Staying Home Sucks, home
Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Island
Vivonne Bay, the nearest town, 38 km away. Photo: World4srk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

D'estrees Bay

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

30Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: 6 ft swell at 8 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 16 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 smushy
Energy
343kJ
Wind
S 11 kn
Temp
16°C

Tue 3 · 25 out of 100

Swell
4 ft9 ssoft
Energy
267kJ
Wind
NE 4 kn
Temp
17°C

Wed 4 · 9 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 ssoft
Energy
220kJ
Wind
SW 18 kn
Temp
16°C

Thu 5 · 44 out of 100

Swell
6 ft8 smushy
Energy
358kJ
Wind
W 6 kn
Temp
17°C

Fri 6 · 38 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 ssoft
Energy
417kJ
Wind
W 11 kn
Temp
19°C

Sat 7 · 30 out of 100

Swell
7 ft8 smushy
Energy
506kJ
Wind
SSE 10 kn
Temp
13°C

Sun 8 · 14 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 smushy
Energy
409kJ
Wind
ENE 12 kn
Temp
14°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 117, too small
  2. Mon 216, too small
  3. Tue 325, too small
  4. Wed 49, too small
  5. Thu 544, too small
  6. Fri 638, too small
  7. Sat 730, poor
  8. Sun 814, too small
  9. Mon 96, too small
  10. Tue 1015, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Beginner +who it suits
  • Works 5–20 ftof swell
  • Water 16 °C3/2 wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

D'estrees Bay does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for expert surfers at D'estrees Bay, each day
DayScorefor ExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov17, too small4 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)145kJwind from the north-east, 4 knots19°C
Mon 2Nov16, too small5 ft9 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)343kJwind from the south, 11 knots16°C
Tue 3Nov25, too small4 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)267kJwind from the north-east, 4 knots17°C
Wed 4Nov9, too small4 ft8 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)220kJwind from the south-west, 18 knots16°C
Thu 5Nov44, too small6 ft8 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)358kJwind from the west, 6 knots, offshore17°C
Fri 6Nov38, too small5 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)417kJwind from the west, 11 knots, offshore19°C
Sat 7Nov30, poor7 ft8 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)506kJwind from the south-south-east, 10 knots13°C
Sun 8Nov14, too small5 ft9 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)409kJwind from the east-north-east, 12 knots14°C
Mon 9Nov6, too small3 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)137kJwind from the north-north-east, 18 knots22°C
Tue 10Nov15, too small3 ft8 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)121kJwind from the west, 13 knots, offshore18°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 04:37 +0.5 mLow 11:13 +0.1 mHigh 12:28 +0.1 mLow 20:49 −0.4 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 05:06 +0.4 mLow 11:11 +0.1 mHigh 12:23 +0.1 mLow 20:58 −0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 05:30 +0.2 mLow 11:00 +0.1 mHigh 12:31 +0.1 mLow 20:27 −0.2 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 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.

More surf near here

2 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About D'estrees Bay

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

The spot faces E (110°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (290°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 2.4 km out (1 in 244). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 14°C in September, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 20°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is American River.

Water about 16°C: 3/2 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$1,950–US$3,700 each

about US$1,950–US$3,700 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 ADL, estimated from distance and season, changing at SFO, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$985–US$2,040
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$1,950–US$3,700

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 2 towns

Closest

Sapphiretown

41 min by car · 15 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 15 places to stay in Sapphiretown · Booking.com

About Sapphiretown its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest beds: American River, 25 km (about 45 min by car)

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 05m

About 31h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → ADL, changing at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), then 2h 45m by road

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