PLAYA ARENA
Surf spot · Spain
Is it worth the trip?
46Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 9 s
Tue 3 · 69 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 197kJ
- Wind
- ESE 2 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Wed 4 · 40 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 49kJ
- Wind
- E 4 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Thu 5 · 40 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 69kJ
- Wind
- SE 4 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Fri 6 · 41 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 85kJ
- Wind
- ENE 1 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Sat 7 · 21 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 28kJ
- Wind
- S 7 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Sun 8 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 44kJ
- Wind
- S 17 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Mon 9 · 54 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 181kJ
- Wind
- S 9 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 273, good
- Tue 369, good
- Wed 440, too small
- Thu 540, too small
- Fri 641, too small
- Sat 721, too small
- Sun 823, too small
- Mon 954, fair
- Tue 100, too big
The spot in five facts
- Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
- Offshore: SEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 73, good | 4 ft10 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 341kJ | wind from the north-east, 1 knot | 25°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 69, good | 4 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 197kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 2 knots, offshore | 24°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 40, too small | 2 ft7 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 49kJ | wind from the east, 4 knots | 24°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 40, too small | 3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 69kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 4 knots, offshore | 25°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 41, too small | 2 ft9 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 85kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 1 knot | 25°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 21, too small | 2 ft8 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 28kJ | offshorewind from the south, 7 knots, offshore | 26°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 23, too small | 2 ft10 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 44kJ | offshorewind from the south, 17 knots, offshore | 29°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 54, fair | 4 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 181kJ | offshorewind from the south, 9 knots, offshore | 22°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft9 sslab8 ft at break (est.) | 632kJ | wind from the north-east, 5 knots | 23°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 NovLow 00:17 −0.4 mHigh 06:50 +0.7 mLow 13:30 −0.6 mHigh 19:56 +0.5 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 01:49 −0.4 mHigh 08:15 +0.7 mLow 14:52 −0.7 mHigh 21:13 +0.6 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 03:09 −0.5 mHigh 09:26 +0.8 mLow 15:56 −0.7 mHigh 22:11 +0.7 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
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 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 and its town
PLAYA ARENA on Google Maps · Directions
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.
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More surf near here
5 places
- la caseta del telegrapho 6.3 km away
- Los Gigantes 14.1 km away
- Las Conchas 15.8 km away
- Punta blanca 17.8 km away
- EL CHALET 19.3 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About PLAYA ARENA
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NW (332°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (152°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 2). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hard and thick, like a slab. The sea is about 20°C in January, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in September, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Buenavista del Norte, 1.9 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 23°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$1,110–US$2,080 each
about US$1,110–US$2,080 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to TFS, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$456–US$945 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$107–US$174 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$208–US$348 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$234–US$442 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$100–US$167 |
| Total | about US$1,110–US$2,080 |
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
about 5 min by car · 9 places to stay
about US$80/nightcountry average
About Buenavista del Norte its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Los Silos on Booking.com
about 10 min by car · 9 places to stay
- Beds in Tamaimo on Booking.com
about 25 min by car · 2 places to stay
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 18h 45m
About 18h 45m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → TFS, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 1h 10m by road
Flights ORD → TFS on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.