Live wave height, wind and water temp — plus an 8-day forecast scored 0–100 for every sport.
Today at Plage du Grand Vala: Good for swimming — 76/100 for expert level. Wind 14 kn E · Tide -0.5 to -0.4 m. Best window around 00:00 UTC. Today's conditions at Plage du Grand Vala: 1.6m waves with strong cross-shore wind. Kite Foiling looks Epic! in the morning, with Wing Foiling also worth considering. Water temperature is 22°C / 72°F.
Forecast updated · ShorSense™
Today plus the next two days are free for everyone — scored in 3-hour windows, just like the app. The full 8-day forecast lives in the 4Shor app.
Plage du Grand Vala faces S. For swimming how much swell and wind that aspect keeps out matters more than the open-water forecast.
Today's wind is cross-shore at 14 kn. At that strength expect a textured surface for swimming, and the shelter of the bay to matter more than the forecast number.
Over the published window Plage du Grand Vala clears 60/100 for swimming at Intermediate, Advanced, Expert levels — that is who this spot is for on this sport. Today, 0 of 11 daylight hours clear that line at Intermediate.
Among the 31 scored spots within reach today, Plage du Grand Vala ranks 2nd for swimming. The order changes by discipline: the same conditions that put a spot top for one sport can drop it down the list for another.
Satellite-derived bathymetry with 10 m pixels and 10 cm vertical resolution out to ~40 m depth. The shape of the seabed is what determines where and how waves break.
Most apps run a single global model at 9–25 km. We blend regional NWP from national meteorological offices at 1.3–2 km — UK Met Office UKV, Météo-France AROME HD, ItaliaMeteo ICON-2I — with ECMWF IFS for the 8-day horizon. Finer resolution means the sea breeze, cliff funnelling and bay shadowing that changes everything for a session.
A nearshore wave model propagates the spectrum across the bathymetric mesh — modelling refraction, shoaling, dissipation, focusing and breaking as it goes. Most apps stop at swell + wind. We go further.
10 sport models × 4 ability levels weight wave height, period, wind, tide and breaking conditions differently — calibrated against ridden sessions so the scores mean what they say.
A sheltered, south-facing sand beach around 350m long, with a fine, gently sloping bottom and clear turquoise water suited to swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking and windsurfing/wingfoil rather than surf, with no meaningful wave fetch. A small river mouth at the eastern end marks the town boundary. Lifeguards are on duty daily 11am-7pm through summer, backed by a patrol boat and an elevated watch post. Smoking, camping and fires prohibited.
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Get the free Plage du Grand Vala widgetToday's conditions for Plage du Grand Vala are free. Unlock the full 8-day forecast and per-sport alerts that ping you when this location is about to fire. more than 2,500 European locations, scored from the seabed up.
Wind at Plage du Grand Vala today: 14 kn E (gusting 34 kn). Wind direction relative to the shore affects swimming conditions significantly — offshore winds produce cleaner, glassier surfaces while onshore winds add chop. These are daily averages; the 4Shor app shows hourly detail.
Waves at Plage du Grand Vala today: 2.3 m, 5 s period from S, mushy character. 4Shor derives nearshore wave conditions from ECMWF IFS 9-km atmospheric data and the IBI regional ocean model, updated hourly.
The best window for swimming at Plage du Grand Vala today is around 03:00 UTC, when conditions score 67/100 for intermediate level. Conditions can shift by the hour — the 4Shor app shows the full 24-hour score chart.
For beginners, Plage du Grand Vala scores 56/100 today for kite surfing — Okay. A score of 65–79 is Good for a beginner; 80+ is Excellent (90+ is Epic!); below 45 the session is usually not worth it. 4Shor scores every location across Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert levels.
Plage du Grand Vala is scored for Surfing, Windsurfing, Kite Surfing, Kite Foiling, Wing Foiling, E-Foiling, Paddleboarding, Swimming, Kayaking, Canoeing in the 4Shor forecast system. Conditions are rated Beginner through Expert for each sport, updated every hour, so you always know whether the session is worth the drive.
Plage du Grand Vala is a coastal location near Bandol in France. It is one of more than 2,500 European water-sport locations scored daily by 4Shor.
4Shor's ShorSense™ system combines satellite-derived seafloor mapping, nearshore wave models, wind and tide data to generate a hyper-local forecast. At Plage du Grand Vala, conditions are scored hourly on a 0–100 scale for each sport and ability level. A score of 80+ means Excellent (90+ Epic!); 65–79 is Good; below 45 the session is usually not worth the drive.
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