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Rainbow Beach
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
8Poor out of 100 for your dates
2 days tie for best
Mon 2 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 19kJ
- Wind
- NNW 5 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Tue 3 · 5 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 15kJ
- Wind
- NNW 9 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Wed 4 · 7 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft4 smushy
- Energy
- 12kJ
- Wind
- NW 8 kn
- Temp
- 30°C
Thu 5 · 7 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft4 smushy
- Energy
- 8kJ
- Wind
- W 4 kn
- Temp
- 32°C
Fri 6 · 7 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 31kJ
- Wind
- SSE 9 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Sat 7 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 33kJ
- Wind
- W 2 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Sun 8 · 8 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 scrumbling
- Energy
- 30kJ
- Wind
- W 7 kn
- Temp
- 31°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 17, too small
- Mon 29, too small
- Tue 35, too small
- Wed 47, too small
- Thu 57, too small
- Fri 67, too small
- Sat 79, too small
- Sun 88, too small
- Mon 97, too small
- Tue 107, too small
The spot in six facts
- Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
- Offshore: SWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–13 ftof swell
- Water 24 °Cno wetsuit
- Best May, Aug2 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft9 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 63kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 7 knots | 26°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 19kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 5 knots | 29°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 5, too small | 2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 15kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 9 knots | 28°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 12kJ | wind from the north-west, 8 knots | 30°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 8kJ | offshorewind from the west, 4 knots, offshore | 32°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 31kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 9 knots | 26°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 33kJ | offshorewind from the west, 2 knots, offshore | 27°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 8, too small | 2 ft8 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.) | 30kJ | offshorewind from the west, 7 knots, offshore | 31°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 7, too small | 3 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 85kJ | wind from the south-east, 10 knots | 22°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 25kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 6 knots | 23°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 6, too small | 1 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 18kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 6 knots | 21°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 00:14 +0.2 mLow 05:55 −0.6 mHigh 12:59 +0.8 mLow 19:56 −0.5 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 01:38 +0.2 mLow 07:15 −0.5 mHigh 14:09 +0.8 mLow 21:04 −0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 02:58 +0.3 mLow 08:40 −0.5 mHigh 15:15 +0.7 mLow 22:00 −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
best May, Aug
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
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug2of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 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, its town, photos
Rainbow Beach 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.
Photos of Rainbow Beach
More surf near here
3 places
- Double Island Point 10 km away
- Inskip Point 10.1 km away
- Teewah 10.3 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Rainbow Beach
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NE (55°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (235°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–13 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 550 m out (1 in 57). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually May and August, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Rainbow Beach, 0.2 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 24°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$1,860–US$3,520 each
about US$1,860–US$3,520 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 BNE, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$891–US$1,850 |
| 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$1,860–US$3,520 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 2 towns
1 min by car · 27 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Rainbow Beach its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Inskip on Booking.com
13 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 29h 20m
About 29h 20m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 3h 10m by road
Flights MDW → BNE on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.