U-Turns
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
35Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 9: 4 ft swell at 9 s
Tue 3 · 44 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 415kJ
- Wind
- SSW 7 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Wed 4 · 38 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 175kJ
- Wind
- NNW 9 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Thu 5 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 359kJ
- Wind
- SW 12 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 753kJ
- Wind
- NW 15 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Sat 7 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft10 smushy
- Energy
- 964kJ
- Wind
- SW 18 kn
- Temp
- 12°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 655kJ
- Wind
- S 10 kn
- Temp
- 13°C
Mon 9 · 74 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 238kJ
- Wind
- SE 6 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 275, good
- Tue 344, poor
- Wed 438, poor
- Thu 522, poor
- Fri 60, too big
- Sat 70, too big
- Sun 80, too big
- Mon 974, good
- Tue 1061, good
- Wed 1159, fair
The spot in five facts
- Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
- Offshore: NEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–9 ftof swell
- Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
U-Turns 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 | 75, good | 4 ft9 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 274kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 4 knots | 16°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 44, poor | 5 ft9 shollow7 ft at break (est.) | 415kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 7 knots | 14°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 38, poor | 3 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 175kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 9 knots | 16°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 22, poor | 5 ft8 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 359kJ | wind from the south-west, 12 knots | 14°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft10 shollow9 ft at break (est.) | 753kJ | wind from the north-west, 15 knots | 16°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft10 smushy10 ft at break (est.) | 964kJ | wind from the south-west, 18 knots | 12°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft9 shollow9 ft at break (est.) | 655kJ | wind from the south, 10 knots | 13°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 74, good | 4 ft9 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 238kJ | wind from the south-east, 6 knots | 14°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 61, good | 3 ft12 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 269kJ | wind from the south-east, 6 knots | 15°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 59, fair | 5 ft11 shollow7 ft at break (est.) | 510kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 10 knots | 16°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 05:32 +1.2 mLow 11:16 −0.7 mHigh 17:21 +0.8 mLow 23:23 −1.2 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 06:19 +1.1 mLow 12:04 −0.7 mHigh 18:19 +0.8 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 00:14 −1.0 mHigh 07:09 +0.9 mLow 12:57 −0.7 mHigh 19:27 +0.7 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
- May2of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov2of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec1of 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
U-Turns 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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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
- Cape Schanck 0.5 km away
- Bushrangers bay 1.6 km away
- Gunnamatta 4.2 km away
- Cape Flinders 4.9 km away
- St Andrews Beach 8.7 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About U-Turns
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (230°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (50°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 16). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 13°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Cape Schanck, 3.9 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots.
Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to MEL, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$958–US$2,000 |
| 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$1,920–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
about 10 min by car · 5 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Cape Schanck its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in St Andrews Beach on Booking.com
about 20 min by car · 5 places to stay
- Beds in Flinders on Booking.com
about 25 min by car · 6 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 40m
About 29h 40m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → MEL, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 1h 50m by road
Flights MDW → MEL on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.