South wall
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
34Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: 4 ft swell at 5 s
Mon 2 · 27 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 64kJ
- Wind
- WSW 4 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Tue 3 · 25 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 30kJ
- Wind
- ESE 1 kn
- Temp
- 29°C
Wed 4 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 24kJ
- Wind
- SW 4 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Thu 5 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 28kJ
- Wind
- WNW 5 kn
- Temp
- 32°C
Fri 6 · 62 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 70kJ
- Wind
- SE 4 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Sat 7 · 35 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 56kJ
- Wind
- NW 3 kn
- Temp
- 28°C
Sun 8 · 26 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 158kJ
- Wind
- SSE 12 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 166, good
- Mon 227, too small
- Tue 325, too small
- Wed 418, too small
- Thu 523, too small
- Fri 662, good
- Sat 735, too small
- Sun 826, poor
- Mon 946, fair
- Tue 1046, fair
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 66, good | 3 ft11 ssoft5 ft at break (est.) | 172kJ | wind from the west, 4 knots | 24°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 27, too small | 2 ft10 ssoft3 ft at break (est.) | 64kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 4 knots | 25°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 25, too small | 2 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 30kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 1 knot | 29°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 18, too small | 1 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.) | 24kJ | wind from the south-west, 4 knots | 28°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 23, too small | 1 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.) | 28kJ | offshorewind from the west-north-west, 5 knots, offshore | 32°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 62, good | 4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 70kJ | wind from the south-east, 4 knots | 23°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 35, too small | 2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 56kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 3 knots, offshore | 28°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 26, poor | 4 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 158kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 12 knots | 21°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 46, fair | 4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 101kJ | wind from the south, 7 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 46, fair | 3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 74kJ | offshorewind from the north, 4 knots, offshore | 25°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 43, too small | 2 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 79kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-west, 4 knots, offshore | 24°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 01:21 +0.2 mLow 06:53 −0.5 mHigh 13:52 +0.8 mLow 20:57 −0.6 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 02:42 +0.2 mLow 08:12 −0.4 mHigh 15:02 +0.8 mLow 22:04 −0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 04:01 +0.2 mLow 09:37 −0.4 mHigh 16:11 +0.7 mLow 23:02 −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
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May3of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul3of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug3of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep3of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov2of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec2of 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
South wall on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: 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 South wall
More surf near here
5 places
- Ballina North Wall 0.8 km away
- Missingham Bridge 1.2 km away
- Shelly beach 1.9 km away
- Speeds reef 1.9 km away
- North wall 2.1 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About South wall
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (139°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (319°). 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 very gently: 10 m deep about 1.7 km out (1 in 167). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Ballina, 2.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 10 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.
Water about 23°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$1,860–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: 3 towns
4 min by car · 29 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Ballina its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Lennox Head on Booking.com
15 min by car · 16 places to stay
- Beds in Suffolk Park on Booking.com
38 min by car · 42 places to stay
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 30m
About 29h 30m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 3h 15m by road
Flights MDW → BNE on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.