Spot · tier 2 · Senegal

Yoff

Yoff is a wide, several-kilometre sandy beach on Dakar's Cap-Vert peninsula, built up by the historic Lebou fishing village of Yoff and sitting just north of the city's old international airport site. It is one of Senegal's best-known kite and windsurf beaches, exposed to the broad North/West/South Atlantic swell window that hits the peninsula, giving medium, workable waves alongside open flat stretches at lower tide. Traditional colourful pirogues launching and landing through the surf are part of the everyday scene here, not a tourist backdrop.

intermediatewavesfreeride

captioned Plage de Yoff (Yoff beach), Dakar, 1.1km — Tbo47 / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

kite aerial photo captioned Beach front, 1.1km — Jeff Attaway from Abuja, Nigeria / CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

captioned Yoff beach (left), 1.2km — Giuditta Nelli (a-pois.it) / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

captioned Yoff beach (right), 1.2km — Giuditta Nelli (a-pois.it) / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Wind

best months	Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
season notes	Dry season (roughly November-May) brings the steadiest, strongest NE trade winds along the Senegalese coast; the June-October rainy season is hotter, more humid, and generally lighter/less reliable for kiting.
wind name	NE trade winds (Alizé), locally reinforced by Harmattan influence
direction to shore	cross to side-onshore (beach faces broadly west on the peninsula)
quality	steady in the dry season, can be gustier close to the built-up shoreline

Water

type	mixed
tides	Beach character shifts with tide; more standing/flat sections exposed at low tide, waves close to the seawall at high tide.
currents	Local currents and channels used by fishing pirogues; care needed around the boat-launch areas.
standing depth	Partial - sandy beach break with some standing zones, not a lagoon

Levels

beginner	no
intermediate	yes
advanced	yes
notes	Described as a medium-wave, intermediate-level spot; the mix of swell, wind chop and fishing-boat traffic makes it better suited to riders who can already self-rescue and body-drag upwind.

Launch & crowd

description	Wide open sand beach gives plenty of rigging space at lower tide, but the beach is shared daily with pirogue traffic and fishing activity, so launch windows and space depend on what the fleet is doing.
busy months	Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
vibe	Working fishing-village atmosphere (Lebou community) mixed with local surfers/kiters and Dakar city life; not a resort scene.

Monthly wind statistics

Station: Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport (weatherspark.com (NASA MERRA-2 reanalysis climatology), ~3 km) — Windfinder.com 429'd on every attempt (session-wide issue, see fuwairit note). Leopold Sedar Senghor Airport station is located within the Yoff neighborhood itself (~3 km from the beach). Wind speed peaks in January (14.1 mph), broad windy season roughly Nov-Jun; September calmest (8.7 mph). Direction northerly Sep 19-Jun 10 (peak 72% Jan 1), westerly mid-Jun to mid-Sep (peak 66% Jul) -- consistent with the batch's known best months (Nov-May). No Beaufort-probability or per-month wind-speed table available, so avg_knots/prob_ge_4bft_pct left null.

Month	Wind ≥4 Bft	Avg kn	Dir	Air °C	Water °C
Jan	—%	—	N	21.1	21.1
Feb	—%	—	N	21.1	19.4
Mar	—%	—	N	21.1	20
Apr	—%	—	N	21.7	20.6
May	—%	—	N	22.8	22.2
Jun	—%	—	W	25.6	25
Jul	—%	—	W	27.2	27.2
Aug	—%	—	W	27.8	27.8
Sep	—%	—	W	27.8	28.3
Oct	—%	—	N	27.8	28.3
Nov	—%	—	N	26.1	26.7
Dec	—%	—	N	23.9	23.9

Hazards

Heavy pirogue (fishing boat) traffic launching and landing through the surf
Crowded urban beach with swimmers, footballers and fishermen
Variable shorebreak that builds with incoming swell
Built-up shoreline (seawall/rocks in places) limiting downwind bail-out room

Travel basics

airport	DSS - Blaise Diagne International Airport (Dakar's current international gateway, roughly 45-50km from the city)
getting there	Short taxi/ride from central Dakar; Yoff sits on the site of the city's old (closed) domestic airport area on the Cap-Vert peninsula.
accommodation	Range of city guesthouses and surf-camp style lodging in the Yoff/Ngor/Malika area of Dakar.
cost level	budget\|mid
no wind	Explore Dakar and nearby Ngor Island, or use the peninsula's broad swell window for surfing at one of the many nearby breaks.

Nearby: Plage Monaco, Ngor, Malika

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · gosurfsenegal.com