Staying Home Sucks, home
Lighthouse Beach Ballina
Near Ballina North Wall. Photo: Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ballina North Wall

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

11Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: 4 ft swell at 6 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 11 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 ssoft
Energy
83kJ
Wind
SW 5 kn
Temp
23°C

Tue 3 · 9 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 smushy
Energy
42kJ
Wind
SSE 2 kn
Temp
25°C

Wed 4 · 6 out of 100

Swell
1 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
24kJ
Wind
W 5 kn
Temp
23°C

Thu 5 · 11 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 scrumbling
Energy
34kJ
Wind
W 4 kn
Temp
27°C

Fri 6 · 19 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
110kJ
Wind
SE 5 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 10 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 ssoft
Energy
37kJ
Wind
NW 5 kn
Temp
24°C

Sun 8 · 7 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
251kJ
Wind
SSE 17 kn
Temp
20°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 125, too small
  2. Mon 211, too small
  3. Tue 39, too small
  4. Wed 46, too small
  5. Thu 511, too small
  6. Fri 619, too small
  7. Sat 710, too small
  8. Sun 87, too small
  9. Mon 920, too small
  10. Tue 1014, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 23 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Ballina North Wall, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov25, too small3 ft11 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)222kJwind from the north-north-east, 6 knots24°C
Mon 2Nov11, too small2 ft9 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)83kJwind from the south-west, 5 knots23°C
Tue 3Nov9, too small2 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.)42kJwind from the south-south-east, 2 knots25°C
Wed 4Nov6, too small1 ft10 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)24kJwind from the west, 5 knots, offshore23°C
Thu 5Nov11, too small2 ft9 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)34kJwind from the west, 4 knots, offshore27°C
Fri 6Nov19, too small4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)110kJwind from the south-east, 5 knots22°C
Sat 7Nov10, too small2 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)37kJwind from the north-west, 5 knots, offshore24°C
Sun 8Nov7, too small5 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)251kJwind from the south-south-east, 17 knots20°C
Mon 9Nov20, too small4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)138kJwind from the south-east, 8 knots20°C
Tue 10Nov14, too small3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.)105kJwind from the north, 9 knots23°C
Wed 11Nov15, too small3 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)99kJwind from the north, 10 knots23°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 NovHigh 01:21 +0.2 mLow 06:53 −0.5 mHigh 13:52 +0.8 mLow 20:57 −0.6 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 02:42 +0.2 mLow 08:12 −0.4 mHigh 15:02 +0.8 mLow 22:04 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:01 +0.2 mLow 09:37 −0.4 mHigh 16:11 +0.7 mLow 23:02 −0.6 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, its town, photos

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.

Photos of Ballina North Wall

You are here, interpretive signage around Shaws Bay, East Ballina
Near Ballina North Wall. Photo: Aliceinthealice, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Seagrass, interpretive signage around Shaws Bay, East Ballina
Near Ballina North Wall. Photo: Aliceinthealice, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Ballina North Wall

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

The spot faces SE (115°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (295°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 650 m out (1 in 66). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Ballina, 2.7 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 11 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 23°C: 2 mm shorty. 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$1,860–US$3,520 each

about US$1,860–US$3,520 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 BNE, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$891–US$1,850
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$147–US$241
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$355–US$596
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$596
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$141–US$234
Totalabout US$1,860–US$3,520

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

Ballina

5 min by car · 29 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 29 places to stay in Ballina · Booking.com

About Ballina its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 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 29h 30m

About 29h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 3h 15m by road

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