Summer at Contis Beach

Summer at Contis Beach France A reat place to go in summer is a lovely little placce, but if there’s anything I dislike about summer, then it’s got to be a beach holiday, although I absolutely adore beaches.

You know, when you get all your towels, swimming gear, picnic etc., and just lay on a beach all day with the sole aim of getting a suntan – I really do not like this.

That said, I love this place, Contis, or Contis Plage, is a really nice little place on the French Atlantic coast, far enough down to be hot in the summer, but far enough up not to be invaded by too many tourists.

There are the obligatory steak-and-chips tourist restaurants, but there are a few nice retaurants that don’t cost an arm and a leg in the area too.

We were here camping in a neat little campsite just 7 kms from the beach, in which it was great to get away from the relative crowds in the small town, but near enough to reach on our tandem, complete with our Jack Russell, Stan in the front basket.

From the village of Saint-Julien-en-Born, there are some good cycle paths in most directions, but particularly to the beach and at the beach there are railings placed to lock your bike against.

From Contis, there is a boardwalk that leads to the beach and if you go to the left side of the beach, dogs are allowed and it is much less crowded than on the right side.

Parking is difficult in Contis, so if you can get here by bike, you will be doing yourself a favour – there is a free bus from and back to St Julien-en-Born too, which is convenient.

There are a number of shops in the town / village, let’s call it a town – with over-priced bottles of cold water, a bar, a couple of cafés and the usual ice-cream and churros stands – all pretty tame really, given the towns and resorts south and north of Contis.

Walking through the small town, there are some of the usual bucket-and-spade shops and the usual overpriced boutiques that promise the beach-bum look to balding, middle-aged men, but hey, so what!

There are surf spots and surf lessons to be had here, kitesurfing, fat-bike riding along the shoreline, fishing, stand-up-paddle and long walks along the kilometer after kilometer of soft golden sand – make sure you wear flip-flops in summer though, as the sand becomes scorchingly hot and I managed to burn my feet pretty well, resulting in huge burn blisters.

If you are after real peace and quite head off over the small river that spills into the sea, apart from the odd kitesurfer or flocks of sea birds paddling in the shallows you will be alone – the only drawback is there is no lifeguard here and the currents along this coast can be deadly.

The beach and sea are generally very clean and there is nothing like getting to the beach to watch the sunset in the warm summer evenings before or after dinner.

If you were to come to Contis, who would you take here?