Staying Home Sucks, home
Life savers at the beach in Kingscliff, New South Wales
Kingscliff Main beach. Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Kingscliff Main beach

Surf spot · Australia

Is it worth the trip?

20Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: 3 ft swell at 5 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 20 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 ssoft
Energy
39kJ
Wind
W 2 kn
Temp
23°C

Tue 3 · 19 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 smushy
Energy
12kJ
Wind
SW 3 kn
Temp
24°C

Wed 4 · 17 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
18kJ
Wind
NW 8 kn
Temp
26°C

Thu 5 · 21 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 smushy
Energy
21kJ
Wind
WSW 9 kn
Temp
29°C

Fri 6 · 27 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
43kJ
Wind
SSE 8 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 16 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 smushy
Energy
35kJ
Wind
NW 5 kn
Temp
23°C

Sun 8 · 12 out of 100

Swell
3 ft7 smushy
Energy
80kJ
Wind
SSE 21 kn
Temp
22°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 130, too small
  2. Mon 220, too small
  3. Tue 319, too small
  4. Wed 417, too small
  5. Thu 521, too small
  6. Fri 627, poor
  7. Sat 716, too small
  8. Sun 812, too small
  9. Mon 933, poor
  10. Tue 1018, too small

The spot in six facts

  • Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
  • Offshore: SWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–9 ftof swell
  • Water 24 °Cno wetsuit
  • Best Apr–May2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

Kingscliff Main beach does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Kingscliff Main beach, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov30, too small2 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)88kJwind from the north-north-west, 9 knots22°C
Mon 2Nov20, too small2 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)39kJwind from the west, 2 knots, offshore23°C
Tue 3Nov19, too small2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)12kJwind from the south-west, 3 knots, offshore24°C
Wed 4Nov17, too small2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)18kJwind from the north-west, 8 knots26°C
Thu 5Nov21, too small2 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)21kJwind from the west-south-west, 9 knots, offshore29°C
Fri 6Nov27, poor3 ft5 smushy1 ft at break (est.)43kJwind from the south-south-east, 8 knots22°C
Sat 7Nov16, too small2 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)35kJwind from the north-west, 5 knots23°C
Sun 8Nov12, too small3 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)80kJwind from the south-south-east, 21 knots22°C
Mon 9Nov33, poor4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)80kJwind from the south-south-west, 12 knots20°C
Tue 10Nov18, too small2 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)40kJwind from the south, 5 knots21°C
Wed 11Nov34, too small2 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)31kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots19°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

  • Sun 1 NovHigh 01:15 +0.1 mLow 06:50 −0.5 mHigh 13:50 +0.8 mLow 20:57 −0.5 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 02:37 +0.1 mLow 08:09 −0.4 mHigh 15:00 +0.8 mLow 22:04 −0.6 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 03:58 +0.2 mLow 09:34 −0.4 mHigh 16:08 +0.7 mLow 23:01 −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 Kingscliff Main beach

Beach in Kingscliff, New South Wales 01
Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Cudgen Headland Surf Life Saving Club, Kingscliff, New South Wales 05
Photo: Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Kingscliff Main beach

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

The spot faces NE (62°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (242°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 800 m out (1 in 81). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April and May, with about 2 good days in 7; in October, November and December, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Kingscliff, 0.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 6 surf spots.

Water about 24°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$1,860–US$3,520 each

about US$1,860–US$3,520 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 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to BNE, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$891–US$1,850
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$147–US$241
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$355–US$596
Food7 days eating outabout US$322–US$596
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$141–US$234
Totalabout US$1,860–US$3,520

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

Closest

Kingscliff

1 min by car · 14 places to stay

about US$134/nightcountry average

See 14 places to stay in Kingscliff · Booking.com

About Kingscliff its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$134 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 28h 20m

About 28h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → BNE, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 2h 10m by road

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

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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