Frenchmans reef
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
13Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: 5 ft swell at 6 s
Mon 2 · 10 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 51kJ
- Wind
- SE 4 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tue 3 · 10 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft4 smushy
- Energy
- 40kJ
- Wind
- ESE 4 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Wed 4 · 6 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 scrumbling
- Energy
- 39kJ
- Wind
- SSW 11 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Thu 5 · 6 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 169kJ
- Wind
- SSE 16 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Fri 6 · 26 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 182kJ
- Wind
- SW 8 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Sat 7 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 40kJ
- Wind
- NW 3 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Sun 8 · 11 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 334kJ
- Wind
- SSW 19 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 110, too small
- Mon 210, too small
- Tue 310, too small
- Wed 46, too small
- Thu 56, too small
- Fri 626, too small
- Sat 79, too small
- Sun 811, poor
- Mon 915, too small
- Tue 1022, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–9 ftof swell
- Water 21 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 10, too small | 2 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.) | 64kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 5 knots | 22°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 10, too small | 2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 51kJ | wind from the south-east, 4 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 10, too small | 3 ft4 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 40kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 4 knots | 22°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 6, too small | 2 ft10 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.) | 39kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots | 21°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 6, too small | 5 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 169kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 16 knots | 21°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 26, too small | 5 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 182kJ | wind from the south-west, 8 knots | 19°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 40kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 3 knots, offshore | 22°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 11, poor | 6 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 334kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 19 knots | 16°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 15, too small | 6 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 267kJ | wind from the south-west, 16 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 22, too small | 3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 95kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 2 knots | 19°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 22, too small | 4 ft8 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 224kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 10 knots | 20°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 01:50 +0.3 mLow 07:10 −0.4 mHigh 13:54 +0.8 mLow 20:56 −0.6 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 03:07 +0.3 mLow 08:30 −0.3 mHigh 15:04 +0.7 mLow 22:04 −0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 04:18 +0.3 mLow 09:54 −0.3 mHigh 16:14 +0.7 mLow 23:03 −0.6 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).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec0of 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
Frenchmans reef 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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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
- Crabbes Creek 0.1 km away
- Pilos 0.1 km away
- Frenchmans Beach 0.6 km away
- Cudgee point 1.3 km away
- Caves 1.7 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Frenchmans reef
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (121°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (301°). 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 500 m out (1 in 51). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 19°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Murrays Beach, 4.2 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 8 surf spots and 1 dive site.
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$1,890–US$3,580 each
about US$1,890–US$3,580 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 MDW to SYD, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$925–US$1,920 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$355–US$596 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$141–US$234 |
| Total | about US$1,890–US$3,580 |
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
7 min by car · 5 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Murrays Beach its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Belmont on Booking.com
14 min by car · 7 places to stay
- Beds in Budgewoi on Booking.com
32 min by car · 6 places to stay
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
About 29h door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → SYD, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 05m by road
Flights MDW → SYD on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.