Santa Cruz
Windsurf spot · United States
Is it worth the trip?
48Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 6 kn gusting 10, side-shore, Water: waves 0.8 m
Mon 2 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- N 3 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 0.8 mwaves
- Air
- 18°C
Tue 3 · 81 out of 100
- Wind
- SSW 12 kn
- Gusts
- 16kn
- Shore
- side-on
- Water
- 1.0 mwaves
- Air
- 17°C
Wed 4 · 42 out of 100
- Wind
- SW 9 kn
- Gusts
- 13kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- 1.1 mwaves
- Air
- 20°C
Thu 5 · 82 out of 100
- Wind
- SW 6 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- 0.8 mwaves
- Air
- 20°C
Fri 6 · 39 out of 100
- Wind
- S 6 kn
- Gusts
- 11kn
- Shore
- on
- Water
- 1.2 mwaves
- Air
- 20°C
Sat 7 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- S 1 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Shore
- on
- Water
- 1.1 mwaves
- Air
- 21°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- WSW 0 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- 0.9 mwaves
- Air
- 20°C
Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 146, fair
- Mon 20, poor
- Tue 381, good
- Wed 442, poor
- Thu 582, good
- Fri 639, poor
- Sat 70, poor
- Sun 80, poor
- Mon 90, poor
- Tue 1015, poor
The spot in six facts
- Faces Sopen to the S
- Best wind: W or Ealong the shore
- Avoid: Nblows out to sea
- Shelteredto the swell
- Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
- Best in Jul4 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know gusts, offshore wind, tides or your skill.
| Day | Score | Wind | Gusts | Shore | Water | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 46, fair | wind from the south-west, 7 knots | 11kn | side-on | 0.8 mwaves | 18°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north, 3 knots | 7kn | offnot safe | 0.8 mwaves | 18°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 81, good | wind from the south-south-west, 12 knots | 16kn | side-on | 1.0 mwaves | 17°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 42, poor | wind from the south-west, 9 knots | 13kn | side | 1.1 mwaves | 20°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 82, good | wind from the south-west, 6 knots | 10kn | side | 0.8 mwaves | 20°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 39, poor | wind from the south, 6 knots | 11kn | on | 1.2 mwaves | 20°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 0, poor | wind from the south, 1 knot | 7kn | on | 1.1 mwaves | 21°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, poor | wind from the west-south-west, 0 knots | 6kn | side | 0.9 mwaves | 20°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east, 3 knots | 6kn | side | 1.1 mwaves | 20°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 15, poor | wind from the east-south-east, 5 knots | 8kn | side-on | 0.9 mwaves | 18°C |
Wind is the day's best reading, mean and gusts, in knots; the arrow points where it blows to. Shore "off" blows out to sea. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovHigh 04:34 +0.4 mLow 09:07 +0.0 mHigh 14:47 +0.7 mLow 22:17 −1.0 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 05:25 +0.5 mLow 10:43 −0.1 mHigh 16:15 +0.5 mLow 23:15 −0.9 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 06:08 +0.6 mLow 12:00 −0.3 mHigh 17:40 +0.5 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 Jul
Good windsurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 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
- May3of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun3of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul4of 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
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast. Reanalysis wind misses some local thermal winds, so a spot known for an afternoon breeze may do better than this.
Map
the spot, its town, photos
Santa Cruz on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: 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.
Photos of Santa Cruz
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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Santa Cruz
Known for kitesurfing and windsurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces S, so wind from the N blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).
Water about 14°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
A spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing, as OpenStreetMap maps it, on a shore facing S. Wind from the S blows onshore, wind from the N blows out to sea, and wind from the W or E runs along the shore. It is sheltered to the open sea. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 900 m out (1 in 88). The sea is about 12°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 15°C in August, its warmest (4/3 wetsuit and boots). For windsurfing at beginner level the best month is usually July, with about 4 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Santa Cruz. Within 5 km we also list 15 surf spots and 1 mountain bike area.
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$1,050–US$1,930 each
about US$1,050–US$1,930 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food.
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 SJC, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$255–US$536 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$154–US$255 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$301–US$502 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$636 |
| Total | about US$1,050–US$1,930 |
Kit hire is not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Santa Cruz
3 min by car · 84 places to stay
about US$114/nightcountry average
About Santa Cruz its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$114 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 7h 25m
About 7h 25m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → SJC, direct, then 1h 05m by road
Flights MDW → SJC on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.