Road trip to Spain
Wing foiling and windsurfing in the Mediterranean
At the turn of the year, Anne Stevens set off on a road trip through France all the way to Spain:
When you head south in the winter, it’s usually in the hope that it will be nice and sunny there. Last December, however, the forecast for my destination wasn’t exactly promising—it had rained a lot there in the days leading up to my trip, and it wasn’t exactly warm either - but full of optimism, I set off for the Iberian Peninsula on Boxing Day anyway.
Since Avignon and Arles were on my list of places to visit this time, I didn’t take my usual route via the A75 (a roughly 340-kilometer-long, mostly toll-free highway in France) on the way there.
The stretch of country road leading up to my overnight stop just outside Lyon is easy to drive, but once I reached Lyon, I decided to take the toll highway instead, since the country road from Lyon to Avignon is one roundabout after another. That 250-kilometer stretch would have taken me more than two hours longer than taking the highway.
Arles and Avignon
So the roughly 35 euros in tolls were well spent, because Avignon is a beautiful little town, and strolling through the old streets under a bright blue sky was twice as much fun.
Arles, with its amphitheater, is also worth a visit, though it doesn't quite match the charm of Avignon.
On the way to Saint-Marie-de-la-Mer for the night, I passed by quite a few 'animal' highlights. From Camargue horses to flamingos and even otters, I spotted more than ten different species along the way.
The next day, I headed along the coast toward Gruissan. Since there was still no wind in sight, I took my time and stopped to visit Sète along the way. This small town, with its waterways, is also known as the 'Little Venice of Southern France'.
The route via Sète and Gruissan to Leucate
So far, I’ve had sunny weather every day, so I set off from Gruissan on my bike toward Narbonne Plage and Saint-Pierre-La-Mer. Neither place is really worth seeing, but the 40-kilometer bike ride along the coast was still very nice.
Then the moment finally arrived: the forecast called for wind — lots of wind — and as soon as I pulled into the Le Goulet parking lot in Leucate, I knew that winging wasn’t going to be an option for me today. So I set up my 3.7-meter sail and headed straight for the speed course on my waveboard.
Since I was too lazy to adjust the foot straps, I got on the board wearing thin 3mm shoes, lured by what seemed like warm sunshine. But it turned out to be much colder than I’d expected, and the water temperature was also well below what I’d anticipated.
Windsurfing in Leucate
Despite my freezing feet and the strong, gusty wind, I loved flying across the water at speed. My watch’s speedometer read 44 km/h at the end, and even though speed isn’t really my thing, I had a ton of fun windsurfing once again. I would have loved to have had more of that, but unfortunately, the wind conditions in Leucate were over before I knew it.
Apart from a few locals and maybe three or four surfers from the RV park, there really wasn’t much going on in Leucate. For that reason, and because the forecast called for wind again, I decided to try my luck the next day in El Port de la Selva, Spain. To get there, I deliberately chose the coastal road again, because it’s simply a stunningly beautiful route.
Wing foiling in El Port de la Selva
I’ve been wanting to check out that spot just past the French-Spanish border for a while now, but I’ve never had any luck with the wind there so far. When the wind is from the north, it blows right into the small cove, so that if necessary, you’ll be washed back to the wide sandy beach.
This time I got lucky - there were definitely six or seven wingers and a windsurf foiler out on the water. The wind was gusty and barely strong enough to get up and downwind, but I had a blast. Just the backdrop of El Port de la Selva under the blue sky made the session a real treat.
And the journey continued to L’Estartit...
After surfing, I had to hurry; I really wanted to spend New Year’s Eve at a campsite with a really good shower, so I tried my luck a little further south in Roses. But everything was absolutely packed - there were already quite a few RVs parked right in front of the campsites. I’d never seen it that crowded in all those years.
The upshot: I rang in the New Year in a Lidl parking lot. But I didn’t mind at all - there were plenty of other RV owners stranded there with me, and we all rang in the New Year together.
In the new year, I found a campsite with showers in L’Estartit and spent the following calm days enjoying lovely hikes and sightseeing in the region. I particularly enjoyed the trails through and around Llafranc and the road to Palafrugell.
The weather was absolutely perfect - I had sunshine every day, and that’s exactly what I need on a winter vacation. It didn’t matter at all that the temperatures were already quite low for this time of year in this region.
Llafranc, Calella de Palafrugell and back to El Port de la Selva for wing foiling
The forecast called for windy weather again over the next few days, but temperatures were expected to settle around 3-8 degrees. Not much, but with some sunshine, that should be fine.
I then headed out to the water to go wing foiling again in El Port de la Selva. As I was walking across the beach, a Spanish guy came toward me; I was worried it might be too windy for him, but no - "it would be too cold for him."
Undeterred, I headed to the launch spot with my little 2.5-meter baby wing. This time I was wearing my 5mm booties, and since the water wasn’t quite as cold, I didn’t freeze. The strong, gusty wind and the high swell coming from the side didn’t exactly make wing foiling easy, but I still had another great session in El Port de la Selva.
In the end, it got windy again - out on the water with a 2.5-meter wing in El Port de la Selva
The forecast called for much stronger winds the next day, and it was supposed to get even colder. It was my second-to-last day anyway, and given the snow forecast for my trip back, I skipped that one session and headed north again.
My beloved toll-free road A75 took me home again without a single traffic jam, just in time before the big snowstorm hit.
Even though it wasn't exactly warm this year, I still had a wonderful getaway, with plenty of sunshine, some impressive sightseeing moments, and three really great sessions on the water.
26.03.2026 © WING DAILY | Text: Anne Stevens | Photos/Videos: Anne Stevens