Staying Home Sucks, home
Waves crashing against the shore (Unsplash)
Near Cooks Island, 1 km away. Photo: Zachary Staines antibodies, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Cooks Island

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

22Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: 3 ft swell at 5 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 20 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 s
Energy
39kJ
Wind
W 2 kn
Temp
23°C

Tue 3 · 19 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 s
Energy
12kJ
Wind
SW 3 kn
Temp
24°C

Wed 4 · 12 out of 100

Swell
1 ft8 s
Energy
14kJ
Wind
NW 8 kn
Temp
26°C

Thu 5 · 21 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 s
Energy
21kJ
Wind
WSW 9 kn
Temp
29°C

Fri 6 · 30 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 s
Energy
49kJ
Wind
SE 8 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 26 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 s
Energy
35kJ
Wind
NW 5 kn
Temp
23°C

Sun 8 · 7 out of 100

Swell
3 ft7 s
Energy
80kJ
Wind
SSE 21 kn
Temp
22°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 136, too small
  2. Mon 220, too small
  3. Tue 319, too small
  4. Wed 412, too small
  5. Thu 521, too small
  6. Fri 630, poor
  7. Sat 726, too small
  8. Sun 87, too small
  9. Mon 931, poor
  10. Tue 1017, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 24 °Cno wetsuit
  • Best Apr–May2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

Cooks Island does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Cooks Island, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov36, too small2 ft10 s3 ft at break (est.)105kJwind from the north-north-east, 6 knots22°C
Mon 2Nov20, too small2 ft9 s3 ft at break (est.)39kJwind from the west, 2 knots, offshore23°C
Tue 3Nov19, too small2 ft4 s2 ft at break (est.)12kJwind from the south-west, 3 knots24°C
Wed 4Nov12, too small1 ft8 s2 ft at break (est.)14kJwind from the north-west, 8 knots, offshore26°C
Thu 5Nov21, too small2 ft7 s2 ft at break (est.)21kJwind from the west-south-west, 9 knots, offshore29°C
Fri 6Nov30, poor3 ft5 s3 ft at break (est.)49kJwind from the south-east, 8 knots22°C
Sat 7Nov26, too small2 ft7 s3 ft at break (est.)35kJwind from the north-west, 5 knots, offshore23°C
Sun 8Nov7, too small3 ft7 s3 ft at break (est.)80kJwind from the south-south-east, 21 knots22°C
Mon 9Nov31, poor4 ft6 s4 ft at break (est.)80kJwind from the south-south-west, 12 knots20°C
Tue 10Nov17, too small2 ft7 s2 ft at break (est.)40kJwind from the south, 5 knots21°C
Wed 11Nov34, too small2 ft6 s3 ft at break (est.)31kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots19°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 +0.1 mLow 06:50 −0.5 mHigh 13:50 +0.8 mLow 20:57 −0.5 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 02:37 +0.1 mLow 08:09 −0.4 mHigh 15:00 +0.8 mLow 22:04 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 03:58 +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.

Map

the spot, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: 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 Cooks Island

Shore to the north seen from Fingal Head, New South Wales 02
Near Cooks Island. Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Cooks Island

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

The spot faces E (101°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (281°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April and May, with about 2 good days in 7; in November, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Tweed Heads, 3.4 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 18 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.

Water about 24°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$1,860–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

Fingal

2 min by car · 3 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 3 places to stay in Fingal · Booking.com

About Fingal 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 28h 10m

About 28h 10m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h by road

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