Staying Home Sucks, home
Ranchos a la orilla de la playa La Mochila
Near Gruta Azul, 1 km away. Photo: Mir Rodriguez, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Gruta Azul

Surf spot · Panama

Is it worth the trip?

2Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

4 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 2 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft9 s
Energy
1kJ
Wind
WNW 5 kn
Temp
28°C

Wed 4 · 2 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft10 s
Energy
2kJ
Wind
WNW 4 kn
Temp
28°C

Thu 5 · 1 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft11 s
Energy
1kJ
Wind
WSW 4 kn
Temp
27°C

Fri 6 · 2 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft10 s
Energy
1kJ
Wind
WSW 6 kn
Temp
28°C

Sat 7 · 2 out of 100

Swell
1 ft3 s
Energy
1kJ
Wind
WSW 7 kn
Temp
29°C

Sun 8 · 1 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft5 s
Energy
0kJ
Wind
NW 2 kn
Temp
28°C

Mon 9 · 1 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft10 s
Energy
0kJ
Wind
NW 2 kn
Temp
29°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 23, too small
  2. Tue 32, too small
  3. Wed 42, too small
  4. Thu 51, too small
  5. Fri 62, too small
  6. Sat 72, too small
  7. Sun 81, too small
  8. Mon 91, too small
  9. Tue 101, too small
  10. Wed 111, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Beginner +who it suits
  • Works 5–20 ftof swell
  • Water 29 °Cno wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

Gruta Azul does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Gruta Azul, each day
DayScorefor ExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov3, too smallunder 1 ft10 s1 ft at break (est.)2kJwind from the north-north-west, 6 knots, offshore29°C
Tue 3Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft9 s1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the west-north-west, 5 knots, offshore28°C
Wed 4Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft10 s1 ft at break (est.)2kJwind from the west-north-west, 4 knots28°C
Thu 5Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft11 s1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the west-south-west, 4 knots27°C
Fri 6Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft10 s1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the west-south-west, 6 knots28°C
Sat 7Nov2, too small1 ft3 s1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the west-south-west, 7 knots29°C
Sun 8Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft5 s1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north-west, 2 knots, offshore28°C
Mon 9Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft10 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north-west, 2 knots, offshore29°C
Tue 10Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft10 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north-north-west, 8 knots, offshore28°C
Wed 11Nov1, too smallunder 1 ft6 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north-north-west, 6 knots, offshore28°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 02:54 −1.5 mHigh 09:02 +1.5 mLow 15:24 −1.6 mHigh 21:49 +1.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:08 −1.4 mHigh 10:20 +1.3 mLow 16:36 −1.5 mHigh 23:05 +1.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 05:22 −1.4 mHigh 11:39 +1.4 mLow 17:47 −1.5 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.

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.

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Gruta Azul

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

The spot faces SE (153°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (333°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 600 m out (1 in 58). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 26°C in February, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 29°C in May, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Farallon, 2 km away (about 5 min by car).

Water about 29°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$765–US$1,450 each

about US$765–US$1,450 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 ORD to PTY, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$302–US$631
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$74–US$127
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$148–US$248
Food7 days eating outabout US$168–US$315
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$74–US$127
Totalabout US$765–US$1,450

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

Farallon

about 5 min by car · 33 places to stay

about US$54/nightcountry average

See 33 places to stay in Farallon · Booking.com

About Farallon its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$54 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 11h 30m

About 11h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → PTY, direct, then 2h 15m by road

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

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