Staying Home Sucks, home
Graffiti SEF en Punta Hermosa - panoramio
Punta Hermosa, the nearest town, 5 km away. Photo: Franco Cedillo, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Arica

Surf spot · Peru

Is it worth the trip?

47Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 2: 6 ft swell at 12 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 57 out of 100

Swell
6 ft12 shollow
Energy
843kJ
Wind
ESE 2 kn
Temp
25°C

Tue 3 · 28 out of 100

Swell
5 ft11 shollow
Energy
465kJ
Wind
SSE 8 kn
Temp
25°C

Wed 4 · 52 out of 100

Swell
5 ft12 shollow
Energy
779kJ
Wind
SSE 5 kn
Temp
24°C

Thu 5 · 48 out of 100

Swell
5 ft11 shollow
Energy
524kJ
Wind
ESE 4 kn
Temp
25°C

Fri 6 · 18 out of 100

Swell
3 ft10 shollow
Energy
214kJ
Wind
SSE 3 kn
Temp
25°C

Sat 7 · 42 out of 100

Swell
6 ft11 shollow
Energy
628kJ
Wind
S 7 kn
Temp
25°C

Sun 8 · 51 out of 100

Swell
5 ft12 shollow
Energy
565kJ
Wind
SSE 1 kn
Temp
26°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 162, good
  2. Mon 257, fair
  3. Tue 328, too small
  4. Wed 452, fair
  5. Thu 548, fair
  6. Fri 618, too small
  7. Sat 742, too small
  8. Sun 851, fair
  9. Mon 948, fair
  10. Tue 1018, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit
  • Best Dec–Feb5 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Arica, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov62, good6 ft12 shollow9 ft at break (est.)910kJwind from the south-east, 4 knots25°C
Mon 2Nov57, fair6 ft12 shollow9 ft at break (est.)843kJwind from the east-south-east, 2 knots25°C
Tue 3Nov28, too small5 ft11 shollow7 ft at break (est.)465kJwind from the south-south-east, 8 knots25°C
Wed 4Nov52, fair5 ft12 shollow9 ft at break (est.)779kJwind from the south-south-east, 5 knots24°C
Thu 5Nov48, fair5 ft11 shollow7 ft at break (est.)524kJwind from the east-south-east, 4 knots25°C
Fri 6Nov18, too small3 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.)214kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots25°C
Sat 7Nov42, too small6 ft11 shollow8 ft at break (est.)628kJwind from the south, 7 knots25°C
Sun 8Nov51, fair5 ft12 shollow7 ft at break (est.)565kJwind from the south-south-east, 1 knot26°C
Mon 9Nov48, fair5 ft10 shollow7 ft at break (est.)517kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots25°C
Tue 10Nov18, too small3 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.)204kJwind from the south-east, 6 knots25°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 06:11 −0.2 mHigh 10:47 −0.1 mLow 16:14 −0.3 mHigh 23:53 +0.4 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 07:20 −0.2 mHigh 12:33 +0.0 mLow 17:47 −0.2 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:59 +0.4 mLow 08:11 −0.3 mHigh 13:55 +0.1 mLow 19:16 −0.2 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Arica

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces SW (223°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (43°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 10). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 16°C in August, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 22°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, February and December, with about 5 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Punta Hermosa, 4.5 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 8 surf spots.

Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$931–US$1,780 each

about US$931–US$1,780 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to LIM, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$429–US$898
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$80–US$134
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$161–US$268
Food7 days eating outabout US$181–US$342
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$80–US$134
Totalabout US$931–US$1,780

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Closest

Lurin

6 min by car · 9 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 9 places to stay in Lurin · Booking.com

About Lurin its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$60 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 16h 30m

About 16h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → LIM, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 1h 10m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.