Eight kilometres separate the estate from the ocean. Ten to fifteen minutes by car, half an hour by bike on the cycle path. That is nothing at all — except that in Mimizan, “going to the beach” does not mean one single thing. Ten kilometres of sand unroll at the foot of the dunes, and depending on whether you are coming with a three-year-old, a surfboard or the wish to see nobody, you should not be parking in the same place.
Plage Sud and La Garluche: the resort
This is the heart of Mimizan-Plage: the shops, the terraces, the ice creams, the surf schools, the showers. Plage Sud and La Garluche are the liveliest and best equipped, with adapted access points and equipment for people with reduced mobility. It is also where lifeguard cover extends furthest through the season.
Our advice: this is the first-day beach, the one where you find your bearings, and the one for days when you want lunch on the spot without having prepared anything. In July and August, arrive before 10.30 am if you want to park without circling.
Le Courant: the little ones’ beach
The Mimizan courant flows into the ocean just north of the resort, and on its way it forms a stretch of shallow, calm water that warms up quickly. For a two- or three-year-old it is incomparably more reassuring than the waves at Plage Sud. Parents sit on the sand, the little ones paddle, everyone is happy.
Worth knowing: the level and the current change with the tide. Watch what the regulars do before setting down your things.
Lespecier and Remember: sand and nothing else
Further south, Lespecier is the commune’s wild beach: a car park among the pines, a staircase over the dune, and space. To the north, Remember offers the same kind of calm. These are the beaches you keep for the busiest days, when the resort is full and you want to hear something other than other people.
The trade-off: few or no shops, and more limited lifeguard cover through the season. Bring water, the parasol and the picnic.
The baïnes: what to understand before you go in the water
This is the subject we do not joke about, and the one we go over with every guest on arrival.
A baïne is a basin that hollows out between the shore and a sandbar. On a rising tide it fills; on a falling tide, the water it holds drains out through a narrow channel, heading out to sea. The result: a zone that looks calm, without waves, darker than the rest — and therefore very tempting — and which is exactly where you must not swim.
- Swim between the blue flags, in the supervised zone, and nowhere else. It is the only rule that really counts.
- Be wary of water that is too calm. A wave-free zone in the middle of the breakers is not a gift, it is a warning.
- If you are carried out, do not swim against the current. You will lose. Let yourself be carried, signal for help, and swim parallel to the beach to get out of the channel before heading back to shore.
- The flags: green, supervised swimming with no particular danger; yellow, dangerous but supervised; red, forbidden. Red is not a suggestion.
Lifeguard periods and hours vary from beach to beach: the resort is covered most widely, the wilder beaches only at the height of summer. Check the signs on site or with the Mimizan tourist office before setting off — it takes two minutes, and it is worth every precaution in the world.
Surf, dogs, dunes: three details that make the difference
Surfing. Mimizan is a well-known spot and the resort’s schools take beginners from six or seven years old. A first lesson in July costs about the price of a good meal and transforms a child’s relationship with the ocean. Book the day before in high season.
Dogs. They are welcome at the estate, and they are also welcome on unsupervised beaches, on a lead. On supervised zones, however, summer regulations exclude them. For a walk with the dog, the loop around Lake Aureilhan or the paths through the park remain the best option.
The dune. It stands thanks to its marram grass, and it is what protects the forest behind. Stay on the marked access points: every shortcut costs several years of vegetation.
After a day of sand and salt, coming back to the estate, taking a shower and getting the plancha going on the terrace: that is probably our definition of summer. All four gîtes are equipped for it.
