Staying Home Sucks, home
Rottnest Island, Australia (Unsplash 1z94ZpSHFnI)
Rottnest Island, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Alvin Balemesa alnbal, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Investigators

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

48Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: 8 ft swell at 11 s, onshore wind, 20 kn (37 km/h), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 58 out of 100

Swell
7 ft9 s
Energy
740kJ
Wind
S 16 kn
Temp
18°C

Wed 4 · 62 out of 100

Swell
8 ft11 s
Energy
1,456kJ
Wind
S 20 kn
Temp
18°C

Thu 5 · 56 out of 100

Swell
8 ft11 s
Energy
1,308kJ
Wind
S 14 kn
Temp
19°C

Fri 6 · 35 out of 100

Swell
7 ft10 s
Energy
792kJ
Wind
SSE 13 kn
Temp
20°C

Sat 7 · 25 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 s
Energy
354kJ
Wind
SSE 10 kn
Temp
19°C

Sun 8 · 11 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 s
Energy
61kJ
Wind
S 14 kn
Temp
19°C

Mon 9 · 41 out of 100

Swell
6 ft10 s
Energy
704kJ
Wind
S 27 kn
Temp
20°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 231, poor
  2. Tue 358, fair
  3. Wed 462, good
  4. Thu 556, fair
  5. Fri 635, poor
  6. Sat 725, too small
  7. Sun 811, too small
  8. Mon 941, poor
  9. Tue 1045, fair
  10. Wed 1139, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
  • Offshore: SEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 4–18 ftof swell
  • Water 20 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Investigators, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov31, poor7 ft9 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)769kJwind from the west, 12 knots18°C
Tue 3Nov58, fair7 ft9 s3 ft at break (est.)740kJwind from the south, 16 knots, offshore18°C
Wed 4Nov62, good8 ft11 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)1,456kJwind from the south, 20 knots, offshore18°C
Thu 5Nov56, fair8 ft11 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)1,308kJwind from the south, 14 knots, offshore19°C
Fri 6Nov35, poor7 ft10 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)792kJwind from the south-south-east, 13 knots, offshore20°C
Sat 7Nov25, too small5 ft9 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)354kJwind from the south-south-east, 10 knots, offshore19°C
Sun 8Nov11, too small3 ft5 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)61kJwind from the south, 14 knots, offshore19°C
Mon 9Nov41, poor6 ft10 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)704kJwind from the south, 27 knots, offshore20°C
Tue 10Nov45, fair6 ft11 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)786kJwind from the south, 15 knots, offshore20°C
Wed 11Nov39, too small4 ft10 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)389kJwind from the east-south-east, 13 knots, offshore16°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 01:26 +0.3 mLow 12:26 −0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 02:52 +0.2 mLow 12:58 −0.2 mHigh 22:15 +0.1 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 01:44 +0.1 mHigh 05:03 +0.1 mLow 13:14 −0.1 mHigh 20:15 +0.1 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 Investigators

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

The spot faces NW (327°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (147°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–18 ft of swell. The sea is about 19°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 23°C in March, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Rottnest Island, 3.6 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 11 surf spots.

Water about 20°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$2,040–US$3,900 each

about US$2,040–US$3,900 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 PER, estimated from distance and season, changing at HKG, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$1,070–US$2,230
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$2,040–US$3,900

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Rottnest Island

Closest

Rottnest Island

6 min by car

about US$134/nightcountry average

See places to stay in Rottnest Island · Booking.com

About Rottnest Island 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 33h

About 33h door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → PER, changing at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), then 1h 05m by road

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