Staying Home Sucks, home
Diamond Beach rocks
Near Diamond Head, 2 km away. Photo: Brian Tolagson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Diamond Head

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

28Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: 5 ft swell at 7 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 27 out of 100

Swell
3 ft4 smushy
Energy
24kJ
Wind
NNE 9 kn
Temp
26°C

Wed 4 · 18 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
30kJ
Wind
S 7 kn
Temp
25°C

Thu 5 · 14 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 shollow
Energy
34kJ
Wind
WSW 6 kn
Temp
26°C

Fri 6 · 45 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
239kJ
Wind
WSW 4 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 19 out of 100

Swell
3 ft6 smushy
Energy
48kJ
Wind
NW 2 kn
Temp
27°C

Sun 8 · 25 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 shollow
Energy
124kJ
Wind
SSW 14 kn
Temp
18°C

Mon 9 · 24 out of 100

Swell
6 ft7 smushy
Energy
241kJ
Wind
SSW 12 kn
Temp
19°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 235, too small
  2. Tue 327, too small
  3. Wed 418, too small
  4. Thu 514, too small
  5. Fri 645, fair
  6. Sat 719, too small
  7. Sun 825, poor
  8. Mon 924, poor
  9. Tue 1031, poor
  10. Wed 1148, fair

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 21 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Diamond Head, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov35, too small3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.)69kJwind from the south-south-east, 5 knots24°C
Tue 3Nov27, too small3 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)24kJwind from the north-north-east, 9 knots26°C
Wed 4Nov18, too small2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)30kJwind from the south, 7 knots25°C
Thu 5Nov14, too small2 ft9 shollow2 ft at break (est.)34kJwind from the west-south-west, 6 knots26°C
Fri 6Nov45, fair5 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)239kJwind from the west-south-west, 4 knots22°C
Sat 7Nov19, too small3 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)48kJwind from the north-west, 2 knots, offshore27°C
Sun 8Nov25, poor3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.)124kJwind from the south-south-west, 14 knots18°C
Mon 9Nov24, poor6 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)241kJwind from the south-south-west, 12 knots19°C
Tue 10Nov31, poor4 ft9 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.)260kJwind from the south-south-east, 5 knots22°C
Wed 11Nov48, fair5 ft8 smushy6 ft at break (est.)298kJwind from the north-east, 5 knots24°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 02:54 +0.2 mLow 08:15 −0.4 mHigh 14:58 +0.7 mLow 21:53 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:07 +0.3 mLow 09:36 −0.4 mHigh 16:08 +0.7 mLow 22:53 −0.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 05:10 +0.4 mLow 10:53 −0.4 mHigh 17:12 +0.6 mLow 23:45 −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 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.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Diamond Head

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

The spot faces E (112°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (292°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 19). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 20°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 25°C in January, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Dunbogan, 8.9 km away (about 20 min by car).

Water about 21°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$1,800–US$3,440 each

about US$1,800–US$3,440 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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 PQQ, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX and BNE, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$904–US$1,880
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$74–US$127
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$1,800–US$3,440

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

Dunbogan

16 min by car · 21 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 21 places to stay in Dunbogan · Booking.com

About Dunbogan 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 30h 55m

About 30h 55m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PQQ, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Brisbane International Airport (BNE), then 55 min by road

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