Staying Home Sucks, home
Fairhaven-weekend-saturday045
Fairhaven. Photo: Tom Reynolds from Melbourne, Australia, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Fairhaven

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

49Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 2: 4 ft swell at 10 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 71 out of 100

Swell
4 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
257kJ
Wind
ESE 4 kn
Temp
15°C

Tue 3 · 55 out of 100

Swell
4 ft9 smushy
Energy
219kJ
Wind
S 7 kn
Temp
14°C

Wed 4 · 39 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 scrumbling
Energy
92kJ
Wind
WNW 14 kn
Temp
17°C

Thu 5 · 51 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
202kJ
Wind
W 8 kn
Temp
15°C

Fri 6 · 45 out of 100

Swell
5 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
368kJ
Wind
WNW 12 kn
Temp
18°C

Sat 7 · 16 out of 100

Swell
6 ft9 smushy
Energy
494kJ
Wind
SSW 15 kn
Temp
12°C

Sun 8 · 16 out of 100

Swell
6 ft9 smushy
Energy
458kJ
Wind
SSE 6 kn
Temp
12°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 154, fair
  2. Mon 271, good
  3. Tue 355, fair
  4. Wed 439, too small
  5. Thu 551, fair
  6. Fri 645, fair
  7. Sat 716, poor
  8. Sun 816, poor
  9. Mon 954, fair
  10. Tue 1038, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–10 ftof swell
  • Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Fairhaven, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov54, fair3 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)82kJwind from the east-south-east, 3 knots16°C
Mon 2Nov71, good4 ft10 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)257kJwind from the east-south-east, 4 knots15°C
Tue 3Nov55, fair4 ft9 smushy4 ft at break (est.)219kJwind from the south, 7 knots14°C
Wed 4Nov39, too small3 ft9 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)92kJwind from the west-north-west, 14 knots, offshore17°C
Thu 5Nov51, fair5 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.)202kJwind from the west, 8 knots15°C
Fri 6Nov45, fair5 ft10 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)368kJwind from the west-north-west, 12 knots, offshore18°C
Sat 7Nov16, poor6 ft9 smushy5 ft at break (est.)494kJwind from the south-south-west, 15 knots12°C
Sun 8Nov16, poor6 ft9 smushy6 ft at break (est.)458kJwind from the south-south-east, 6 knots12°C
Mon 9Nov54, fair4 ft9 smushy4 ft at break (est.)191kJwind from the east-south-east, 8 knots15°C
Tue 10Nov38, too small3 ft4 smushy3 ft at break (est.)25kJwind from the north-north-east, 11 knots, offshore20°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 04:38 +1.2 mLow 10:20 −0.6 mHigh 16:17 +0.7 mLow 22:20 −1.2 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 05:21 +1.1 mLow 11:04 −0.6 mHigh 17:06 +0.7 mLow 23:07 −1.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 06:07 +1.0 mLow 11:51 −0.6 mHigh 18:05 +0.6 mLow 23:58 −0.9 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

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Fairhaven

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

The spot faces SE (156°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (336°). 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 moderately: 10 m deep about 400 m out (1 in 40). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 13°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Fairhaven, 1.1 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 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

Fairhaven

2 min by car · 13 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 13 places to stay in Fairhaven · Booking.com

About Fairhaven 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

About 30h door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 10m by road

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