Staying Home Sucks, home
Shell Cove NSW 2529, Australia - panoramio (37)
Redsands. Photo: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Redsands

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

20Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 9: too small (4 ft swell at 6 s), onshore wind, 16 kn (30 km/h), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 22 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
29kJ
Wind
S 9 kn
Temp
21°C

Wed 4 · 19 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
31kJ
Wind
NE 5 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 19 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
91kJ
Wind
SSE 9 kn
Temp
18°C

Fri 6 · 17 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
121kJ
Wind
WNW 4 kn
Temp
20°C

Sat 7 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
11kJ
Wind
WNW 4 kn
Temp
18°C

Sun 8 · 9 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 smushy
Energy
56kJ
Wind
SSW 24 kn
Temp
14°C

Mon 9 · 33 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
100kJ
Wind
SSW 16 kn
Temp
17°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 25, too small
  2. Tue 322, too small
  3. Wed 419, too small
  4. Thu 519, too small
  5. Fri 617, poor
  6. Sat 77, too small
  7. Sun 89, too small
  8. Mon 933, too small
  9. Tue 1036, poor
  10. Wed 1141, poor

The spot in five facts

  • Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
  • Offshore: SWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 4–17 ftof swell
  • Water 20 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Redsands, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov5, too small2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.)16kJwind from the east-north-east, 8 knots21°C
Tue 3Nov22, too small3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)29kJwind from the south, 9 knots21°C
Wed 4Nov19, too small3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)31kJwind from the north-east, 5 knots20°C
Thu 5Nov19, too small4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)91kJwind from the south-south-east, 9 knots18°C
Fri 6Nov17, poor4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)121kJwind from the west-north-west, 4 knots20°C
Sat 7Nov7, too small2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)11kJwind from the west-north-west, 4 knots18°C
Sun 8Nov9, too small2 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)56kJwind from the south-south-west, 24 knots, offshore14°C
Mon 9Nov33, too small4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)100kJwind from the south-south-west, 16 knots, offshore17°C
Tue 10Nov36, poor5 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.)302kJwind from the east-north-east, 5 knots19°C
Wed 11Nov41, poor4 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)181kJwind from the north, 3 knots20°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 03:12 +0.3 mLow 08:33 −0.3 mHigh 15:00 +0.7 mLow 21:58 −0.7 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:21 +0.3 mLow 09:54 −0.3 mHigh 16:09 +0.6 mLow 22:57 −0.7 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 05:20 +0.4 mLow 11:09 −0.3 mHigh 17:14 +0.6 mLow 23:48 −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 Redsands

2021-01-23 The Shallows Coastal Reserve, Shell Cove, New South Wales
Near Redsands. Photo: Maksym Kozlenko, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Redsands

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

The spot faces NE (56°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (236°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–17 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 1.1 km out (1 in 114). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 18°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Shellharbour, 2.5 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 14 surf spots.

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$1,890–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 
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
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$147–US$241
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$1,890–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

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Shellharbour

about 5 min by car · 15 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 15 places to stay in Shellharbour · Booking.com

About Shellharbour its beds, food and every spot near it

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 28h 30m

About 28h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → SYD, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 1h 40m by road

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