Month guide · March

Surfing in March

Spring swells, cold water and the coast to yourself

March sits on the turn of the season. The big winter storms ease off, but the Atlantic keeps sending good swell, and the wind settles into calmer patterns more often. Travel guides describe spring as a fun, uncrowded time to surf the French coast, and the Asturian tourism office says the same of the Cantabrian side. The north coasts of Scotland and Ireland and the reefs of Portugal are still in their winter season.

The catch is the water temperature. The sea lags behind the air and is still at its winter low, so a thick suit stays essential in the north. In return you get long evenings, open roads and some of the best surf of the year in Brittany. And around the equinox the day is about twelve hours long everywhere, from Lofoten to the Canaries.

At a glance

🌡️ Water: 3.5 °C Denmark – 19 °C Canaries
The sea is as cold as in February: about 3.5 °C at Skagen in Denmark, 5 °C in Lofoten, 7 °C in Orkney, 9.5 °C at Galway and 10 °C off the Isles of Scilly. It is about 12.5 °C at Biarritz, 15 °C at Lisbon, 16 °C in the Azores and 19 °C around Gran Canaria.
🧥 Wetsuit: 5/4 mm north · 4/3 Iberia · 3/2 islands
Stay in a 5/4 mm with boots from the Landes northwards, plus a hood in Brittany, the Channel, Britain and Ireland, and a 6/5 mm in Scandinavia. In the Basque Country, Spain and Portugal a good 4/3 mm with boots works on milder days. The Canaries and Madeira need only a 3/2 or light 4/3 mm.
🌊 Swell: Consistent W–SW to NW swells
Winter's energy is still around, with fewer of the giant storms. The Surf Atlas rates spring as La Torche's best season, thanks to south-westerly groundswells, and regional guides put March to May among the best months for intermediate surfers in south-west France. Scotland, Ireland, Portugal and the Atlantic islands still get regular winter-sized swells.
🌬️ Wind: Changeable, calmer spells
Fronts still pass through, but light-wind days become more common. Morning sessions are often the cleanest before any sea breeze.
☀️ Air: Highs 2–22 °C
Average highs climb to about 8 °C in Orkney, 11 °C in Galway, 15 °C in Biarritz and 18.5 °C in Lisbon, with 22 °C in Gran Canaria. Lofoten is still around 2 °C.
👥 Crowds: Very quiet
There are no French school holidays after the zone B winter break ends on 8 March 2027, so the beaches are about as empty as they get, outside the weekend at the famous spots. Most beaches in Ireland, Scotland and the Azores are near empty on weekdays.
🌅 Daylight: ~12 h everywhere · clocks change late
Around the equinox the day is about twelve hours long from Lofoten to the Canaries. Mid-month the sun rises around 07:20–07:30 in Biarritz and Brest, 06:35 in Thurso and 07:10 in Las Palmas. After the clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March, evening sessions get an extra hour.

Where to go

Finistère Sud

Spring is the season at La Torche, according to The Surf Atlas, and the nearby Crozon peninsula has a wild beach that picks up swell from north-west to south-west.

Morbihan

Guidel and the Quiberon peninsula pick up the spring west and south-west swells, with Quiberon's Côte Sauvage now part of France's first wave reserve.

Landes

Banks reshaped by winter, fewer storms and very few people. Hossegor and Capbreton are a joy on a clean spring swell.

Pays Basque

The Anglet beaches and the reefs of Guéthary all work on spring swells, with the Côte des Basques for gentler days.

Asturias

The regional tourism office recommends spring for good conditions and few visitors; Tapia and Xagó are reliable choices.

Lisbon coast

Spring swells keep Ericeira's reefs busy, and the long beaches of Sintra and Guincho take the full north-west swell. Water around 15 °C makes it the mild option on the mainland.

Cornwall

Fistral and the north coast beaches start their spring season, with far fewer people than in summer. The water is at its coldest, around 10 °C.

Scotland

By March the days in the far north are as long as in the south, and the north coast reefs still get solid groundswell. Thurso East is the headline; the beaches around it are usually empty.

Azores

The islands' north coasts still get regular winter swells, with Santa Bárbara on São Miguel as the main beach and quiet reefs on Terceira and Santa Maria.

Norway

Lofoten's Unstad is in season, and by the equinox the days are twelve hours long. The water is about 5 °C.

The 21 best spots in March

  1. Plomeur – La Torche

    Plomeur · Finistère Sud · Intermediate · Beach break

    The Surf Atlas names spring as La Torche's best season, with south-westerly groundswells and fewer crowds than summer. Easterly winds at mid to high tide are ideal; watch the strong currents.

  2. Guidel – Plage du Loch

    Guidel · Morbihan · Intermediate · Beach break · live cam

    The busiest, most reliable beach around Lorient, exposed to west and south-west swell and hollower than its neighbours. Intermediate and up; crowded at weekends.

  3. Thurso East

    Thurso · Scotland · Advanced · Reef break

    Spring still brings solid north-west groundswell to the north of Scotland, and by mid-March the day there is as long as in the south. Thurso East's long right wants a rising mid tide and a south-easterly; advanced surfers only.

