Staying Home Sucks, home
Olas Altas desde el Malecón - panoramio
Olas altas. Photo: panza.rayada, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Olas altas

Surf spot · Mexico

Is it worth the trip?

63Good out of 100 for your dates

Home sucks

Best on Thu 5: 3 ft swell at 11 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 64 out of 100

Swell
4 ft12 shollow
Energy
497kJ
Wind
NNW 3 kn
Temp
29°C

Tue 3 · 66 out of 100

Swell
4 ft12 shollow
Energy
358kJ
Wind
ENE 2 kn
Temp
29°C

Wed 4 · 67 out of 100

Swell
3 ft11 shollow
Energy
261kJ
Wind
N 3 kn
Temp
29°C

Thu 5 · 71 out of 100

Swell
3 ft11 shollow
Energy
238kJ
Wind
ENE 2 kn
Temp
29°C

Fri 6 · 55 out of 100

Swell
3 ft11 shollow
Energy
185kJ
Wind
NE 3 kn
Temp
29°C

Sat 7 · 45 out of 100

Swell
2 ft11 shollow
Energy
146kJ
Wind
E 1 kn
Temp
29°C

Sun 8 · 42 out of 100

Swell
2 ft11 shollow
Energy
107kJ
Wind
W 3 kn
Temp
29°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 172, good
  2. Mon 264, good
  3. Tue 366, good
  4. Wed 467, good
  5. Thu 571, good
  6. Fri 655, fair
  7. Sat 745, fair
  8. Sun 842, too small
  9. Mon 933, too small
  10. Tue 1038, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Wtakes swell from the W
  • Offshore: Ewind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–9 ftof swell
  • Water 28 °Cno wetsuit
  • Best in Sep5 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Olas altas, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov72, good4 ft12 shollow6 ft at break (est.)520kJwind from the east, 2 knots, offshore30°C
Mon 2Nov64, good4 ft12 shollow6 ft at break (est.)497kJwind from the north-north-west, 3 knots29°C
Tue 3Nov66, good4 ft12 shollow6 ft at break (est.)358kJwind from the east-north-east, 2 knots, offshore29°C
Wed 4Nov67, good3 ft11 shollow5 ft at break (est.)261kJwind from the north, 3 knots29°C
Thu 5Nov71, good3 ft11 shollow5 ft at break (est.)238kJwind from the east-north-east, 2 knots, offshore29°C
Fri 6Nov55, fair3 ft11 shollow4 ft at break (est.)185kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots, offshore29°C
Sat 7Nov45, fair2 ft11 shollow4 ft at break (est.)146kJwind from the east, 1 knot, offshore29°C
Sun 8Nov42, too small2 ft11 shollow3 ft at break (est.)107kJwind from the west, 3 knots29°C
Mon 9Nov33, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)83kJwind from the north-north-west, 2 knots31°C
Tue 10Nov38, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)95kJwind from the east-south-east, 2 knots30°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 05:03 +0.2 mLow 07:37 +0.2 mHigh 14:02 +0.4 mLow 22:15 −0.5 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 05:39 +0.3 mLow 11:07 +0.0 mHigh 16:23 +0.3 mLow 23:24 −0.5 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 06:08 +0.4 mLow 12:09 −0.2 mHigh 17:48 +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, 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 Olas altas

Playa en Mazatlán 63
Photo: Dennis Sylvester Hurd, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Olas altas

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

The spot faces W (250°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (70°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 22). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 22°C in March, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 30°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually September, with about 5 good days in 7; in January, February and December, about 1. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Mazatlán, 3.7 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots.

Water about 28°C: no 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$757–US$1,390 each

about US$757–US$1,390 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 MZT, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$241–US$502
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$47–US$80
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$181–US$295
Food7 days eating outabout US$201–US$375
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$87–US$141
Totalabout US$757–US$1,390

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

Where to stay: Mazatlán

Closest

Mazatlán

6 min by car · 94 places to stay

about US$67/nightcountry average

See 94 places to stay in Mazatlán · Booking.com

About Mazatlán its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$67 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 11h 40m

About 11h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → MZT, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), then 40 min by road

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