Four sites submitted to different climate conditions (arid, semiarid, sub-humid, and humid) were selected, from North-American and North-African areas, to assess groundwater recharge. High-resolution vertical subsurface sediment sampling along the vadose zone of the investigated sites was completed, and the collected samples were analysed in laboratory to evaluate their stable isotopes ratios (δ²H_H2O and δ¹⁸O_H2O) and volumetric water content.Using a stable isotope-based method “peak shift method”, the humid site revealed high groundwater recharge rates ranging from 41 to 75% of the total precipitation. Stable isotope profiles showed a water transit time of one year through the investigated vadose zone; this assessed transit time was observed to match that obtained by numerical modeling.Difficulties were observed when the peak-shift method was applied at sites under arid, semiarid, and sub-humid climate conditions,chiefly due to the absence of a clear distinction of the seasonal isotopic peaks.Using another stable isotope-based method ‘‘piston displacement method’’, annual groundwater recharge rates of 0.2%, 2.5 %, and 18% of the total precipitation were assessed for the arid, semiarid, and sub-humid sites, respectively. However, the arid site exhibited some difficulties in applying the piston displacement methoddue to the scattered distribution of the deeper isotopic signatures.