Whites
Surf spot · Australia
Is it worth the trip?
34Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: 4 ft swell at 6 s
Tue 3 · 27 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 45kJ
- Wind
- NNW 2 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Wed 4 · 16 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 26kJ
- Wind
- WSW 4 kn
- Temp
- 30°C
Thu 5 · 30 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 30kJ
- Wind
- WNW 5 kn
- Temp
- 30°C
Fri 6 · 59 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 106kJ
- Wind
- SSE 4 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Sat 7 · 26 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 70kJ
- Wind
- NNE 8 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Sun 8 · 17 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 84kJ
- Wind
- S 15 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Mon 9 · 38 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 163kJ
- Wind
- SW 8 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 228, too small
- Tue 327, too small
- Wed 416, too small
- Thu 530, too small
- Fri 659, fair
- Sat 726, too small
- Sun 817, poor
- Mon 938, poor
- Tue 1046, fair
- Wed 1155, fair
The spot in six facts
- Faces Etakes swell from the E
- Offshore: Wwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
- Best in Aug3 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
Whites 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 | 28, too small | 2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 77kJ | wind from the south-west, 5 knots | 26°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 27, too small | 2 ft8 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 45kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 2 knots | 27°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 16, too small | 1 ft9 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 26kJ | offshorewind from the west-south-west, 4 knots, offshore | 30°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 30, too small | 2 ft7 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 30kJ | offshorewind from the west-north-west, 5 knots, offshore | 30°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 59, fair | 4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 106kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 4 knots | 24°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 26, too small | 3 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 70kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 8 knots | 26°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 17, poor | 3 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 84kJ | wind from the south, 15 knots | 22°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 38, poor | 5 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 163kJ | wind from the south-west, 8 knots | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 46, fair | 3 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 103kJ | wind from the south-west, 5 knots | 23°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 55, fair | 3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 106kJ | wind from the south-west, 0 knots | 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 02:39 +0.2 mLow 08:08 −0.4 mHigh 15:00 +0.8 mLow 22:03 −0.6 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 03:58 +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.
Best time to go
best in Aug
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 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
- Jul2of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug3of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 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
Whites 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
- Broken Head 2.3 km away
- Suffolk Park 4 km away
- Tallow beach 6.2 km away
- Lennox Head 8.9 km away
- Byron Bay 9.5 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Whites
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces E (100°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (280°). 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 steeply: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 19). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 21°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually August, with about 3 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Suffolk Park, 4.1 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf 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
7 min by car · 42 places to stay
about US$134/nightcountry average
About Suffolk Park its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Byron Bay on Booking.com
15 min by car · 192 places to stay
- Beds in Lennox Head on Booking.com
16 min by car · 16 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 10m
About 29h 10m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 55m by road
Flights MDW → BNE on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.