  4. Ericeira – Ribeira d'Ilhas

    Ericeira · Lisbon coast · Intermediate · Point break · live cam

    Ericeira's most forgiving reef, a long right point over flat rock that works on most swells, so it almost always has something to ride. Spring's north-west swells give long rides; intermediates and up, and the main peak is busy at weekends.

  5. Hossegor – Les Culs Nus

    Soorts-Hossegor · Landes · Advanced · Beach break

    Fast, punchy and consistent from small to well-overhead swells. Spring brings cleaner days than winter and far fewer surfers than autumn; advanced.

  6. Supertubos

    Peniche · Portugal Centro · Expert · Beach break · live cam

    March is the tail of the season at one of Europe's heaviest beach breaks: thick, fast barrels over sand on a west to south-west swell with a north-east wind, from mid to high tide. Experts only; crowded when it works.

  7. Anglet – Les Cavaliers

    Anglet · Pays Basque · Advanced · Beach break · live cam

    Anglet's most consistent and powerful beach break, with hollow peaks on a west-north-west swell and a morning east wind. Advanced surfers.

  8. Crozon – La Palue

    Crozon · Finistère Sud · Advanced · Beach break

    The reference spot of the Crozon peninsula, a 2 km wild beach that picks up west and south-west swell and gets hollow in an easterly. Advanced; strong currents and no swimming.

  9. Newquay – Fistral

    Newquay · Cornwall · Intermediate · Beach break

    Britain's best-known surf beach starts its spring season, with fast, hollow peaks at North Fistral on a west to south-west swell and an easterly wind. Crowded all year, but calmer than in summer; South Fistral is easier.

  10. Easkey Right

    Easkey · Ireland North West · Intermediate · Reef break

    A long right-hand reef next to Easkey Left on the Sligo coast: mostly an open wall for turns, now and then a perfect barrel. It suits a westerly swell at low tide on the push, with a southerly wind; the mood is calm.

  11. Saint-Jean-de-Luz – Lafitenia

    Saint-Jean-de-Luz · Pays Basque · Advanced · Point break

    The long right point still gets the 1.5–3 m swells it needs in early spring, with a south-east wind. Advanced; a quieter line-up than in autumn.

  12. Santa Bárbara

    Ribeira Grande · Azores · Intermediate · Beach break

    The best-known surf beach in the Azores, with several sandbank peaks on black sand that work on north to north-west swells at any tide. Water around 16 °C and usually a quieter peak to be found.

  13. San Juan

    Caleta de Famara · Lanzarote and Fuerteventura · Advanced · Reef break

    A long, hollow left over volcanic reef just west of Caleta de Famara, one of Lanzarote's classic reefs. North-north-west swells and a south-south-west wind at low tide; advanced surfers, with a strong local crew.

  14. Tapia de Casariego

    Asturias · Intermediate · Beach break · 2 live cams

    Western Asturias' surf town has a quality left off the reef into the sand. It works at low to mid tide on a north-west swell with an easterly to southerly wind.

  15. Freshwater West

    Castlemartin · Wales · Intermediate · Beach break

    The most powerful and reliable beach in Wales, with peaks along a long, wild beach and reefs at the ends. Spring's westerly swells and an easterly wind suit it at any tide; crowded when it works, but the line-up spreads out.

  16. Unstad

    Vestvågøy (Lofoten) · Norway · Intermediate · Point break

    In March Lofoten gets as much daylight as the rest of Europe, and Unstad's left point and right reef still get regular west-north-west swells. The water is about 5 °C, so bring your thickest suit.

  17. Xagó

    Xagó (Gozón) · Asturias · Beginner · Beach break · 2 live cams

    One of the most consistent spots in Asturias, a long dune-backed beach that works at every tide. Surf schools use it from spring to autumn; good for all levels on smaller days.

  18. Capo Mannu

    San Vero Milis · Sardinia · Advanced · Reef break

    Sardinia's best-known reef still gets mistral swells in early spring, with lefts and rights that get hollow and hold big swell. Advanced; very crowded on good days, and the water is about 14 °C.

  19. Klitmøller Reef

    Klitmøller · Denmark · Beginner · Reef break

    The heart of Denmark's 'Cold Hawaii' is an easy reef of stones and mussel beds with lefts and rights on most days. The water is only about 3.5 °C in March, so it is for well-equipped surfers; busy but relaxed.

  20. Somo

    Ribamontán al Mar · Cantabria · Beginner · Beach break · live cam

    One of the cradles of Spanish surfing, with forgiving peaks on a north or north-west swell of one to two metres. Many schools and camps, and quiet before the summer rush.

  21. Siouville-Hague

    Normandie · Beginner · Beach break

    Normandy's reference surf beach is fully open to westerly swell, and the point to the south shelters it from southerly wind. A 5/4 mm is a must in March.

Tips from the line-up

  1. Do not be fooled by the sun. The water is at its coldest, so dress for the sea, not the air.
  2. Spring is a great time to book lessons or a surf camp: instructors have more time and the line-ups are calm.
  3. Watch the clock change on the last Sunday of March; tide times in your app will shift by an hour.
  4. Brittany's beaches have strong rips and lateral currents. Check where the channel runs before paddling out, especially at La Torche and La Palue.
  5. Winter storms reshape the sandbanks. A beach that was poor last autumn may be excellent now, so look around.
  6. The islands are a good spring escape: the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries still get winter swells, and the water is 16–19 °C.

Sources