Staying Home Sucks, home
Playa de Matalenas, Santander
Matalenas. Photo: Emilio Gómez Fernández, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Matalenas

Surf spot · Spain

Is it worth the trip?

22Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: too small (3 ft swell at 5 s), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 26 out of 100

Swell
3 ft10 shollow
Energy
153kJ
Wind
E 3 kn
Temp
15°C

Tue 3 · 36 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
49kJ
Wind
S 2 kn
Temp
13°C

Wed 4 · 23 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
21kJ
Wind
SSW 2 kn
Temp
13°C

Thu 5 · 17 out of 100

Swell
2 ft11 shollow
Energy
54kJ
Wind
SSW 5 kn
Temp
15°C

Fri 6 · 13 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 shollow
Energy
44kJ
Wind
S 2 kn
Temp
15°C

Sat 7 · 8 out of 100

Swell
1 ft11 shollow
Energy
23kJ
Wind
ESE 2 kn
Temp
14°C

Sun 8 · 8 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 shollow
Energy
35kJ
Wind
E 6 kn
Temp
17°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 166, good
  2. Mon 226, too small
  3. Tue 336, too small
  4. Wed 423, too small
  5. Thu 517, too small
  6. Fri 613, too small
  7. Sat 78, too small
  8. Sun 88, too small
  9. Mon 97, too small
  10. Tue 1020, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
  • Offshore: SWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 4–17 ftof swell
  • Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Matalenas, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov66, good5 ft10 shollow4 ft at break (est.)415kJwind from the south-south-west, 2 knots, offshore16°C
Mon 2Nov26, too small3 ft10 shollow3 ft at break (est.)153kJwind from the east, 3 knots15°C
Tue 3Nov36, too small3 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.)49kJwind from the south, 2 knots, offshore13°C
Wed 4Nov23, too small2 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)21kJwind from the south-south-west, 2 knots, offshore13°C
Thu 5Nov17, too small2 ft11 shollow1 ft at break (est.)54kJwind from the south-south-west, 5 knots, offshore15°C
Fri 6Nov13, too small2 ft9 shollow1 ft at break (est.)44kJwind from the south, 2 knots, offshore15°C
Sat 7Nov8, too small1 ft11 shollow1 ft at break (est.)23kJwind from the east-south-east, 2 knots14°C
Sun 8Nov8, too small2 ft9 shollow1 ft at break (est.)35kJwind from the east, 6 knots17°C
Mon 9Nov7, too small1 ft3 smushy1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the south-south-west, 11 knots, offshore20°C
Tue 10Nov20, too small2 ft11 shollow3 ft at break (est.)110kJwind from the north-north-west, 2 knots17°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 NovLow 02:19 −1.2 mHigh 08:41 +1.4 mLow 15:08 −1.3 mHigh 21:30 +1.0 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 03:31 −1.0 mHigh 10:01 +1.2 mLow 16:28 −1.2 mHigh 22:58 +0.9 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:53 −1.0 mHigh 11:26 +1.2 mLow 17:49 −1.2 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 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.

Photos of Matalenas

Playa de Mataleñas 4
Photo: Tiia Monto, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mataleñas beach
Photo: Emilio Gómez Fernández, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Playa de Mataleñas y Cabo Menor
Photo: Jesús Gómez Fernández, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Matalenas

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

The spot faces NE (27°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (207°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–17 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 17). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 13°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 Santander, 3.2 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 17°C: 3/2 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$1,020–US$1,940 each

about US$1,020–US$1,940 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 ORD to SDR, estimated from distance and season, changing at MAD, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$456–US$951
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$20–US$33
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$208–US$348
Food7 days eating outabout US$234–US$442
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$100–US$167
Totalabout US$1,020–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: 3 towns

Closest

Santander

6 min by car · 80 places to stay

about US$80/nightcountry average

See 80 places to stay in Santander · Booking.com

About Santander its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$80 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 17h 05m

About 17h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → SDR, changing at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD), then 25 min by road

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