The spot that lent its name to Capbreton's oldest surf club. Just south of the harbour, on the Hossegor border, over a sand bottom, since 1975.
// An iconic name
Officially, it's Plage de la Savane. A name inherited from the landscape: dunes and sand, less built-up than the Plage Centrale, without being truly wild either. The wave itself is called the Santocha. A name borrowed in 1975 by a group of surfers from a film they'd just discovered, Forgotten Island of Santosha, to christen the club they'd just founded on this beach. Today, in everyday use, nobody makes the distinction anymore. People just say "the Santocha", for the beach and the wave alike.
// Surf it like a local
Sand bottom almost everywhere. Due west, facing the Atlantic. The spot filters out big swells, keeps the small ones. Several peaks, random, left and right. Small swell, better suited to beginners. But once it starts pumping, you'd better already know how to surf. People get their first barrels here, and break a few boards too. Every tide works when there's decent swell around. Otherwise, head a bit further south for a high-tide option. In a north wind, the Santocha stays more sheltered than Seignosse, further north.
Two ways in. Straight on, from the beach. Or like most locals, paddling out at the Prévent and following the jetty down to the peak. Watch the current there.
The landscape is marked by the blockhaus, leftover bunkers from the Atlantic Wall, closing off the spot to the south. To the north, it's the Santocha jetty. Between the two, sand, almost all the time. In winter, when sand runs thin near the blockhaus, rocks start to show. On the jetty side, water can still cover rocks even when the tide looks high. Snapping or losing your leash there can cost you the board.
// The spots around
The closer you get to the harbour, the smaller and more regular the waves. The Estacade and the Centrale, to the north, are ideal for easing your way up, but they need a big swell to work, mostly a winter fallback. The reason lies underwater. The Gouf de Capbreton, a submarine canyon just off the Estacade, swallows a good chunk of the swell heading their way. The Prévent, just above the Santocha, keeps that accessible character. The Santocha comes right after, already out of that shadow zone, still approachable but more consistent. Head further south, toward La Piste and the VVF, and the sandbars dig in deeper, the swell gains power. The locals' playground for those chasing a challenge.
// Did you know?
Every summer, the Santocha hosts the Quiksilver & ROXY Junior Pro, the only French stop on the World Surf League's junior circuit. John John Florence, Kauli Vaast, Jérémy Flores all came through here before breaking out. Its big brother, the Quiksilver Pro France, could reportedly have fallen back on it too, in years when swell at Hossegor or Seignosse got too big to compete in.
An HD webcam films the spot live, when it's working. Handy for checking conditions before heading down.
Watch the webcam →// Who it's for
The Santocha Surf Club rents foam boards right on the beach, with lessons from state-certified instructors. Colin Surf School, a small family outfit here since 2000, does the same. Both adapt their lessons to whichever beach is working best that day, centrale, Prévent or Santocha, depending on swell and wind.
Board Garage delivers straight to the spot, no shop, no detour, boards shaped by local craftsmen who know these waves. On short, fast peaks like this, a Chienville Fish or a Fernand 6'6 will often do the job.
Book a board for the Santocha →// Practical info
GPS: 43°38'47.03"N, 1°26'42.61"W
Free street parking in winter. In summer, go for the meter or the free Savane car park, just behind the beach.