Staying Home Sucks, home
Common butterfly shell, St Leonards VIC 3223, Australia imported from iNaturalist photo 72569998
St Leonards, the nearest town. Photo: (c) Rod Lowther, some rights reserved (CC BY), CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

St Leonards Pier

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

7Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: too small (2 ft swell at 10 s), 3 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 6 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 ssoft
Energy
42kJ
Wind
S 10 kn
Temp
14°C

Wed 4 · 6 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
17kJ
Wind
NE 4 kn
Temp
17°C

Thu 5 · 8 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
22kJ
Wind
WSW 8 kn
Temp
15°C

Fri 6 · 11 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 ssoft
Energy
58kJ
Wind
W 15 kn
Temp
17°C

Sat 7 · 3 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 ssoft
Energy
57kJ
Wind
SSW 18 kn
Temp
12°C

Sun 8 · 6 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 ssoft
Energy
38kJ
Wind
S 11 kn
Temp
13°C

Mon 9 · 5 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
28kJ
Wind
E 4 kn
Temp
15°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 27, too small
  2. Tue 36, too small
  3. Wed 46, too small
  4. Thu 58, too small
  5. Fri 611, too small
  6. Sat 73, too small
  7. Sun 86, too small
  8. Mon 95, too small
  9. Tue 105, too small
  10. Wed 119, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Beginner +who it suits
  • Works 5–20 ftof swell
  • Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at St Leonards Pier, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov7, too small2 ft10 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)47kJwind from the east-north-east, 3 knots16°C
Tue 3Nov6, too small2 ft10 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)42kJwind from the south, 10 knots14°C
Wed 4Nov6, too small1 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)17kJwind from the north-east, 4 knots17°C
Thu 5Nov8, too small1 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)22kJwind from the west-south-west, 8 knots, offshore15°C
Fri 6Nov11, too small2 ft10 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)58kJwind from the west, 15 knots, offshore17°C
Sat 7Nov3, too small2 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)57kJwind from the south-south-west, 18 knots12°C
Sun 8Nov6, too small2 ft8 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)38kJwind from the south, 11 knots13°C
Mon 9Nov5, too small1 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)28kJwind from the east, 4 knots15°C
Tue 10Nov5, too small1 ft10 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)22kJwind from the south-south-east, 2 knots16°C
Wed 11Nov9, too small1 ft11 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)43kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots15°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 06:08 +0.5 mLow 11:56 −0.2 mHigh 17:29 +0.4 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 00:00 −0.5 mHigh 06:36 +0.5 mLow 12:34 −0.3 mHigh 18:16 +0.3 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 00:35 −0.4 mHigh 07:01 +0.4 mLow 13:12 −0.3 mHigh 19:01 +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.

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

4 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About St Leonards Pier

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

The spot faces E (90°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (270°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 1.9 km out (1 in 192). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 11°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 21°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is St Leonards, 0.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 17°C: 3/2 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$1,920–US$3,660 each

about US$1,920–US$3,660 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 MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$958–US$2,000
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$1,920–US$3,660

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

St Leonards

about 5 min by car · 6 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 6 places to stay in St Leonards · Booking.com

About St Leonards 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 29h 05m

About 29h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 1h 20m by road

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