Staying Home Sucks, home
Swami's Beach, Encinitas
Little Tahitis. Photo: Tim Buss from North County, San Diego, California, USA, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Little Tahitis

Surf spot · United States

Is it worth the trip?

51Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 2: 3 ft swell at 13 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 77 out of 100

Swell
3 ft13 scrumbling
Energy
355kJ
Wind
E 8 kn
Temp
21°C

Tue 3 · 63 out of 100

Swell
3 ft12 scrumbling
Energy
266kJ
Wind
ENE 4 kn
Temp
22°C

Wed 4 · 44 out of 100

Swell
3 ft4 smushy
Energy
41kJ
Wind
ESE 7 kn
Temp
22°C

Thu 5 · 48 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 scrumbling
Energy
110kJ
Wind
E 5 kn
Temp
22°C

Fri 6 · 29 out of 100

Swell
2 ft12 shollow
Energy
95kJ
Wind
NE 5 kn
Temp
23°C

Sat 7 · 26 out of 100

Swell
1 ft13 shollow
Energy
59kJ
Wind
NE 3 kn
Temp
26°C

Sun 8 · 23 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 scrumbling
Energy
56kJ
Wind
ENE 3 kn
Temp
27°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 162, good
  2. Mon 277, good
  3. Tue 363, good
  4. Wed 444, poor
  5. Thu 548, fair
  6. Fri 629, too small
  7. Sat 726, too small
  8. Sun 823, too small
  9. Mon 922, too small
  10. Tue 1040, 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 18 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Little Tahitis, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov62, good3 ft13 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.)355kJwind from the north, 4 knots21°C
Mon 2Nov77, good3 ft13 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.)355kJwind from the east, 8 knots, offshore21°C
Tue 3Nov63, good3 ft12 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)266kJwind from the east-north-east, 4 knots, offshore22°C
Wed 4Nov44, poor3 ft4 smushy4 ft at break (est.)41kJwind from the east-south-east, 7 knots22°C
Thu 5Nov48, fair3 ft9 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)110kJwind from the east, 5 knots, offshore22°C
Fri 6Nov29, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)95kJwind from the north-east, 5 knots, offshore23°C
Sat 7Nov26, too small1 ft13 shollow3 ft at break (est.)59kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots, offshore26°C
Sun 8Nov23, too small2 ft9 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)56kJwind from the east-north-east, 3 knots, offshore27°C
Mon 9Nov22, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)61kJwind from the south-east, 1 knot28°C
Tue 10Nov40, too small2 ft10 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)86kJwind from the west-north-west, 1 knot27°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 03:33 +0.3 mLow 07:38 +0.1 mHigh 13:39 +0.6 mLow 21:18 −0.9 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 04:26 +0.4 mLow 09:38 −0.1 mHigh 15:17 +0.6 mLow 22:19 −0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 05:07 +0.6 mLow 10:56 −0.3 mHigh 16:39 +0.5 mLow 23:09 −0.8 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 intermediates: 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 Little Tahitis

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

The spot faces W (252°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (72°). 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 350 m out (1 in 33). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 15°C in January, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 22°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Encinitas, 0.3 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 22 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 18°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$1,120–US$2,030 each

about US$1,120–US$2,030 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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 SAN, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$248–US$516
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$80–US$134
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$301–US$502
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$147–US$241
Totalabout US$1,120–US$2,030

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

Encinitas

1 min by car · 27 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 27 places to stay in Encinitas · Booking.com

About Encinitas its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 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 7h

About 7h door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SAN, direct, then 55 min by road

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