Best surf spots in the world

How the score is built

Every spot is matched to the ERA5 ocean reanalysis cell that covers it and read across five full years of hourly data, 2018 to 2022: wave height, peak period and wave direction. Wind comes from ERA5 read for the local morning window, sea temperature from the last twelve months of ERA5 sea surface temperature, and the shape of the coast from the full resolution GSHHG shoreline, so we know which way each spot faces and which swells can actually reach it.

Limits worth knowing: the wave grid is half a degree, so spots within about fifty kilometres share the same offshore data and are separated by their exposure, their orientation and their wind. The model knows nothing about the sea floor, so a world class reef and the beach beside it can score alike, and it knows nothing about crowds, access or hazards. Read the score as "how often the ocean delivers here", not "how good the wave is when it does".

For surf schools, camps and lodges

The ranking is not for sale. The space beside it is: a featured card above the list for your country or your month, and a business panel on the spots you operate on. Paid placements carry a paid label, every time.

Index

Best in January Best in February Best in March Best in April Best in May Best in June Best in July Best in August Best in September Best in October Best in November Best in December