded with swimmers.

  14. Sopela – Arrietara / Atxabiribil

    Sopela · Bizkaia · Beginner · Beach break · 3 live cams

    Bizkaia's main surf beach under the cliffs, with peaks everywhere that work at all tides. Packed with schools and locals in summer.

  15. Inch Strand

    Inch · Ireland South · Beginner · Beach break

    A long sand spit in Dingle Bay where waves break gently and give you time to stand up, one of the best beaches in Kerry for learning and longboards. Families and schools fill the north end in summer.

  16. El Espartal – San Juan de Nieva

    Castrillón · Asturias · Beginner · Beach break

    The eastern half of the long Salinas beach, backed by protected dunes. Summer waves here are gentle and suit beginners, and the regional tourism office names summer as the season to learn in Asturias.

  17. Pópulo

    Ponta Delgada · Azores · Beginner · Beach break

    A sheltered black-sand beach a few minutes from Ponta Delgada with small, gentle waves, usually under 1 m. Summer south-west swells bring its best days, and the water is about 22 °C.

  18. Carballo – Razo

    Carballo · Galicia Norte · Beginner · Beach break

    About five kilometres of exposed sand with many peaks, a beginner-friendly beach according to Galician tourism, and plenty of room.

  19. Mesakti

    Ikaria · Eastern Mediterranean · Beginner · Beach break

    A sandy beach near Armenistis on Ikaria that is consistent in summer, when the meltemi builds north swell down the Aegean. Best in a lull in the wind; crowded in summer.

  20. Plouharnel – Sainte-Barbe

    Plouharnel · Morbihan · Beginner · Beach break

    A wild, dune-backed beach in southern Brittany with long, gentle waves on small days, loved by longboarders. Several kilometres of sand mean the line-up rarely feels packed, even in July.

Tips from the line-up

  1. Learn about baïnes. On the Gironde, Landes and Basque beaches, rip currents form in the hollows between sandbanks. If one catches you, do not fight it: let it carry you out, then swim parallel to the beach.
  2. Surf between the flags. Lifeguarded zones separate swimmers and surfers; follow the flags and the lifeguards' instructions.
  3. Go early or late. The best and emptiest sessions are before 09:00 and after 19:00, when the sea breeze drops.
  4. Respect the schools and the swimmers: give lessons their space and never ride into the bathing zone.
  5. Drink water and cover up: long summer sessions in strong sun are tiring.
  6. Book accommodation early; July and August fill up months ahead.
  7. If the Atlantic is flat, look at the Aegean: the meltemi that blows through July and August builds short, punchy waves on north-facing Greek beaches.

Sources