Carcans, France

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Carcans, 7 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD), 47 km.

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Costline of Carcans Plage — Carcans. Photo: Matzetatz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Carcans

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces W (276°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (96°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 400 m out (1 in 38). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 11°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 21°C in July, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April, May, June and August, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Carcans, 7 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD), 47 km. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 17 h 35 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD), changing at Dublin Airport (DUB). About 11 flights a week that month.
See flights ORD → BOD · Skyscanner from about £410 returnAd
Getting there. 1 h 10 from the airport to Carcans.
Car hire · Discover CarsAd
Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Carcans, 7 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport (BOD), 47 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Carcans · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Carcans · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Carcans on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Carcans, each day
Day	Score for experts	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	23, too small	3 ft10 scrumbling	193kJ	wind from the north-north-east, 8 knots	15°C
Mon 19Oct	12, too small	2 ft15 shollow	104kJ	wind from the east, 5 knots, offshore	15°C
Tue 20Oct	31, too small	4 ft12 scrumbling	441kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 3 knots	16°C
Wed 21Oct	8, poor	9 ft9 smushy	1,057kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 14 knots	14°C
Thu 22Oct	19, poor	8 ft9 smushy	1,031kJ	wind from the south-west, 9 knots	17°C
Fri 23Oct	0, too big	11 ft12 smushy	3,295kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 16 knots	15°C
Sat 24Oct	16, poor	8 ft9 smushy	975kJ	wind from the west, 12 knots	17°C
Sun 25Oct	10, poor	8 ft10 smushy	1,238kJ	wind from the west, 15 knots	17°C
Mon 26Oct	0, too big	10 ft9 smushy	1,395kJ	wind from the west-south-west, 9 knots	18°C
Tue 27Oct	38, fair	7 ft7 smushy	492kJ	wind from the south-east, 3 knots, offshore	20°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly ORD to BOD, changing at DUB, then 1h 10 by road. About 17h 35 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 4 ft at best.
Wed 21 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 18 of 80.
Thu 22 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 34 of 80.
Fri 23 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 0 of 80.
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 25 of 80.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly ORD to BOD, changing at DUB, then 1h 10 by road. About 17h 35 door to door

Rough cost

About £875–£1,685 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
What	How we worked it out	Each
Flights	return ORD to BOD, estimated from distance and season, changing at DUB, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£410–£855
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Hire car	6 days, shared	£105–£175
Food	7 days eating out	£240–£445
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£85–£145
Total		£875–£1,685

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

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Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

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Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

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