Staying Home Sucks, home
Botany Bay Ark-shell, Maroubra Beach, Maroubra, Sydney, New South Wales imported from iNaturalist photo 116371256
Pumphouse. Photo: (c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Pumphouse

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

30Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: 4 ft swell at 6 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 18 out of 100

Swell
3 ft7 smushy
Energy
52kJ
Wind
ENE 4 kn
Temp
20°C

Tue 3 · 34 out of 100

Swell
4 ft5 smushy
Energy
46kJ
Wind
N 10 kn
Temp
21°C

Wed 4 · 25 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
27kJ
Wind
SW 13 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 34 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
31kJ
Wind
WSW 12 kn
Temp
19°C

Fri 6 · 40 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
135kJ
Wind
SE 3 kn
Temp
19°C

Sat 7 · 20 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 smushy
Energy
16kJ
Wind
WNW 6 kn
Temp
22°C

Sun 8 · 15 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
226kJ
Wind
SSW 20 kn
Temp
15°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 128, poor
  2. Mon 218, too small
  3. Tue 334, poor
  4. Wed 425, too small
  5. Thu 534, too small
  6. Fri 640, poor
  7. Sat 720, too small
  8. Sun 815, poor
  9. Mon 921, poor
  10. Tue 1059, fair

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–11 ftof swell
  • Water 20 °C2 mm shorty
  • Best Apr–Jun, Sep2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Pumphouse does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Pumphouse, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov28, poor3 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.)113kJwind from the east-south-east, 9 knots20°C
Mon 2Nov18, too small3 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)52kJwind from the east-north-east, 4 knots20°C
Tue 3Nov34, poor4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.)46kJwind from the north, 10 knots21°C
Wed 4Nov25, too small2 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)27kJwind from the south-west, 13 knots, offshore20°C
Thu 5Nov34, too small3 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)31kJwind from the west-south-west, 12 knots, offshore19°C
Fri 6Nov40, poor4 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)135kJwind from the south-east, 3 knots19°C
Sat 7Nov20, too small2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)16kJwind from the west-north-west, 6 knots, offshore22°C
Sun 8Nov15, poor5 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)226kJwind from the south-south-west, 20 knots15°C
Mon 9Nov21, poor5 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)203kJwind from the south, 16 knots17°C
Tue 10Nov59, fair4 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)109kJwind from the west-north-west, 4 knots, offshore19°C
Wed 11Nov61, good4 ft8 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)228kJwind from the north-north-east, 5 knots19°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 01:50 +0.3 mLow 07:17 −0.4 mHigh 13:55 +0.8 mLow 20:57 −0.6 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 03:06 +0.3 mLow 08:35 −0.3 mHigh 15:04 +0.7 mLow 22:03 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:17 +0.3 mLow 09:57 −0.3 mHigh 16:14 +0.7 mLow 23:03 −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.

Map

the spot, its town, photos

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.

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 Pumphouse

Maroubra Beach - panoramio
Photo: Maurice van Creij, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Maroubra beach Sydney Australia
Photo: Moatazayman, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Pumphouse

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces E (85°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (265°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–11 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 250 m out (1 in 27). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 18°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April, May, June and September, with about 2 good days in 7; in January and February, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Sydney. Within 5 km we also list 8 surf spots, 2 wind sports spots and 1 dive site.

Water about 20°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$1,760–US$3,380 each

about US$1,760–US$3,380 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to SYD, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$925–US$1,920
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$20–US$33
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$355–US$596
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$596
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$141–US$234
Totalabout US$1,760–US$3,380

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

Closest

Sydney

18 min by car · 446 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 446 places to stay in Sydney · Booking.com

About Sydney its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest beds: Sydney, 10 km (about 20 min by car)

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 27h 20m

About 27h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SYD, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 30 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.