PLAYA ARENA
Surf spot · Spain
Is it worth the trip?
50Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 9 s
Mon 2 · 67 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft10 sslab
- Energy
- 527kJ
- Wind
- SSE 4 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Tue 3 · 75 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 209kJ
- Wind
- SE 3 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Wed 4 · 39 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 67kJ
- Wind
- ESE 3 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Thu 5 · 43 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 108kJ
- Wind
- SSW 2 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Fri 6 · 38 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 82kJ
- Wind
- E 3 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Sat 7 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 19kJ
- Wind
- SSW 5 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Sun 8 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 45kJ
- Wind
- SSW 10 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 267, good
- Tue 375, good
- Wed 439, too small
- Thu 543, too small
- Fri 638, too small
- Sat 718, too small
- Sun 820, too small
- Mon 959, fair
- Tue 100, too big
- Wed 110, too big
The spot in five facts
- Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
- Offshore: SEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
PLAYA ARENA does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 67, good | 5 ft10 sslab8 ft at break (est.) | 527kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-east, 4 knots, offshore | 27°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 75, good | 4 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 209kJ | offshorewind from the south-east, 3 knots, offshore | 25°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 39, too small | 3 ft7 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 67kJ | offshorewind from the east-south-east, 3 knots, offshore | 25°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 43, too small | 2 ft10 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 108kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 2 knots | 25°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 38, too small | 2 ft10 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 82kJ | wind from the east, 3 knots | 26°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 18, too small | 1 ft7 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 19kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-west, 5 knots, offshore | 27°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 20, too small | 2 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 45kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 10 knots | 26°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 59, fair | 4 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 221kJ | wind from the south-west, 6 knots | 25°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft9 sslab9 ft at break (est.) | 703kJ | wind from the south, 5 knots | 20°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 0, too big | 9 ft9 sslab11 ft at break (est.) | 1,287kJ | wind from the north-east, 3 knots | 21°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 00:17 −0.4 mHigh 06:50 +0.7 mLow 13:30 −0.6 mHigh 19:56 +0.5 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 01:49 −0.4 mHigh 08:15 +0.7 mLow 14:52 −0.7 mHigh 21:13 +0.6 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 03:09 −0.5 mHigh 09:26 +0.8 mLow 15:56 −0.7 mHigh 22:11 +0.7 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
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep2of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov2of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
PLAYA ARENA on Google Maps · Directions
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.
More surf near here
5 places
- la caseta del telegrapho 6.3 km away
- Los Gigantes 14.1 km away
- Las Conchas 15.8 km away
- Punta blanca 17.8 km away
- EL CHALET 19.3 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About PLAYA ARENA
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NW (332°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (152°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 2). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hard and thick, like a slab. The sea is about 20°C in January, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in September, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Buenavista del Norte, 1.9 km away (about 5 min by car).
Water about 23°C: 2 mm shorty. 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$1,110–US$2,080 each
about US$1,110–US$2,080 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to TFS, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$456–US$946 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$107–US$174 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$208–US$349 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$235–US$443 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$101–US$168 |
| Total | about US$1,110–US$2,080 |
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
about 5 min by car · 9 places to stay
about US$81/nightcountry average
About Buenavista del Norte its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Los Silos on Booking.com
about 10 min by car · 9 places to stay
- Beds in Tamaimo on Booking.com
about 25 min by car · 2 places to stay
About US$81 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 18h 45m
About 18h 45m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → TFS, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 1h 10m by road
Flights ORD → TFS on your dates · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
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.