Achill Island
Kitesurf spot · Ireland
Is it worth the trip?
17Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sun 8: 15 kn gusting 19, onshore, Water: waves 1.4 m
Mon 2 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- E 7 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 1.3 mwaves
- Air
- 11°C
Tue 3 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- ESE 9 kn
- Gusts
- 14kn
- Shore
- cross-off
- Water
- 0.8 mwaves
- Air
- 10°C
Wed 4 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- E 9 kn
- Gusts
- 13kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 1.4 mwaves
- Air
- 11°C
Thu 5 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- ENE 9 kn
- Gusts
- 14kn
- Shore
- offnot safe
- Water
- 1.0 mwaves
- Air
- 11°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- ESE 10 kn
- Gusts
- 14kn
- Shore
- cross-off
- Water
- 0.8 mwaves
- Air
- 10°C
Sat 7 · 0 out of 100
- Wind
- NNW 1 kn
- Gusts
- 5kn
- Shore
- side
- Water
- 0.8 mwaves
- Air
- 11°C
Sun 8 · 89 out of 100
- Wind
- WSW 15 kn
- Gusts
- 19kn
- Shore
- on
- Water
- 1.4 mwaves
- Air
- 11°C
Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 10, poor
- Mon 20, poor
- Tue 30, poor
- Wed 40, poor
- Thu 50, poor
- Fri 60, poor
- Sat 70, poor
- Sun 889, good
- Mon 985, good
- Tue 1093, good
The spot in six facts
- Faces SWopen to the SW
- Best wind: NW or SEalong the shore
- Avoid: NEblows out to sea
- Open seato the swell
- Water 12 °C4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves
- Best Feb, Dec4 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 | 0, poor | wind from the north, 11 knots | 15kn | cross-off | 1.9 mwaves | 11°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east, 7 knots | 10kn | offnot safe | 1.3 mwaves | 11°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-south-east, 9 knots | 14kn | cross-off | 0.8 mwaves | 10°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east, 9 knots | 13kn | offnot safe | 1.4 mwaves | 11°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-north-east, 9 knots | 14kn | offnot safe | 1.0 mwaves | 11°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, poor | wind from the east-south-east, 10 knots | 14kn | cross-off | 0.8 mwaves | 10°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 0, poor | wind from the north-north-west, 1 knot | 5kn | side | 0.8 mwaves | 11°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 89, good | wind from the west-south-west, 15 knots | 19kn | on | 1.4 mwaves | 11°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 85, good | wind from the south-west, 21 knots | 27kn | on | 2.5 mwaves | 11°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 93, good | wind from the west, 16 knots | 23kn | side-on | 2.4 mwaves | 11°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 NovLow 03:15 −1.0 mHigh 09:38 +1.3 mLow 16:12 −1.3 mHigh 22:42 +0.9 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 04:31 −0.8 mHigh 10:55 +1.2 mLow 17:36 −1.3 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 00:10 +0.9 mLow 06:01 −0.7 mHigh 12:19 +1.2 mLow 18:59 −1.3 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 Feb, Dec
Good kitesurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb4of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar3of 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
- Sep3of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct3of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov3of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec4of 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 and its town
Achill Island on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: 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 kitesurf near here
1 place
- Pure Magic 5.2 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Achill Island
Known for kitesurfing and windsurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces SW, so wind from the NE blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).
Water about 12°C: 4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves. 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 SW. Wind from the SW blows onshore, wind from the NE blows out to sea, and wind from the NW or SE runs along the shore. It is exposed to the open sea. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 22). The sea is about 9°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 16°C in August, its warmest (3/2 wetsuit). For kitesurfing at intermediate level the best months are usually February and December, with about 4 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Keel. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.
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$1,170–US$2,180 each
about US$1,170–US$2,180 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 ORD to NOC, estimated from distance and season, changing at LHR, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$409–US$858 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$147–US$241 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$288–US$482 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$322–US$596 |
| Total | about US$1,170–US$2,180 |
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: Keel
6 min by car · 9 places to stay
about US$107/nightcountry average
About Keel its beds, food and every spot near it
About US$107 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 18h 15m
About 18h 15m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → NOC, changing at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), then 1h 45m by road
Flights ORD → NOC on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.