Staying Home Sucks, home
Harold Salvage sunbaking, "The Sunbather" from Camping trips on Culburra Beach by Max Dupain and Olive Cotton
culburra beach. Photo: Max Dupain, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

culburra beach

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

10Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 6 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
17kJ
Wind
NNW 1 kn
Temp
21°C

Tue 3 · 14 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
31kJ
Wind
S 8 kn
Temp
21°C

Wed 4 · 12 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
23kJ
Wind
WSW 10 kn
Temp
21°C

Thu 5 · 14 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
48kJ
Wind
WSW 8 kn
Temp
19°C

Fri 6 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 smushy
Energy
18kJ
Wind
W 6 kn
Temp
19°C

Sat 7 · 4 out of 100

Swell
1 ft8 scrumbling
Energy
13kJ
Wind
WNW 5 kn
Temp
18°C

Sun 8 · 6 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 smushy
Energy
33kJ
Wind
SW 13 kn
Temp
16°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 114, too small
  2. Mon 26, too small
  3. Tue 314, too small
  4. Wed 412, too small
  5. Thu 514, too small
  6. Fri 67, too small
  7. Sat 74, too small
  8. Sun 86, too small
  9. Mon 911, too small
  10. 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 4–14 ftof swell
  • Water 20 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at culburra beach, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov14, too small3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)30kJwind from the east-north-east, 6 knots20°C
Mon 2Nov6, too small2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)17kJwind from the north-north-west, 1 knot21°C
Tue 3Nov14, too small3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)31kJwind from the south, 8 knots21°C
Wed 4Nov12, too small2 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)23kJwind from the west-south-west, 10 knots, offshore21°C
Thu 5Nov14, too small3 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)48kJwind from the west-south-west, 8 knots, offshore19°C
Fri 6Nov7, too small2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)18kJwind from the west, 6 knots, offshore19°C
Sat 7Nov4, too small1 ft8 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)13kJwind from the west-north-west, 5 knots18°C
Sun 8Nov6, too small2 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)33kJwind from the south-west, 13 knots, offshore16°C
Mon 9Nov11, too small3 ft5 smushy1 ft at break (est.)31kJwind from the south-west, 10 knots, offshore17°C
Tue 10Nov7, too small2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.)36kJwind from the north-north-west, 1 knot18°C
Wed 11Nov17, too small2 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)82kJwind from the north, 2 knots16°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 01:56 +0.3 mLow 07:16 −0.3 mHigh 13:49 +0.7 mLow 20:52 −0.7 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 03:10 +0.3 mLow 08:33 −0.3 mHigh 14:58 +0.7 mLow 21:57 −0.7 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:20 +0.3 mLow 09:54 −0.3 mHigh 16:08 +0.6 mLow 22:56 −0.7 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 and its town

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.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About culburra beach

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

The spot faces E (68°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (248°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–14 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 700 m out (1 in 69). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 18°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Culburra Beach, 0.7 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots.

Water about 20°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$1,890–US$3,580 each

about US$1,890–US$3,580 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 SYD, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$925–US$1,920
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$1,890–US$3,580

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

Culburra Beach

1 min by car · 30 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 30 places to stay in Culburra Beach · Booking.com

About Culburra Beach 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 10m

About 29h 10m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SYD, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 20m by road

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