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Efate - Black Sand Beach. Photo: Graham Crumb, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Efate - Black Sand Beach

Surf spot · Vanuatu

Is it worth the trip?

16Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 2: too small (4 ft swell at 10 s), 3 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 37 out of 100

Swell
4 ft10 shollow
Energy
338kJ
Wind
NE 5 kn
Temp
27°C

Tue 3 · 19 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 shollow
Energy
87kJ
Wind
ENE 4 kn
Temp
27°C

Wed 4 · 10 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 shollow
Energy
32kJ
Wind
ENE 8 kn
Temp
28°C

Thu 5 · 6 out of 100

Swell
1 ft8 shollow
Energy
16kJ
Wind
NE 6 kn
Temp
29°C

Fri 6 · 5 out of 100

Swell
1 ft11 shollow
Energy
15kJ
Wind
ESE 6 kn
Temp
30°C

Sat 7 · 6 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 shollow
Energy
15kJ
Wind
E 5 kn
Temp
31°C

Sun 8 · 9 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 shollow
Energy
44kJ
Wind
ENE 5 kn
Temp
30°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 237, too small
  2. Tue 319, too small
  3. Wed 410, too small
  4. Thu 56, too small
  5. Fri 65, too small
  6. Sat 76, too small
  7. Sun 89, too small
  8. Mon 94, too small
  9. Tue 102, too small
  10. Wed 115, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 5–20 ftof swell
  • Water 27 °Cno wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

Efate - Black Sand Beach does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Efate - Black Sand Beach, each day
DayScorefor ExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov37, too small4 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.)338kJwind from the north-east, 5 knots, offshore27°C
Tue 3Nov19, too small3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.)87kJwind from the east-north-east, 4 knots, offshore27°C
Wed 4Nov10, too small2 ft8 shollow2 ft at break (est.)32kJwind from the east-north-east, 8 knots, offshore28°C
Thu 5Nov6, too small1 ft8 shollow2 ft at break (est.)16kJwind from the north-east, 6 knots, offshore29°C
Fri 6Nov5, too small1 ft11 shollow1 ft at break (est.)15kJwind from the east-south-east, 6 knots30°C
Sat 7Nov6, too small1 ft9 shollow1 ft at break (est.)15kJwind from the east, 5 knots, offshore31°C
Sun 8Nov9, too small2 ft6 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)44kJwind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore30°C
Mon 9Nov4, too small1 ft7 shollow1 ft at break (est.)6kJwind from the east-north-east, 3 knots, offshore28°C
Tue 10Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft11 s1 ft at break (est.)2kJwind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore30°C
Wed 11Nov5, too small1 ft11 shollow1 ft at break (est.)12kJwind from the east, 6 knots, offshore30°C
Thu 12Nov8, too small1 ft10 shollow2 ft at break (est.)17kJwind from the east, 5 knots, offshore25°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 NovLow 05:24 −0.6 mHigh 12:34 +0.4 mLow 18:15 −0.1 mHigh 23:42 +0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 06:31 −0.5 mHigh 13:29 +0.4 mLow 19:28 −0.2 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 01:04 +0.3 mLow 07:30 −0.5 mHigh 14:14 +0.5 mLow 20:26 −0.3 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.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: 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

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Efate - Black Sand Beach

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

The spot faces SW (229°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (49°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 10). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 26°C in July, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Port Vila, 4.6 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 wind sports spot and 4 dive sites.

Water about 27°C: no wetsuit. 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$1,320–US$2,560 each

about US$1,320–US$2,560 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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 VLI, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$785–US$1,640
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$20–US$34
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$201–US$329
Food7 days eating outabout US$221–US$416
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$87–US$141
Totalabout US$1,320–US$2,560

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 2 towns

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Closest

Port Vila

about 10 min by car · 53 places to stay

See 53 places to stay in Port Vila · Booking.com

About Port Vila its beds, food and every spot near it

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 31h 15m

About 31h 15m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → VLI, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL), then 30 min by road

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

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