Staying Home Sucks, home
2025-09-27 Shell Cove, NSW 2
Near Shellharbour South Beach. Photo: Maxim75, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Shellharbour South Beach

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

13Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: too small (3 ft swell at 5 s), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 23 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
42kJ
Wind
N 3 kn
Temp
23°C

Wed 4 · 9 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 smushy
Energy
26kJ
Wind
E 3 kn
Temp
22°C

Thu 5 · 13 out of 100

Swell
4 ft5 smushy
Energy
91kJ
Wind
SSE 6 kn
Temp
20°C

Fri 6 · 11 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
138kJ
Wind
WSW 2 kn
Temp
20°C

Sat 7 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 smushy
Energy
12kJ
Wind
NE 2 kn
Temp
19°C

Sun 8 · 8 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
112kJ
Wind
S 9 kn
Temp
17°C

Mon 9 · 11 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
74kJ
Wind
ESE 5 kn
Temp
19°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 28, too small
  2. Tue 323, too small
  3. Wed 49, too small
  4. Thu 513, too small
  5. Fri 611, too small
  6. Sat 77, too small
  7. Sun 88, too small
  8. Mon 911, too small
  9. Tue 1010, too small
  10. Wed 1115, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 4–15 ftof swell
  • Water 20 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Shellharbour South Beach, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov8, too small2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)28kJwind from the north-east, 6 knots23°C
Tue 3Nov23, too small3 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.)42kJwind from the north, 3 knots23°C
Wed 4Nov9, too small2 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)26kJwind from the east, 3 knots22°C
Thu 5Nov13, too small4 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)91kJwind from the south-south-east, 6 knots20°C
Fri 6Nov11, too small4 ft6 smushy1 ft at break (est.)138kJwind from the west-south-west, 2 knots, offshore20°C
Sat 7Nov7, too small2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)12kJwind from the north-east, 2 knots19°C
Sun 8Nov8, too small4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)112kJwind from the south, 9 knots17°C
Mon 9Nov11, too small4 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.)74kJwind from the east-south-east, 5 knots19°C
Tue 10Nov10, too small2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.)35kJwind from the north-north-west, 4 knots23°C
Wed 11Nov15, too small3 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)122kJwind from the south, 9 knots20°C
Thu 12Nov10, too small2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.)47kJwind from the south-south-west, 9 knots17°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 experts: 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 Shellharbour South Beach

Crowne Plaza Shell Cove Marina, January 2026 01
Near Shellharbour South Beach. Photo: DaHuzyBru, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Shellharbour South Beach

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

The spot faces E (69°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (249°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–15 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 1.1 km out (1 in 105). 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, 0.9 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$3,590 each

about US$1,890–US$3,590 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 2 November 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$926–US$1,920
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$148–US$242
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$356–US$597
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$597
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$141–US$235
Totalabout US$1,890–US$3,590

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 2 November 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.