Wategos Beach
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
9Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sun 8: too small (4 ft swell at 7 s), 4 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Tue 3 · 5 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 14kJ
- Wind
- NW 1 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Wed 4 · 8 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 20kJ
- Wind
- WSW 4 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Thu 5 · 7 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 24kJ
- Wind
- SE 1 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Fri 6 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 32kJ
- Wind
- SSE 5 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Sat 7 · 5 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 29kJ
- Wind
- NW 4 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Sun 8 · 15 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 131kJ
- Wind
- SSE 19 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Mon 9 · 7 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 63kJ
- Wind
- SSE 14 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 29, too small
- Tue 35, too small
- Wed 48, too small
- Thu 57, too small
- Fri 69, too small
- Sat 75, too small
- Sun 815, too small
- Mon 97, too small
- Tue 107, too small
- Wed 117, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
- Offshore: SWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 5–20 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
Wategos Beach does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Expert | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 17kJ | offshorewind from the south-west, 4 knots, offshore | 24°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 5, too small | 1 ft6 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 14kJ | wind from the north-west, 1 knot | 25°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 8, too small | 2 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 20kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 4 knots | 27°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 24kJ | wind from the south-east, 1 knot | 27°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 32kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-east, 5 knots, offshore | 22°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 5, too small | 2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.) | 29kJ | wind from the north-west, 4 knots | 24°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 15, too small | 4 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 131kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-east, 19 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 7, too small | 3 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 63kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 14 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 38kJ | wind from the east, 5 knots | 21°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 7, too small | 1 ft9 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 25kJ | offshorewind from the south, 0 knots, offshore | 18°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 02:37 +0.2 mLow 08:09 −0.4 mHigh 15:00 +0.8 mLow 22:02 −0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 03:57 +0.2 mLow 09:34 −0.4 mHigh 16:08 +0.7 mLow 23:00 −0.6 m
- Wed 4 NovHigh 05:05 +0.3 mLow 10:52 −0.4 mHigh 17:11 +0.7 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
Wategos Beach 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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Photos of Wategos Beach
More surf near here
5 places
- Bullies 0.3 km away
- Byron Bay 1.2 km away
- Byron Bay - The Wreck 2.4 km away
- Tallow beach 3.7 km away
- Suffolk Park 6.2 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Wategos Beach
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NE (26°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (206°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 400 m out (1 in 38). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. 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 Byron Bay, 2 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.
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 · 192 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Byron Bay its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Suffolk Park on Booking.com
10 min by car · 42 places to stay
- Beds in Brunswick Heads on Booking.com
24 min by car · 13 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 05m
About 29h 05m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 50m by road
Flights MDW → BNE on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.