A private charter with a skipper, run by Fabien, taking up to eleven people on a Beacher 8.40 — a shallow-draught boat that can be beached on a sandbank, which is the point of it here. Pick-up is from Arcachon, Pyla-sur-Mer, La Teste-de-Buch or Cap Ferret.
The standard outings are the oyster villages and the Île aux Oiseaux, the Dune du Pilat and Banc d'Arguin, or a sunset run. Trips start around €295 for an hour and a half and rise to about €995 for a full day of the whole basin, with a seafood platter if you want one.
Priced by the boat rather than per head, so it works out reasonable for a group and expensive for two.