Staying Home Sucks, home
Surf City, NJ beach looking north from Division Avenue, Nov. 2025
5th street in ship bottom. Photo: Mr. Matté (if there is an issue with this image, contact me using this image's…, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

5th street in ship bottom

Surf spot · United States

Is it worth the trip?

50Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Sat 7: 4 ft swell at 6 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 12 out of 100

Swell
1 ft8 s
Energy
16kJ
Wind
SSW 6 kn
Temp
16°C

Wed 4 · 11 out of 100

Swell
1 ft6 s
Energy
11kJ
Wind
S 7 kn
Temp
17°C

Thu 5 · 32 out of 100

Swell
3 ft6 s
Energy
48kJ
Wind
SSW 9 kn
Temp
18°C

Fri 6 · 41 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 s
Energy
110kJ
Wind
SSW 12 kn
Temp
18°C

Sat 7 · 72 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 s
Energy
95kJ
Wind
WSW 4 kn
Temp
17°C

Sun 8 · 70 out of 100

Swell
3 ft7 s
Energy
100kJ
Wind
WNW 11 kn
Temp
17°C

Mon 9 · 50 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 s
Energy
74kJ
Wind
W 13 kn
Temp
13°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 312, too small
  2. Wed 411, too small
  3. Thu 532, too small
  4. Fri 641, poor
  5. Sat 772, good
  6. Sun 870, good
  7. Mon 950, fair
  8. Tue 1020, too small
  9. Wed 1113, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–9 ftof swell
  • Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
  • Best Sep–Oct2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

5th street in ship bottom does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at 5th street in ship bottom, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Tue 3Nov12, too small1 ft8 s2 ft at break (est.)16kJwind from the south-south-west, 6 knots16°C
Wed 4Nov11, too small1 ft6 s2 ft at break (est.)11kJwind from the south, 7 knots17°C
Thu 5Nov32, too small3 ft6 s3 ft at break (est.)48kJwind from the south-south-west, 9 knots18°C
Fri 6Nov41, poor4 ft6 s5 ft at break (est.)110kJwind from the south-south-west, 12 knots18°C
Sat 7Nov72, good4 ft6 s4 ft at break (est.)95kJwind from the west-south-west, 4 knots17°C
Sun 8Nov70, good3 ft7 s5 ft at break (est.)100kJwind from the west-north-west, 11 knots, offshore17°C
Mon 9Nov50, fair3 ft8 s4 ft at break (est.)74kJwind from the west, 13 knots, offshore13°C
Tue 10Nov20, too small1 ft8 s2 ft at break (est.)21kJwind from the west, 16 knots, offshore14°C
Wed 11Nov13, too small2 ft5 s1 ft at break (est.)10kJwind from the west-north-west, 14 knots, offshore12°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

  • Tue 3 NovHigh 02:06 +0.5 mLow 08:06 −0.5 mHigh 14:25 +0.7 mLow 20:51 −0.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 03:09 +0.6 mLow 09:13 −0.5 mHigh 15:26 +0.7 mLow 21:45 −0.6 m
  • Thu 5 NovHigh 04:04 +0.7 mLow 10:13 −0.6 mHigh 16:22 +0.6 mLow 22:33 −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

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.

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 5th street in ship bottom

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About 5th street in ship bottom

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

The spot faces SE (119°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (299°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea is about 5°C in February, its coldest month (5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves), and 24°C in July, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually September and October, with about 2 good days in 7; in July, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ship Bottom, 0.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 7 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 14°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$1,100–US$1,950 each

about US$1,100–US$1,950 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 2 November 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to PHL, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$154–US$315
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$154–US$255
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$302–US$503
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$637
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$148–US$242
Totalabout US$1,100–US$1,950

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

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Ship Bottom

about 5 min by car · 19 places to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 19 places to stay in Ship Bottom · Booking.com

About Ship Bottom 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 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 5h 45m

About 5h 45m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PHL, direct, then 1h 55m by road

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

Saved: this link opens the same trip

Email itRemind me to book

The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.