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Insides. Photo: Ché Lydia Xyang, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Insides

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

23Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 23 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 smushy
Energy
11kJ
Wind
SSW 2 kn
Temp
24°C

Wed 4 · 22 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
20kJ
Wind
NW 8 kn
Temp
27°C

Thu 5 · 23 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 smushy
Energy
22kJ
Wind
W 9 kn
Temp
29°C

Fri 6 · 28 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
46kJ
Wind
S 7 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 14 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 smushy
Energy
27kJ
Wind
WNW 4 kn
Temp
23°C

Sun 8 · 14 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 smushy
Energy
26kJ
Wind
S 7 kn
Temp
23°C

Mon 9 · 28 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
92kJ
Wind
S 11 kn
Temp
20°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 217, too small
  2. Tue 323, too small
  3. Wed 422, too small
  4. Thu 523, too small
  5. Fri 628, poor
  6. Sat 714, too small
  7. Sun 814, too small
  8. Mon 928, poor
  9. Tue 1018, too small
  10. Wed 1127, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
  • Offshore: SWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 24 °Cno wetsuit
  • Best Apr–May2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

Insides does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Insides, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov17, too small2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)21kJwind from the west-north-west, 2 knots23°C
Tue 3Nov23, too small2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)11kJwind from the south-south-west, 2 knots, offshore24°C
Wed 4Nov22, too small2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)20kJwind from the north-west, 8 knots27°C
Thu 5Nov23, too small2 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)22kJwind from the west, 9 knots, offshore29°C
Fri 6Nov28, poor3 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)46kJwind from the south, 7 knots22°C
Sat 7Nov14, too small2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.)27kJwind from the west-north-west, 4 knots23°C
Sun 8Nov14, too small2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.)26kJwind from the south, 7 knots23°C
Mon 9Nov28, poor4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)92kJwind from the south, 11 knots20°C
Tue 10Nov18, too small2 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)36kJwind from the east, 4 knots21°C
Wed 11Nov27, too small2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.)16kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots18°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 02:38 +0.1 mLow 08:08 −0.5 mHigh 15:00 +0.8 mLow 22:05 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 03:58 +0.2 mLow 09:34 −0.4 mHigh 16:09 +0.7 mLow 23:02 −0.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 05:06 +0.3 mLow 10:52 −0.5 mHigh 17:10 +0.7 mLow 23:49 −0.7 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, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: 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.

Photos of Insides

Clean beach sand - panoramio
Near Insides. Photo: Ché Lydia Xyang, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
A view of Coolangatta looking down on Rainbow Bay from Point Danger, Queensland
Near Insides. Photo: Jack Bain, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Insides

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

The spot faces NE (64°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (244°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 850 m out (1 in 85). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April and May, with about 2 good days in 7; in October, November and December, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Tweed Heads, 1.3 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 19 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.

Water about 24°C: no wetsuit. 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$1,860–US$3,520 each

about US$1,860–US$3,520 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 BNE, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$891–US$1,850
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$1,860–US$3,520

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

Tweed Heads

2 min by car · 56 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 56 places to stay in Tweed Heads · Booking.com

About Tweed Heads 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 28h 10m

About 28h 10m door to door from Chicago

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

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