Foum Labouir Beach

Foum Labouir is on the Atlantic-facing western side of the Dakhla peninsula — the exposed, windward face where full North Atlantic swell arrives unimpeded from the open ocean and breaks over a long sandy beach backed by Saharan desert dunes. In contrast to the lagoon's flat water on the eastern side of the peninsula, this is raw, powerful, real surfing ocean: a completely different environment just a kilometre or two away across the narrow neck of desert sand. The beach here extends for many kilometres in an almost perfectly straight line, offering consistent beach break peaks up and down its length that peel reliably in north or northwest swell.

The wind conditions at Dakhla — persistent northeast trades — create an offshore or side-offshore effect for the west-facing Atlantic breaks, keeping wave faces clean and well-formed even in strong wind. This is one of the reasons that experienced surfers who come primarily for the lagoon also find time for the Atlantic side: the combination of good swell direction, offshore wind grooming and maximum sunshine hours makes for conditions that would be exceptional anywhere, even before the stunning Saharan setting is factored in. The beach has virtually no facilities — a few tracks through the dunes, occasional fishermen, and the distant silhouette of Dakhla's kite camps on the horizon.

Getting to Foum Labouir requires navigating the rough tracks across the peninsula from the main road — 4WD is advisable as the sandy tracks can be soft. The journey is part of the experience: crossing the narrow ribbon of desert with the lagoon glittering to the east and the Atlantic thundering ahead, the Saharan sky enormous overhead, is one of those travel moments that lodge permanently in memory. A few kite schools offer guided surf trips to the Atlantic side as part of wider Dakhla packages; otherwise independent travellers need to be self-reliant for emergencies given the remoteness of the location.