Staying Home Sucks, home
Quiosco en la Plaza de Iquique - panoramio
Iquique, the nearest town. Photo: Seba Flores, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

La Cosa

Surf spot · Chile

Is it worth the trip?

55Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Sun 8: 7 ft swell at 10 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 57 out of 100

Swell
6 ft11 scrumbling
Energy
790kJ
Wind
SW 3 kn
Temp
23°C

Tue 3 · 38 out of 100

Swell
5 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
406kJ
Wind
SW 3 kn
Temp
22°C

Wed 4 · 52 out of 100

Swell
6 ft11 scrumbling
Energy
808kJ
Wind
SW 2 kn
Temp
22°C

Thu 5 · 44 out of 100

Swell
5 ft11 scrumbling
Energy
453kJ
Wind
SSW 3 kn
Temp
22°C

Fri 6 · 25 out of 100

Swell
4 ft15 shollow
Energy
521kJ
Wind
SW 5 kn
Temp
23°C

Sat 7 · 60 out of 100

Swell
6 ft11 scrumbling
Energy
849kJ
Wind
SSW 4 kn
Temp
23°C

Sun 8 · 70 out of 100

Swell
7 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
841kJ
Wind
SW 1 kn
Temp
23°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 158, fair
  2. Mon 257, fair
  3. Tue 338, too small
  4. Wed 452, fair
  5. Thu 544, too small
  6. Fri 625, too small
  7. Sat 760, good
  8. Sun 870, good
  9. Mon 941, too small
  10. Tue 1026, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Wtakes swell from the W
  • Offshore: Ewind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 19 °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 La Cosa, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov58, fair6 ft11 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.)852kJwind from the south-west, 3 knots22°C
Mon 2Nov57, fair6 ft11 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.)790kJwind from the south-west, 3 knots23°C
Tue 3Nov38, too small5 ft10 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.)406kJwind from the south-west, 3 knots22°C
Wed 4Nov52, fair6 ft11 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.)808kJwind from the south-west, 2 knots22°C
Thu 5Nov44, too small5 ft11 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.)453kJwind from the south-south-west, 3 knots22°C
Fri 6Nov25, too small4 ft15 shollow5 ft at break (est.)521kJwind from the south-west, 5 knots23°C
Sat 7Nov60, good6 ft11 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.)849kJwind from the south-south-west, 4 knots23°C
Sun 8Nov70, good7 ft10 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.)841kJwind from the south-west, 1 knot23°C
Mon 9Nov41, too small5 ft10 scrumbling6 ft at break (est.)488kJwind from the south-west, 4 knots23°C
Tue 10Nov26, too small4 ft13 shollow5 ft at break (est.)451kJwind from the 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

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 02:27 +0.6 mLow 09:46 −0.4 mHigh 15:32 +0.0 mLow 20:38 −0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 03:35 +0.5 mLow 10:52 −0.4 mHigh 16:54 +0.1 mLow 22:08 −0.2 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:45 +0.5 mLow 11:50 −0.5 mHigh 18:03 +0.2 mLow 23:36 −0.3 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 Cosa

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

The spot faces W (263°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (83°). It is sheltered 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 250 m out (1 in 26). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 17°C in July, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 21°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Iquique, 0.7 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 9 surf spots.

Water about 19°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$1,010–US$1,940 each

about US$1,010–US$1,940 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 IQQ, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL and SCL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$489–US$1,030
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$1,010–US$1,940

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

Where to stay: Iquique

Closest

Iquique

1 min by car · 160 places to stay

about US$74/nightcountry average

See 160 places to stay in Iquique · Booking.com

About Iquique 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 24h 40m

About 24h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → IQQ, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), then 55 min by road

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