Brunswick Heads North
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
22Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: 3 ft swell at 5 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Mon 2 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 39kJ
- Wind
- E 1 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Tue 3 · 11 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 14kJ
- Wind
- NE 0 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Wed 4 · 19 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 20kJ
- Wind
- NW 4 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Thu 5 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 24kJ
- Wind
- E 1 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Fri 6 · 36 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 61kJ
- Wind
- ESE 7 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Sat 7 · 14 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 29kJ
- Wind
- NNW 5 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Sun 8 · 19 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 86kJ
- Wind
- SSE 15 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 145, fair
- Mon 218, too small
- Tue 311, too small
- Wed 419, too small
- Thu 522, too small
- Fri 636, poor
- Sat 714, too small
- Sun 819, poor
- Mon 945, fair
- Tue 107, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces Etakes swell from the E
- Offshore: Wwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–10 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 45, fair | 3 ft11 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.) | 137kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 7 knots | 23°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 18, too small | 2 ft8 smushy1 ft at break (est.) | 39kJ | wind from the east, 1 knot | 23°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 11, too small | 1 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 14kJ | wind from the north-east, 0 knots | 25°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 19, too small | 2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 20kJ | wind from the north-west, 4 knots | 26°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 22, too small | 2 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 24kJ | wind from the east, 1 knot | 26°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 36, poor | 3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 61kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 7 knots | 22°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 14, too small | 2 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 29kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 5 knots | 24°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 19, poor | 3 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 86kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 15 knots | 20°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 45, fair | 4 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 93kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 7 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 7, too small | 1 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 12kJ | wind from the north, 7 knots | 24°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 19, too small | 2 ft7 smushy1 ft at break (est.) | 33kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 12 knots | 23°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 01:15 +0.2 mLow 06:50 −0.5 mHigh 13:49 +0.8 mLow 20:55 −0.5 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 02:37 +0.2 mLow 08:09 −0.4 mHigh 15:00 +0.8 mLow 22:03 −0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 03:57 +0.2 mLow 09:34 −0.4 mHigh 16:08 +0.7 mLow 23:01 −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.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Brunswick Heads North on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Belongil 8.2 km away
- Byron Bay - The Wreck 12.4 km away
- Byron Bay 12.9 km away
- Bullies 13.4 km away
- Wategos Beach 13.4 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Brunswick Heads North
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces E (77°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (257°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 600 m out (1 in 58). 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 Brunswick Heads, 0.9 km away (about 5 min by car).
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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to BNE, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$891–US$1,850 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$355–US$596 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$141–US$234 |
| Total | about 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
2 min by car · 13 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Brunswick Heads its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Byron Bay on Booking.com
24 min by car · 192 places to stay
- Beds in Pottsville on Booking.com
29 min by car · 6 places to stay
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 28h 50m
About 28h 50m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 40m by road
Flights MDW → BNE on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.