Staying Home Sucks, home
December Atlantic Ocean Beach El Cotillo - Fuertaventura Photography 1991 - panoramio
Cotillo beach. Photo: pictures Jettcom, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Cotillo beach

Surf spot · Spain

Is it worth the trip?

21Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 9: too small (6 ft swell at 7 s), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 25 out of 100

Swell
4 ft9 shollow
Energy
197kJ
Wind
NNW 7 kn
Temp
25°C

Wed 4 · 12 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 shollow
Energy
56kJ
Wind
N 3 kn
Temp
25°C

Thu 5 · 20 out of 100

Swell
2 ft11 shollow
Energy
113kJ
Wind
ESE 5 kn
Temp
26°C

Fri 6 · 15 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 shollow
Energy
96kJ
Wind
NNW 7 kn
Temp
25°C

Sat 7 · 10 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 shollow
Energy
42kJ
Wind
SE 4 kn
Temp
25°C

Sun 8 · 7 out of 100

Swell
1 ft11 shollow
Energy
38kJ
Wind
WSW 5 kn
Temp
26°C

Mon 9 · 38 out of 100

Swell
6 ft7 shollow
Energy
264kJ
Wind
WSW 7 kn
Temp
25°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 249, fair
  2. Tue 325, too small
  3. Wed 412, too small
  4. Thu 520, too small
  5. Fri 615, too small
  6. Sat 710, too small
  7. Sun 87, too small
  8. Mon 938, too small
  9. Tue 1053, fair
  10. Wed 1139, poor

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Wtakes swell from the W
  • Offshore: Ewind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 6–20 ftof swell
  • Water 22 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

Cotillo beach does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Cotillo beach, each day
DayScorefor ExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov49, fair5 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.)514kJwind from the east, 12 knots, offshore26°C
Tue 3Nov25, too small4 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.)197kJwind from the north-north-west, 7 knots25°C
Wed 4Nov12, too small2 ft7 shollow1 ft at break (est.)56kJwind from the north, 3 knots25°C
Thu 5Nov20, too small2 ft11 shollow3 ft at break (est.)113kJwind from the east-south-east, 5 knots, offshore26°C
Fri 6Nov15, too small2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.)96kJwind from the north-north-west, 7 knots25°C
Sat 7Nov10, too small2 ft8 shollow2 ft at break (est.)42kJwind from the south-east, 4 knots25°C
Sun 8Nov7, too small1 ft11 shollow2 ft at break (est.)38kJwind from the west-south-west, 5 knots26°C
Mon 9Nov38, too small6 ft7 shollow6 ft at break (est.)264kJwind from the west-south-west, 7 knots25°C
Tue 10Nov53, fair8 ft9 shollow9 ft at break (est.)960kJwind from the south-south-west, 8 knots24°C
Wed 11Nov39, poor9 ft9 shollow8 ft at break (est.)1,098kJwind from the west, 9 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

  • Mon 2 NovLow 00:33 −0.5 mHigh 07:05 +0.8 mLow 13:43 −0.7 mHigh 20:05 +0.5 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 02:03 −0.5 mHigh 08:27 +0.8 mLow 15:04 −0.8 mHigh 21:21 +0.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 03:21 −0.6 mHigh 09:37 +0.9 mLow 16:07 −0.9 mHigh 22:20 +0.8 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 intermediates: 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 Cotillo beach

Atlantic Ocean Beach El Cotillo - Fuertaventura Photography - panoramio
Photo: pictures Jettcom, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
El Cotillo Ocean Beach - Fuertaventura Photography - panoramio (1)
Photo: pictures Jettcom, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
El Cotillo - panoramio (2)
Photo: MrPepanos, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Cotillo beach

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

The spot faces W (256°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (76°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 6–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 13). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 19°C in February, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 23°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is El Cotillo, 1.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 22°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$1,110–US$2,100 each

about US$1,110–US$2,100 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 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to FUE, estimated from distance and season, changing at MAD, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$463–US$966
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$107–US$174
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$208–US$349
Food7 days eating outabout US$235–US$443
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$101–US$168
Totalabout US$1,110–US$2,100

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

Closest

El Cotillo

about 5 min by car · 31 places to stay

about US$81/nightcountry average

See 31 places to stay in El Cotillo · Booking.com

About El Cotillo its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$81 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 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 19h 10m

About 19h 10m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → FUE, changing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD), then 50 min by road

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