PLAYA ARENA
Surf spot · Spain
Is it worth the trip?
50Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 2: 4 ft swell at 10 s
Mon 2 · 75 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 321kJ
- Wind
- SSE 1 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Tue 3 · 74 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 184kJ
- Wind
- SE 4 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Wed 4 · 41 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 61kJ
- Wind
- SE 3 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Thu 5 · 36 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 89kJ
- Wind
- SE 3 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Fri 6 · 34 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 61kJ
- Wind
- NNW 3 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Sat 7 · 21 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 20kJ
- Wind
- WSW 1 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Sun 8 · 24 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 51kJ
- Wind
- S 15 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 10, too big
- Mon 275, good
- Tue 374, good
- Wed 441, too small
- Thu 536, too small
- Fri 634, too small
- Sat 721, too small
- Sun 824, too small
- Mon 963, good
- Tue 1031, too small
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.
PLAYA ARENA does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 0, too big | 6 ft10 sslab8 ft at break (est.) | 750kJ | wind from the south, 13 knots | 26°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 75, good | 4 ft10 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 321kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-east, 1 knot, offshore | 25°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 74, good | 4 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 184kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 4 knots, offshore | 25°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 41, too small | 2 ft7 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 61kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 3 knots, offshore | 24°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 36, too small | 2 ft10 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 89kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 3 knots, offshore | 25°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 34, too small | 2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 61kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 3 knots | 25°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 21, too small | 1 ft8 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 20kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 1 knot | 26°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 24, too small | 2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 51kJ | offshorewind from the south, 15 knots, offshore | 28°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 63, good | 3 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 145kJ | offshorewind from the south, 17 knots, offshore | 23°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 31, too small | 2 ft7 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 53kJ | offshorewind from the south, 6 knots, offshore | 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
- Sun 1 NovHigh 05:27 +0.7 mLow 12:00 −0.6 mHigh 18:26 +0.5 m
- 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
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 Mon 2 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 beginners: 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
3 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
10 min by car · 9 places to stay
- Beds in Tamaimo on Booking.com
22 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.