The Pays Basque sets up bay after bay with every time other options to surf. Lafitenia in the Acotz district of Saint-Jean-de-Luz is maybe the best known and there’s a reason why: it’s a friendly and fun peeling pointbreak that can hold some swell. It’s extremely popular with everybody on every kind of surftool, so it gives the word crowded a new definition… The crowd pushes you to take off deep and steep (or further out on a big board) to score your wave and if you miss it, you might end up on the rocks. But besides that it’s a long fun wall for a variation of cutbacks or long noserides. The inside can run a bit hollower again. Sometimes it’s like two breaks, the point and the inside, on good days it’s one long wave. High tide makes it mellow and there roll less wave with less people fancying it. The set up of the bay gives it a good protection from easterly wind and even the typical summer breeze. The Acotz quartier has plenty of camping options around. © Laurent Masurel
