Staying Home Sucks, home
Isla Negra (Chile)
Near La Castilla-El Tabo. Photo: Jorge Barrios, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

La Castilla-El Tabo

Surf spot · Chile

Is it worth the trip?

46Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: 7 ft swell at 10 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 63 out of 100

Swell
7 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
999kJ
Wind
WNW 3 kn
Temp
20°C

Wed 4 · 36 out of 100

Swell
5 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
519kJ
Wind
S 5 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 23 out of 100

Swell
6 ft12 smushy
Energy
1,040kJ
Wind
SW 15 kn
Temp
19°C

Fri 6 · 31 out of 100

Swell
6 ft11 smushy
Energy
748kJ
Wind
S 10 kn
Temp
18°C

Sat 7 · 52 out of 100

Swell
8 ft9 ssoft
Energy
1,069kJ
Wind
SSW 5 kn
Temp
21°C

Sun 8 · 52 out of 100

Swell
8 ft9 ssoft
Energy
830kJ
Wind
NW 3 kn
Temp
21°C

Mon 9 · 32 out of 100

Swell
4 ft13 scrumbling
Energy
432kJ
Wind
N 5 kn
Temp
22°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 255, fair
  2. Tue 363, good
  3. Wed 436, too small
  4. Thu 523, poor
  5. Fri 631, poor
  6. Sat 752, fair
  7. Sun 852, fair
  8. Mon 932, too small
  9. Tue 1059, fair

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 14 °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 expert surfers at La Castilla-El Tabo, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov55, fair6 ft10 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.)610kJwind from the west, 1 knot21°C
Tue 3Nov63, good7 ft10 scrumbling10 ft at break (est.)999kJwind from the west-north-west, 3 knots20°C
Wed 4Nov36, too small5 ft10 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.)519kJwind from the south, 5 knots20°C
Thu 5Nov23, poor6 ft12 smushy9 ft at break (est.)1,040kJwind from the south-west, 15 knots19°C
Fri 6Nov31, poor6 ft11 smushy8 ft at break (est.)748kJwind from the south, 10 knots18°C
Sat 7Nov52, fair8 ft9 ssoft10 ft at break (est.)1,069kJwind from the south-south-west, 5 knots21°C
Sun 8Nov52, fair8 ft9 ssoft9 ft at break (est.)830kJwind from the north-west, 3 knots21°C
Mon 9Nov32, too small4 ft13 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.)432kJwind from the north, 5 knots22°C
Tue 10Nov59, fair6 ft12 scrumbling9 ft at break (est.)1,049kJwind from the south-south-west, 5 knots23°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 04:48 +0.6 mLow 12:01 −0.5 mHigh 18:12 +0.2 mLow 23:34 −0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 06:05 +0.6 mLow 13:03 −0.6 mHigh 19:21 +0.3 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 00:59 −0.3 mHigh 07:16 +0.5 mLow 13:56 −0.6 mHigh 20:15 +0.4 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 La Castilla-El Tabo

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

The spot faces SW (245°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (65°). 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 moderately: 10 m deep about 300 m out (1 in 32). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 12°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 17°C in February, its warmest (3/2 wetsuit). The town to stay in is El Tabo, 0.8 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots.

Water about 14°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$1,090–US$2,090 each

about US$1,090–US$2,090 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 SCL, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$569–US$1,180
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$80–US$134
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$194–US$322
Food7 days eating outabout US$174–US$328
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$74–US$127
Totalabout US$1,090–US$2,090

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

El Tabo

about 5 min by car · 58 places to stay

about US$74/nightcountry average

See 58 places to stay in El Tabo · Booking.com

About El Tabo its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$74 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 20h 20m

About 20h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SCL, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 1h 45m by road

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