Potholes
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
15Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 4 ft swell at 6 s
Tue 3 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 51kJ
- Wind
- SSE 6 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Wed 4 · 11 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 scrumbling
- Energy
- 74kJ
- Wind
- SW 10 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Thu 5 · 25 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 98kJ
- Wind
- SW 6 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Fri 6 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 173kJ
- Wind
- NNW 5 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Sat 7 · 3 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 121kJ
- Wind
- SSE 18 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Sun 8 · 6 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 136kJ
- Wind
- SSW 15 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Mon 9 · 15 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 156kJ
- Wind
- SSW 14 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 29, too small
- Tue 39, too small
- Wed 411, too small
- Thu 525, too small
- Fri 620, too small
- Sat 73, too small
- Sun 86, too small
- Mon 915, too small
- Tue 1042, too small
- Wed 1134, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–9 ftof swell
- Water 19 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 52kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 12 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 51kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 6 knots | 19°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 11, too small | 2 ft10 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.) | 74kJ | wind from the south-west, 10 knots | 19°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 25, too small | 4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 98kJ | wind from the south-west, 6 knots | 18°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 20, too small | 5 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 173kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 5 knots | 19°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 3, too small | 3 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 121kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 18 knots | 17°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 6, too small | 4 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 136kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 15 knots | 15°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 15, too small | 5 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 156kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 14 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 42, too small | 5 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 251kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 1 knot | 18°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 34, too small | 4 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 199kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 5 knots | 19°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 03:11 +0.3 mLow 08:37 −0.3 mHigh 15:01 +0.7 mLow 22:00 −0.7 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 04:21 +0.3 mLow 09:58 −0.3 mHigh 16:11 +0.6 mLow 23:00 −0.7 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 05:22 +0.4 mLow 11:13 −0.4 mHigh 17:18 +0.6 mLow 23:52 −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).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec1of 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
Potholes 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.
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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.
More surf near here
5 places
- Dolphins point 0.2 km away
- Wairo point 1.4 km away
- North Tabourie 2.3 km away
- Racecourse Reef 2.7 km away
- The Hook 4.9 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Potholes
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (119°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (299°). 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 gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 47). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 17°C in August, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 23°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Ulladulla, 5.7 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 5 surf spots.
Water about 19°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$1,890–US$3,580 each
about US$1,890–US$3,580 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 SYD, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$925–US$1,920 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$355–US$596 |
| 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$1,890–US$3,580 |
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 · 18 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Burrill Lake its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Lake Tabourie on Booking.com
about 10 min by car · 7 places to stay
- Beds in Ulladulla on Booking.com
about 10 min by car · 30 places to stay
About US$134 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 30h 10m
About 30h 10m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → SYD, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 3h 15m by road
Flights MDW → SYD on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.