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Cape Otway - candles
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
49Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sun 8: 10 ft swell at 9 s
Tue 3 · 68 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 1,009kJ
- Wind
- SSW 6 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Wed 4 · 17 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 369kJ
- Wind
- WNW 14 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Thu 5 · 24 out of 100
- Swell
- 9 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 1,002kJ
- Wind
- WSW 14 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Fri 6 · 29 out of 100
- Swell
- 10 ft10 scrumbling
- Energy
- 1,960kJ
- Wind
- WNW 20 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Sat 7 · 25 out of 100
- Swell
- 11 ft10 smushy
- Energy
- 1,971kJ
- Wind
- SW 15 kn
- Temp
- 12°C
Sun 8 · 75 out of 100
- Swell
- 10 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 1,351kJ
- Wind
- SE 8 kn
- Temp
- 13°C
Mon 9 · 51 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 531kJ
- Wind
- ESE 7 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 272, good
- Tue 368, good
- Wed 417, too small
- Thu 524, poor
- Fri 629, poor
- Sat 725, poor
- Sun 875, good
- Mon 951, fair
- Tue 1035, poor
- Wed 1123, poor
The spot in five facts
- Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
- Offshore: NEwind from the land
- Expertwho it suits
- Works 3–20 ftof swell
- Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
Cape Otway - candles does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Expert | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 72, good | 9 ft11 scrumbling11 ft at break (est.) | 1,530kJ | wind from the south-east, 9 knots | 15°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 68, good | 8 ft9 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 1,009kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 6 knots | 14°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 17, too small | 5 ft9 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.) | 369kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 14 knots | 15°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 24, poor | 9 ft8 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 1,002kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 14 knots | 14°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 29, poor | 10 ft10 scrumbling12 ft at break (est.) | 1,960kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 20 knots | 15°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 25, poor | 11 ft10 smushy13 ft at break (est.) | 1,971kJ | wind from the south-west, 15 knots | 12°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 75, good | 10 ft9 scrumbling11 ft at break (est.) | 1,351kJ | wind from the south-east, 8 knots | 13°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 51, fair | 6 ft9 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.) | 531kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 7 knots | 14°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 35, poor | 7 ft11 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 1,028kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots | 14°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 23, poor | 7 ft11 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 1,159kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 17 knots | 14°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
- Mon 2 NovHigh 04:48 +0.7 mLow 10:26 −0.2 mHigh 15:55 +0.3 mLow 22:15 −0.7 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:29 +0.5 mLow 11:08 −0.2 mHigh 16:49 +0.3 mLow 23:01 −0.5 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 06:15 +0.4 mLow 11:59 −0.2 mHigh 18:14 +0.2 mLow 23:57 −0.3 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 expert surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May3of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug3of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep3of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov3of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec2of 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, its town, photos
Cape Otway - candles 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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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Photos of Cape Otway - candles
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More surf near here
5 places
- Elliot River 13.1 km away
- Moo Cows 14.6 km away
- Johanna 14.9 km away
- Infinities 15.4 km away
- Marengo (Point) 15.6 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Cape Otway - candles
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (207°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (27°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits expert surfers. It works in 3–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 250 m out (1 in 23). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 14°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Cape Otway, 0.7 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 wind sports spot.
Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. 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$1,920–US$3,660 each
about US$1,920–US$3,660 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 MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$958–US$2,000 |
| 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$1,920–US$3,660 |
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
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
about 5 min by car · 1 place to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Cape Otway its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Johanna on Booking.com
about 30 min by car · 8 places to stay
- Beds in Apollo Bay on Booking.com
about 35 min by car · 74 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 31h 10m
About 31h 10m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 3h 20m by road
Flights MDW → MEL on your dates · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.