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Blue Bay - panoramio (2)
Near Shelly Beach. Photo: Maurice van Creij, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Shelly Beach

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

11Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: 5 ft swell at 6 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 9 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 smushy
Energy
37kJ
Wind
E 1 kn
Temp
20°C

Tue 3 · 9 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
44kJ
Wind
NE 14 kn
Temp
21°C

Wed 4 · 6 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 shollow
Energy
43kJ
Wind
WSW 12 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 8 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
25kJ
Wind
SW 9 kn
Temp
20°C

Fri 6 · 22 out of 100

Swell
5 ft6 smushy
Energy
158kJ
Wind
WSW 6 kn
Temp
19°C

Sat 7 · 6 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 smushy
Energy
30kJ
Wind
NNW 3 kn
Temp
22°C

Sun 8 · 10 out of 100

Swell
6 ft7 smushy
Energy
263kJ
Wind
SSW 13 kn
Temp
17°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 18, too small
  2. Mon 29, too small
  3. Tue 39, too small
  4. Wed 46, too small
  5. Thu 58, too small
  6. Fri 622, too small
  7. Sat 76, too small
  8. Sun 810, too small
  9. Mon 927, too small
  10. Tue 1019, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 21 °C2 mm shorty
  • Best Apr–Jun3 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Shelly Beach, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov8, too small2 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.)72kJwind from the east-south-east, 11 knots20°C
Mon 2Nov9, too small2 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)37kJwind from the east, 1 knot20°C
Tue 3Nov9, too small3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)44kJwind from the north-east, 14 knots21°C
Wed 4Nov6, too small2 ft10 shollow2 ft at break (est.)43kJwind from the west-south-west, 12 knots20°C
Thu 5Nov8, too small2 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)25kJwind from the south-west, 9 knots20°C
Fri 6Nov22, too small5 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.)158kJwind from the west-south-west, 6 knots19°C
Sat 7Nov6, too small2 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)30kJwind from the north-north-west, 3 knots, offshore22°C
Sun 8Nov10, too small6 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.)263kJwind from the south-south-west, 13 knots17°C
Mon 9Nov27, too small6 ft6 smushy6 ft at break (est.)241kJwind from the south-west, 11 knots17°C
Tue 10Nov19, too small3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.)82kJwind from the north, 4 knots21°C
Wed 11Nov41, too small4 ft8 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.)217kJwind from the north-north-west, 2 knots, offshore21°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 01:48 +0.3 mLow 07:10 −0.4 mHigh 13:53 +0.8 mLow 20:55 −0.6 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 03:03 +0.3 mLow 08:29 −0.3 mHigh 15:02 +0.7 mLow 22:02 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 04:15 +0.3 mLow 09:52 −0.3 mHigh 16:12 +0.7 mLow 23:01 −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 and its town

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.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Shelly Beach

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

The spot faces SE (121°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (301°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 250 m out (1 in 25). 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 and June, with about 3 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is The Entrance, 2.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 10 surf spots.

Water about 21°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

Closest

The Entrance

4 min by car · 39 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 39 places to stay in The Entrance · Booking.com

About The Entrance 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 35m by road

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