France

Camp under
the stars

France is the
birthplace of
European
surfing

Southwest France has some of the most consistent summer surf in Europe and long, open beaches with room for everyone. Your group stays at a private surf camp under the pines at Moliets, a 15-minute walk from the sand, and spends the whole week outdoors, with Biarritz and San Sebastián a day trip away.

why choose france

Summer waves
for every level

Days out to Biarritz
and San Sebastian

Private surf camp
under the pines

Under two hours
by air

Trips from
May to September

The setting

Moliets sits in the Landes forest, the largest planted pine forest in western Europe, a 15-minute walk from the long sandy beach at Moliets Plage. Summer days are warm and sunny, which is what you want when the whole week is lived outside.

Connect with
Nature

The Landes forest was planted in the 1800s to hold the dunes in place, and the forest and dunes behind the beach are protected today. Living under the pines for a week and surfing every day gives students a feel for the natural world that no classroom can, which is what we mean by growing through adventure.

Beginner waves

Moliets Plage is a long, open beach break with sandbanks that give small, clean waves on most summer days, which is why so many people learn to surf here. The beach is lifeguarded through the season, lessons run at one instructor to eight students, and the first wave a student stands up on is usually the one they talk about all week.

SURFING IN FRANCE

Waves for all levels

The beach breaks at Moliets suit everyone from first-timers to students who already surf. Beginners start in the whitewater, and most are standing up within the first couple of sessions; improvers work on turns and wave selection on the unbroken waves behind them. Everyone surfs every day, one three-hour lesson or two of 90 minutes, and the progress is quick.

Beach, dunes and sunsets

The beach runs for miles in both directions, backed by dunes and forest rather than hotels, and the water is warm enough for a summer wetsuit. Most evenings end on the sand watching the sun go down over the Atlantic, which is as good a way to finish a surf day as there is.

Equipment

Every lesson includes a surfboard, leash, wetsuit and rash vest from the surf school. We mostly use soft-top boards, which are safer in a group of beginners and easier to stand up on, with hard boards for students who are ready for them. The beach is a 15-minute walk from the camp.

ACCOMMODATION

deluxe surf camp

You stay at a surf camp under the pines inside Camping les Cigales, a managed campsite five minutes from the centre of Moliets and a 15-minute walk from the beach. The camp is private and self-contained, with its own dining area, shaded seating, hammocks, a yoga deck and its own shower and toilet block, so staff always know where everyone is.

The best tour company for school trips I have used in organising over 25 overseas residential trips. Well organised but it’s the personal touch and involvement that sets them apart. Would highly recommend.

Crosfields School

We took a school group Surfing to France with Schools Go Surfing in July 2024. It was one of the best (easiest) school trips I have ever run. It was so well organised throughout the whole process from prompt, accurate quotes, to thorough safety management systems. We can’t wait to come again!

Royal High School Bath

WHAT TO EXPECT

HEALTHY OUTDOOR LIVING

Students sleep in furnished tipi and bell tents on raised wooden beds, with electricity, lighting, mattresses and bedding. Around the tents are shared hang-out areas with table tennis, table football and a slackline, and plenty of room under the trees to sit and talk after dinner. It is comfortable without being soft, and the group is together all evening.

EDUCATIONAL EXCURSIONS

Days out are built into the week. A morning at Base de Pop on the lake, 45 minutes away, gives the group three water jumps, an inflatable obstacle course and a zip line, with lunch by the water before an afternoon walking tour of Biarritz, where surfing arrived in Europe in the 1950s. San Sebastián, two hours away over the border, makes a full day, with the old town, the pintxo bars and the walk up Mount Urgull above the bay.

BEYOND THE SURF

Surfing fills the mornings and the rest of the day is built around it, with yoga, breath and balance sessions, beach volleyball, rounders and football, a jewellery workshop and an ocean safety seminar, then live music, an open mic night and film nights with hot chocolate in camp. Most students find something new they are good at, and the friendships come from that.

FOOD & DRINK

Meals are cooked on site and there are plenty of them. Breakfast is a continental buffet with fresh pastries and fruit, students make up their own packed lunch for the beach, and dinner is a buffet in camp as the sun goes down. We cater for dietary requirements once you have sent them to us.

YOGA CLASSES

Yoga is part of the week rather than an add-on. The trip includes at least two 45-minute sessions with an experienced instructor on the shaded yoga deck under the pines, and they do a real job after a morning in the surf: stretch out tired shoulders, work on balance and breathing, and give the group a quiet half hour together.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Our prices cover the flights, transfers and everything from the moment you land: the camp, all meals with soft drinks, surfing and equipment, yoga and the day trips. Free staff places, a dedicated Trip Leader, full financial protection and travel insurance are included as standard.

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HEALTH AND SAFETY

We write a risk assessment for every destination and a health and safety audit for everywhere we stay. Before you travel you receive a travel pack with both, so your own paperwork, and the questions from parents, are covered.

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REQUEST A QUOTE

Tell us your dates, year group and what you would like the week to include, and we will send you a proposal for your trip.

Plan your trip

Camp under the stars