Staying Home Sucks, home
Playa de Shek o beach
Shek O. Photo: ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Shek O

Surf spot · China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Is it worth the trip?

24Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: too small (3 ft swell at 5 s)

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 6 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 smushy
Energy
24kJ
Wind
E 15 kn
Temp
26°C

Wed 4 · 18 out of 100

Swell
4 ft5 smushy
Energy
67kJ
Wind
E 13 kn
Temp
26°C

Thu 5 · 37 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
45kJ
Wind
ESE 6 kn
Temp
27°C

Fri 6 · 11 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 shollow
Energy
22kJ
Wind
E 8 kn
Temp
26°C

Sat 7 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 smushy
Energy
42kJ
Wind
ENE 18 kn
Temp
26°C

Sun 8 · 27 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
185kJ
Wind
ENE 8 kn
Temp
26°C

Mon 9 · 33 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
119kJ
Wind
NNE 17 kn
Temp
26°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 36, too small
  2. Wed 418, poor
  3. Thu 537, too small
  4. Fri 611, too small
  5. Sat 77, too small
  6. Sun 827, poor
  7. Mon 933, poor
  8. Tue 1027, poor
  9. Wed 1124, poor
  10. Thu 1221, poor

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–13 ftof swell
  • Water 25 °Cno wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

Shek O does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Shek O, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Tue 3Nov6, too small2 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)24kJwind from the east, 15 knots26°C
Wed 4Nov18, poor4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.)67kJwind from the east, 13 knots26°C
Thu 5Nov37, too small3 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.)45kJwind from the east-south-east, 6 knots27°C
Fri 6Nov11, too small1 ft9 shollow2 ft at break (est.)22kJwind from the east, 8 knots26°C
Sat 7Nov7, too small2 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)42kJwind from the east-north-east, 18 knots26°C
Sun 8Nov27, poor5 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.)185kJwind from the east-north-east, 8 knots26°C
Mon 9Nov33, poor4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.)119kJwind from the north-north-east, 17 knots26°C
Tue 10Nov27, poor4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.)107kJwind from the north-north-east, 13 knots24°C
Wed 11Nov24, poor5 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.)179kJwind from the north-east, 12 knots24°C
Thu 12Nov21, poor4 ft8 smushy5 ft at break (est.)174kJwind from the east-north-east, 18 knots22°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

  • Tue 3 NovHigh 02:03 +0.7 mLow 10:33 −0.7 mHigh 18:32 +0.1 mLow 21:30 +0.0 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 04:32 +0.5 mLow 11:24 −0.7 mHigh 18:55 +0.3 mLow 23:05 −0.1 m
  • Thu 5 NovHigh 06:03 +0.5 mLow 12:04 −0.6 mHigh 19:19 +0.4 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.

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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.

Photos of Shek O

Shek O Beach
Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Shek O Beach Sitting-out Area 2024
Photo: Tombus20032000, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Closing party, Shek O beach, Wikimania 2013 01
Photo: Subhashish Panigrahi, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

2 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Shek O

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

The spot faces E (101°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (281°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–13 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 16). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 20°C in January, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 29°C in June, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Hong Kong. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 1 mountain bike area.

Water about 25°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$1,400–US$2,700 each

about US$1,400–US$2,700 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 HKG, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$792–US$1,640
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$101–US$174
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$1,400–US$2,700

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

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Hong Kong

27 min by car · 275 places to stay

See 275 places to stay in Hong Kong · Booking.com

About Hong Kong its beds, food and every spot near it

Nearest beds: Hong Kong, 11 km (27 min by car)

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 21h 25m

About 21h 25m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → HKG, direct, then 55 min by road

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

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.