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Poneloya Beach Las Penitas
Surf spot · Nicaragua
Is it worth the trip?
76Good out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 4 ft swell at 12 s
Mon 2 · 75 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft12 ssoft
- Energy
- 635kJ
- Wind
- ENE 4 kn
- Temp
- 31°C
Tue 3 · 73 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft12 ssoft
- Energy
- 560kJ
- Wind
- NNE 3 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Wed 4 · 72 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft11 ssoft
- Energy
- 483kJ
- Wind
- ENE 3 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Thu 5 · 89 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft12 ssoft
- Energy
- 424kJ
- Wind
- ENE 4 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Fri 6 · 86 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft12 ssoft
- Energy
- 349kJ
- Wind
- NE 3 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Sat 7 · 66 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 scrumbling
- Energy
- 214kJ
- Wind
- NE 2 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Sun 8 · 32 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft13 scrumbling
- Energy
- 87kJ
- Wind
- ENE 5 kn
- Temp
- 30°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 175, good
- Mon 275, good
- Tue 373, good
- Wed 472, good
- Thu 589, good
- Fri 686, good
- Sat 766, good
- Sun 832, too small
- Mon 957, fair
- Tue 1065, good
The spot in five facts
- Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
- Offshore: NEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 29 °Cno wetsuit
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
Poneloya Beach Las Penitas 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 | 75, good | 5 ft14 ssoft8 ft at break (est.) | 774kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 5 knots, offshore | 33°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 75, good | 5 ft12 ssoft8 ft at break (est.) | 635kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 4 knots, offshore | 31°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 73, good | 5 ft12 ssoft8 ft at break (est.) | 560kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-east, 3 knots, offshore | 29°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 72, good | 5 ft11 ssoft7 ft at break (est.) | 483kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 3 knots, offshore | 28°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 89, good | 4 ft12 ssoft7 ft at break (est.) | 424kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 4 knots, offshore | 28°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 86, good | 4 ft12 ssoft6 ft at break (est.) | 349kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 3 knots, offshore | 29°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 66, good | 3 ft11 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.) | 214kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 2 knots, offshore | 28°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 32, too small | 2 ft13 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.) | 87kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore | 30°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 57, fair | 3 ft12 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.) | 170kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 1 knot | 30°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 65, good | 3 ft11 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.) | 181kJ | offshorewind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore | 31°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 00:36 −0.9 mHigh 06:50 +1.1 mLow 13:14 −1.0 mHigh 19:30 +0.9 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 01:40 −0.8 mHigh 07:52 +0.9 mLow 14:15 −0.9 mHigh 20:36 +0.9 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 02:51 −0.8 mHigh 09:02 +0.8 mLow 15:21 −0.8 mHigh 21:45 +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
- Feb3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr4of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May6of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun6of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug6of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep6of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct6of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov5of 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
Poneloya Beach Las Penitas 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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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Poneloya Beach Las Penitas
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (216°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (36°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 600 m out (1 in 59). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 28°C in January, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 30°C in May, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Poneloya, 1.1 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 29°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$630–US$1,190 each
about US$630–US$1,190 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 MDW to MGA, estimated from distance and season, changing at MIA, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$275–US$576 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$60–US$94 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$114–US$188 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$127–US$234 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$54–US$94 |
| Total | about US$630–US$1,190 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Poneloya
2 min by car · 14 places to stay
about US$40/nightcountry average
About Poneloya its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$40 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 15h
About 15h door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → MGA, changing at Miami International Airport (MIA), then 2h 55m by road
Flights MDW → MGA on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.