Staying Home Sucks, home
Ste Barbe beach
Ste Barbe. Photo: Mike Finn from Worcester, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ste Barbe

Surf spot · France

Is it worth the trip?

35Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 2: 3 ft swell at 9 s, 3 hours of offshore wind

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 50 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 ssoft
Energy
107kJ
Wind
NE 8 kn
Temp
13°C

Tue 3 · 10 out of 100

Swell
1 ft16 ssoft
Energy
20kJ
Wind
ENE 13 kn
Temp
13°C

Wed 4 · 41 out of 100

Swell
2 ft12 ssoft
Energy
94kJ
Wind
ENE 10 kn
Temp
10°C

Thu 5 · 38 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 ssoft
Energy
80kJ
Wind
E 8 kn
Temp
11°C

Fri 6 · 29 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 ssoft
Energy
38kJ
Wind
E 5 kn
Temp
12°C

Sat 7 · 15 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
18kJ
Wind
ESE 5 kn
Temp
12°C

Sun 8 · 23 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
23kJ
Wind
ENE 5 kn
Temp
11°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 185, good
  2. Mon 250, fair
  3. Tue 310, too small
  4. Wed 441, too small
  5. Thu 538, too small
  6. Fri 629, too small
  7. Sat 715, too small
  8. Sun 823, too small
  9. Mon 98, too small
  10. Tue 1032, poor

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–9 ftof swell
  • Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Ste Barbe does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Ste Barbe, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov85, good4 ft9 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)269kJwind from the north-east, 9 knots, offshore16°C
Mon 2Nov50, fair3 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)107kJwind from the north-east, 8 knots, offshore13°C
Tue 3Nov10, too small1 ft16 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)20kJwind from the east-north-east, 13 knots, offshore13°C
Wed 4Nov41, too small2 ft12 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)94kJwind from the east-north-east, 10 knots, offshore10°C
Thu 5Nov38, too small2 ft10 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)80kJwind from the east, 8 knots, offshore11°C
Fri 6Nov29, too small2 ft9 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)38kJwind from the east, 5 knots, offshore12°C
Sat 7Nov15, too small1 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)18kJwind from the east-south-east, 5 knots, offshore12°C
Sun 8Nov23, too small1 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)23kJwind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore11°C
Mon 9Nov8, too small1 ft8 smushy1 ft at break (est.)6kJwind from the east-south-east, 11 knots, offshore14°C
Tue 10Nov32, poor3 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)84kJwind from the south-south-west, 11 knots16°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 02:43 −1.4 mHigh 08:43 +1.4 mLow 15:28 −1.5 mHigh 21:32 +1.1 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 03:56 −1.2 mHigh 10:08 +1.3 mLow 16:46 −1.4 mHigh 23:12 +1.0 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 05:14 −1.2 mHigh 11:45 +1.3 mLow 18:02 −1.4 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More surf near here

2 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Ste Barbe

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces SW (244°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (64°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 2.1 km out (1 in 213). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 10°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 18°C in July, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Erdeven, 4.7 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots and 1 mountain bike area.

Water about 14°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,300–US$2,410 each

about US$1,300–US$2,410 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to RNS, estimated from distance and season, changing at DUB, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$449–US$938
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$141–US$234
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$281–US$469
Food7 days eating outabout US$315–US$583
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$114–US$188
Totalabout US$1,300–US$2,410

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Closest

Plouharnel

5 min by car · 9 places to stay

about US$107/nightcountry average

See 9 places to stay in Plouharnel · Booking.com

About Plouharnel its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$107 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 18h 20m

About 18h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → RNS, changing at Dublin Airport (DUB), then 2h 20m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.