Staying Home Sucks, home
Cowes - panoramio (3)
Cowes, the nearest town, 7 km away. Photo: Con Tassios, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Express Point

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

36Poor out of 100 for your dates

Usually stay home

Every day scores the same, usually

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 36 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Tue 3 · 36 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Wed 4 · 36 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Thu 5 · 36 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Fri 6 · 36 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Sat 7 · 36 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Sun 8 · 36 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

No forecast for this spot on these dates. Usual weather for your dates

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Stakes swell from the S
  • Offshore: Nwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–10 ftof swell
  • Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
  • Best in Jul2 good days in 7

Usual weather for your dates

not a forecast
Usual surf conditions at Express Point, each day of your trip
DaySwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2to 8usually3 ft8 s102kJSW16°C

No forecast for this spot on these dates. These are the usual readings for that week.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears how it usually is on these dates, from past years' weather, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

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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 Express Point

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

The spot faces S (181°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (1°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 47). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 13°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually July, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Cowes, 6.9 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 9 surf spots and 3 wind sports spots.

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$1,920–US$3,660 each

about US$1,920–US$3,660 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 MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$958–US$2,000
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$1,920–US$3,660

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

Smiths Beach

2 min by car · 21 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 21 places to stay in Smiths Beach · Booking.com

About Smiths 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 50m

About 29h 50m door to door from Chicago

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

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