Picnic Bay
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
18Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sun 8: 4 ft swell at 8 s
Tue 3 · 17 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 196kJ
- Wind
- SW 8 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Wed 4 · 7 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 61kJ
- Wind
- NW 7 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Thu 5 · 11 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 238kJ
- Wind
- WSW 15 kn
- Temp
- 13°C
Fri 6 · 11 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 338kJ
- Wind
- WNW 18 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Sat 7 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 smushy
- Energy
- 296kJ
- Wind
- SW 17 kn
- Temp
- 11°C
Sun 8 · 28 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 237kJ
- Wind
- SSW 6 kn
- Temp
- 11°C
Mon 9 · 25 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 115kJ
- Wind
- ENE 8 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 227, too small
- Tue 317, too small
- Wed 47, too small
- Thu 511, too small
- Fri 611, too small
- Sat 79, too small
- Sun 828, too small
- Mon 925, too small
- Tue 1027, too small
- Wed 1135, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces Wtakes swell from the W
- Offshore: Ewind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–11 ftof swell
- Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 27, too small | 4 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 243kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore | 16°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 17, too small | 3 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 196kJ | wind from the south-west, 8 knots | 14°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 61kJ | wind from the north-west, 7 knots | 15°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 11, too small | 5 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 238kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 15 knots | 13°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 11, too small | 5 ft8 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 338kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 18 knots | 16°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 9, too small | 4 ft11 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 296kJ | wind from the south-west, 17 knots | 11°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 28, too small | 4 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 237kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 6 knots | 11°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 25, too small | 3 ft9 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 115kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 8 knots, offshore | 15°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 27, too small | 3 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 188kJ | wind from the south, 4 knots | 15°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 35, too small | 3 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 221kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 9 knots, offshore | 16°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 05:53 +1.4 mLow 11:48 −0.8 mHigh 17:43 +1.1 mLow 23:59 −1.5 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 06:39 +1.3 mLow 12:37 −0.8 mHigh 18:38 +1.0 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 00:50 −1.3 mHigh 07:27 +1.1 mLow 13:30 −0.8 mHigh 19:40 +0.9 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.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov2of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot, its town, photos
Picnic Bay on Google Maps · Directions
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.
Photos of Picnic Bay
.jpg){kind=link}
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Picnic Bay
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces W (262°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (82°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–11 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 13). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 13°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). No town nearby. Nearest place to stay we found: Southern Overnight Hikes, 3 km. Nearest beds: Foster, 41 km (about 1h 15m by car). Nearest airport: Melbourne Moorabbin Airport (MBW), 155 km. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.
Water about 15°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$1,570–US$3,070 each
about US$1,570–US$3,070 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$958–US$2,000 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$141–US$234 |
| Total | about US$1,570–US$3,070 |
No town nearby, so no stay is in it. For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: nearest beds 41 km away
No town nearby
Nearest place to stay we found: Southern Overnight Hikes, 3 km. Nearest beds: Foster, 41 km (about 1h 15m by car). Nearest airport: Melbourne Moorabbin Airport (MBW), 155 km.
See places to stay near Foster, 41 km away · Booking.comGetting there: about 31h 30m
About 31h 30m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 3h 40m by road
Flights MDW → MEL on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.