Staying Home Sucks, home
Plage (Le Lavandou) (3)
Le Lavandou, the nearest town, 14 km away. Photo: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

La Palud

Dive site · France

Open Water divers and up

Scored for Advanced divers

Is it worth the trip?

61Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Sat 7: Sea: flat, Visibility about 15 m, Water 18 °C

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.3 m
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
13kn
Air
18°C

Tue 3 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
4 kn
Gusts
8kn
Air
18°C

Wed 4 · 14 out of 100

Sea
1.1 m
Wind
29 kn
Gusts
40knboats in
Air
17°C

Thu 5 · 4 out of 100

Sea
1.2 m
Wind
33 kn
Gusts
45knboats in
Air
17°C

Fri 6 · 4 out of 100

Sea
0.8 m
Wind
30 kn
Gusts
44knboats in
Air
17°C

Sat 7 · 76 out of 100

Sea
0.2 mflat
Wind
3 kn
Gusts
5kn
Air
17°C

Sun 8 · 75 out of 100

Sea
0.1 mflat
Wind
9 kn
Gusts
16kn
Air
18°C

Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 275, good
  2. Tue 375, good
  3. Wed 414, poor
  4. Thu 54, poor
  5. Fri 64, poor
  6. Sat 776, good
  7. Sun 875, good
  8. Mon 974, good
  9. Tue 1072, good

The site in five facts

  • Down to 12 mits deepest
  • From the shorehow you get in
  • Open Waterand up
  • Water 18 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
  • Faces Nswell from there reaches it

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.

Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.

Sea and wind forecast and score for each day at La Palud
DayScoreSeaWindGustsAir
Mon 2Nov75, good0.3 m4 kn13kn18°C
Tue 3Nov75, good0.2 mflat4 kn8kn18°C
Wed 4Nov14, poor1.1 m29 kn40knboats in17°C
Thu 5Nov4, poor1.2 m33 kn45knboats in17°C
Fri 6Nov4, poor0.8 m30 kn44knboats in17°C
Sat 7Nov76, good0.2 mflat3 kn5kn17°C
Sun 8Nov75, good0.1 mflat9 kn16kn18°C
Mon 9Nov74, good0.4 m5 kn14kn19°C
Tue 10Nov72, good0.5 m9 kn11kn20°C

Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovHigh 00:41 +0.0 mLow 07:43 −0.1 mHigh 14:30 +0.1 mLow 22:19 −0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 02:25 −0.0 mLow 09:18 −0.1 mHigh 15:51 +0.1 mLow 23:11 −0.1 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 04:33 +0.0 mLow 10:35 −0.1 mHigh 16:55 +0.1 mLow 23:54 −0.1 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. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. 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.

Best time to go

No month stands out

Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar6of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov6of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
  12. Dec6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.

Map

the site and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates: 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 diving near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About La Palud

A reef dive. It goes down to 12 m. You get in from the shore. It suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces N: swell from the N reaches it, and wind from the S blows out to sea. No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 13 km away. The sea is about 14°C in February, its coldest month (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit), and 25°C in August, its warmest (3 mm wetsuit). The town to stay in is Le Lavandou. Within 5 km we also list 13 dive sites.

  • What it is Reef.
  • How deep Down to 12 m.
  • Getting in From the shore.
  • Who it suits Suits Open Water divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
  • Dive centres No dive centre within 10 km, the nearest 13 km away.

Water about 18°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Visibility about 15 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jun, Jul, Aug and Sep (about 30 m).

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$1,230–US$2,320 each

about US$1,230–US$2,320 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.

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 NCE, estimated from distance and season, changing at CDG, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$496–US$1,040
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
Totalabout US$1,230–US$2,320

Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Le Lavandou

Closest

Le Lavandou

about 25 min by car · 59 places to stay

about US$107/nightcountry average

See 59 places to stay in Le Lavandou · Booking.com

About Le Lavandou 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 19h

About 19h door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → NCE, changing at Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), then 2h by road

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

In the water

Dive centres nearby

The nearest named dive centres and shops within 25 km, in a straight line; training agencies where the map states them. Listings, not a recommendation. Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits

What you might see

Too few open records near this site to list its animals. Ask a dive centre what you are likely to see.

This week's visibility, the current and the life no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.