Staying Home Sucks, home
Bahía de Guánica, Puerto Rico
Guánica, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Caballero1967, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ballenas

Surf spot · Puerto Rico

Is it worth the trip?

No score for Ballenas on these dates yet: the forecast refreshes every three hours.

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Stakes swell from the S
  • Offshore: Nwind from the land
  • Beginner +who it suits
  • Works 1–5 ftof swell
  • Water 29 °Cno wetsuit
  • Best in Nov2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

No forecast for Ballenas yet: it refreshes every three hours.

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

  • Mon 2 NovLow 03:25 −0.1 mHigh 17:02 +0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 03:27 −0.1 mHigh 17:18 +0.1 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 02:42 −0.0 mHigh 14:31 +0.1 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 how it usually is on these dates, from past years' weather, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

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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

3 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Ballenas

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

The spot faces S (164°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (344°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 1–5 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 1.2 km out (1 in 120). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 27°C in January, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 30°C in September, its warmest (no wetsuit). For beginners the best month is usually November, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Guánica, 7.7 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.

Water about 29°C: no 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$1,080–US$1,980 each

about US$1,080–US$1,980 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 SJU, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$275–US$576
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$134–US$228
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$275–US$456
Food7 days eating outabout US$308–US$576
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$87–US$141
Totalabout US$1,080–US$1,980

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

Where to stay: 2 towns

Closest

Guánica

about 15 min by car · 6 places to stay

about US$100/nightcountry average

See 6 places to stay in Guánica · Booking.com

About Guánica its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$100 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 10h 30m

About 10h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SJU, direct, then 2h 15m by road

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