El Baleo
Surf spot · Spain
Is it worth the trip?
17Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 3 ft swell at 10 s
Mon 2 · 15 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 261kJ
- Wind
- ENE 14 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Tue 3 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 shollow
- Energy
- 104kJ
- Wind
- ENE 14 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Wed 4 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 160kJ
- Wind
- NE 8 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Thu 5 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 174kJ
- Wind
- SE 4 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Fri 6 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 81kJ
- Wind
- ESE 3 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Sat 7 · 16 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 64kJ
- Wind
- ESE 4 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Sun 8 · 10 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 31kJ
- Wind
- S 9 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 151, fair
- Mon 215, too small
- Tue 39, too small
- Wed 420, too small
- Thu 522, too small
- Fri 618, too small
- Sat 716, too small
- Sun 810, too small
- Mon 94, too small
- Tue 1029, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
- Offshore: SEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 51, fair | 6 ft10 shollow8 ft at break (est.) | 696kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 9 knots | 17°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 15, too small | 4 ft10 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 261kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 14 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 9, too small | 4 ft6 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 104kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 14 knots | 15°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 20, too small | 3 ft11 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 160kJ | wind from the north-east, 8 knots | 14°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 22, too small | 3 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 174kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 4 knots, offshore | 14°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 18, too small | 2 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 81kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 3 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 16, too small | 2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 64kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 4 knots, offshore | 16°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 10, too small | 2 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 31kJ | offshorewind from the south, 9 knots, offshore | 17°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 4, too small | 1 ft10 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 10kJ | offshorewind from the south, 9 knots, offshore | 18°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 29, too small | 4 ft11 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 267kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 6 knots | 15°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 NovLow 02:10 −1.1 mHigh 08:34 +1.3 mLow 15:02 −1.2 mHigh 21:24 +0.9 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 03:24 −0.9 mHigh 09:54 +1.1 mLow 16:25 −1.1 mHigh 22:51 +0.8 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:49 −0.9 mHigh 11:17 +1.1 mLow 17:45 −1.1 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.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
El Baleo on Google Maps · Directions
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.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Pantin 1 km away
- Villarrube 3.2 km away
- Valdovino 5.7 km away
- Campelo 11.5 km away
- Ponzos 16.5 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About El Baleo
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NW (320°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (140°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 9). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 13°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Valdoviño, 5.4 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 1 mountain bike area.
Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. 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$1,090–US$2,050 each
about US$1,090–US$2,050 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to LCG, estimated from distance and season, changing at MAD, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$442–US$918 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$107–US$174 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$208–US$348 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$234–US$442 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$100–US$167 |
| Total | about US$1,090–US$2,050 |
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
10 min by car · 7 places to stay
about US$80/nightcountry average
About Valdoviño its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Ortigueira on Booking.com
36 min by car · 5 places to stay
- Beds in Ferrol on Booking.com
36 min by car · 24 places to stay
About US$80 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 17h 50m
About 17h 50m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → LCG, changing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD), then 1h by road
Flights ORD → LCG on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.