Is it worth the trip?
59Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 4 ft swell at 11 s
Tue 3 · 64 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft12 shollow
- Energy
- 558kJ
- Wind
- E 2 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Wed 4 · 59 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 413kJ
- Wind
- SE 3 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Thu 5 · 70 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 392kJ
- Wind
- NNW 1 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Fri 6 · 64 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 308kJ
- Wind
- NW 3 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Sat 7 · 59 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 226kJ
- Wind
- SSW 3 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Sun 8 · 21 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft12 shollow
- Energy
- 67kJ
- Wind
- W 4 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Mon 9 · 36 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft12 shollow
- Energy
- 169kJ
- Wind
- WNW 5 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 264, good
- Tue 364, good
- Wed 459, fair
- Thu 570, good
- Fri 664, good
- Sat 759, fair
- Sun 821, too small
- Mon 936, too small
- Tue 1034, too small
The spot in six 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
- Best in Nov6 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
San Juan De Alima does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 64, good | 5 ft12 sslab8 ft at break (est.) | 664kJ | wind from the east, 2 knots | 28°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 64, good | 5 ft12 shollow7 ft at break (est.) | 558kJ | wind from the east, 2 knots | 29°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 59, fair | 4 ft11 shollow7 ft at break (est.) | 413kJ | wind from the south-east, 3 knots | 29°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 70, good | 4 ft11 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 392kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 1 knot | 27°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 64, good | 4 ft11 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 308kJ | wind from the north-west, 3 knots | 28°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 59, fair | 3 ft11 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 226kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 3 knots | 28°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 21, too small | 2 ft12 shollow1 ft at break (est.) | 67kJ | wind from the west, 4 knots | 28°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 36, too small | 3 ft12 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 169kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 5 knots | 28°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 34, too small | 2 ft13 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 103kJ | wind from the west, 2 knots | 28°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 06:55 +0.3 mLow 13:00 −0.0 mHigh 17:53 +0.2 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 00:23 −0.3 mHigh 07:01 +0.3 mLow 13:06 −0.1 mHigh 18:46 +0.3 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 00:55 −0.2 mHigh 07:12 +0.3 mLow 13:23 −0.2 mHigh 19:29 +0.3 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 in Nov
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan4of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar3of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul4of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug4of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep4of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct5of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov6of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec4of 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
San Juan De Alima 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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More surf near here
1 place
- La Ticla 19 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About San Juan De Alima
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (215°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (35°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 5). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hard and thick, like a slab. The sea is about 26°C in April, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 30°C in July, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually November, with about 6 good days in 7; in May, about 2. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is San Juan de Alima, 0.2 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$811–US$1,480 each
about US$811–US$1,480 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 GDL, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$248–US$516 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$94–US$154 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$181–US$295 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$201–US$375 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$87–US$141 |
| Total | about US$811–US$1,480 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: San Juan de Alima
about 5 min by car · 16 places to stay
about US$67/nightcountry average
About San Juan de Alima its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$67 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 11h 55m
About 11h 55m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → GDL, direct, then 4h 05m by road
Flights MDW → GDL on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.