Staying Home Sucks, home
Avenida principal - La Pedrera - Uruguay
La Pedrera, the nearest town. Photo: TitiNicola, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

El desplayado

Surf spot · Uruguay

Is it worth the trip?

9Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: 3 ft swell at 6 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 2 out of 100

Swell
1 ft11 s
Energy
8kJ
Wind
ESE 5 kn
Temp
19°C

Wed 4 · 9 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
40kJ
Wind
NE 11 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 16 out of 100

Swell
3 ft6 smushy
Energy
49kJ
Wind
SSW 9 kn
Temp
20°C

Fri 6 · 11 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 smushy
Energy
17kJ
Wind
NW 7 kn
Temp
23°C

Sat 7 · 1 out of 100

Swell
1 ft11 shollow
Energy
12kJ
Wind
SW 21 kn
Temp
13°C

Sun 8 · 9 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
83kJ
Wind
SSW 11 kn
Temp
16°C

Mon 9 · 4 out of 100

Swell
1 ft7 smushy
Energy
7kJ
Wind
N 3 kn
Temp
18°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 22, too small
  2. Tue 32, too small
  3. Wed 49, too small
  4. Thu 516, too small
  5. Fri 611, too small
  6. Sat 71, too small
  7. Sun 89, too small
  8. Mon 94, too small
  9. Tue 103, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–9 ftof swell
  • Water 18 °C2 mm shorty
  • Best May, Aug2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at El desplayado, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft11 s1 ft at break (est.)5kJwind from the north-north-east, 4 knots23°C
Tue 3Nov2, too small1 ft11 s1 ft at break (est.)8kJwind from the east-south-east, 5 knots19°C
Wed 4Nov9, too small3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)40kJwind from the north-east, 11 knots20°C
Thu 5Nov16, too small3 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)49kJwind from the south-south-west, 9 knots20°C
Fri 6Nov11, too small2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.)17kJwind from the north-west, 7 knots, offshore23°C
Sat 7Nov1, too small1 ft11 shollow1 ft at break (est.)12kJwind from the south-west, 21 knots13°C
Sun 8Nov9, too small4 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)83kJwind from the south-south-west, 11 knots16°C
Mon 9Nov4, too small1 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)7kJwind from the north, 3 knots18°C
Tue 10Nov3, too small1 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)5kJwind from the north, 7 knots21°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 00:31 +0.2 mLow 04:23 −0.1 mHigh 06:16 −0.1 mLow 08:15 −0.1 mHigh 12:37 +0.3 mLow 20:56 −0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 01:24 +0.1 mLow 05:12 −0.1 mHigh 06:50 −0.1 mLow 09:20 −0.1 mHigh 13:34 +0.2 mLow 21:57 −0.2 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 02:17 +0.1 mLow 06:02 −0.1 mHigh 07:23 −0.0 mLow 10:23 −0.1 mHigh 14:32 +0.2 mLow 22:57 −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 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 El desplayado

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

The spot faces SE (123°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (303°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 43). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 12°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 23°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually May and August, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is La Pedrera, 0.6 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.

Water about 18°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$1,350–US$2,540 each

about US$1,350–US$2,540 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 ORD to PDP, estimated from distance and season, changing at GRU, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$603–US$1,250
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$114–US$188
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$275–US$462
Food7 days eating outabout US$248–US$462
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$107–US$174
Totalabout US$1,350–US$2,540

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

La Pedrera

about 5 min by car · 45 places to stay

about US$100/nightcountry average

See 45 places to stay in La Pedrera · Booking.com

About La Pedrera its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$100 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 22h 35m

About 22h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → PDP, changing at São Paulo/Guarulhos–Governor André Franco Montoro International Airport (GRU), then 1h 55m by road

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