WorldIsrael › Haifa › BackDoor (Haifa)

BackDoor (Haifa) 33.2

#5163 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇮🇱 Israel · Haifa · near Haifa

Wind is the enemy here, gentle enough to learn.

Beginner friendlyBeginner
BackDoor (Haifa), Israel
Photo: Manuel Schneider · CC BY 3.0 · source
Surf score33.2 /100
Surfable days50% of the year
Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell0% period 11 s+
Typical size0.6 m 2.0 ft median
Water23°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf BackDoor (Haifa)

It rarely works. The nearest airport is TLV (93 km) and the nearest town is Haifa (2 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan72%0%1.3 m19°C2mm
Feb62%0%0.7 m18°C3/2
Mar72%0%0.8 m18°C3/2
Apr53%0%0.6 m19°C3/2
May40%0%0.6 m22°C2mm
Jun35%0%0.6 m25°Cboardies
Jul46%0%0.6 m28°Cboardies
Aug40%0%0.6 m29°Cboardies
Sep43%0%0.6 m28°Cboardies
Oct43%0%0.6 m26°Cboardies
Nov38%0%0.5 m24°Cvest
Dec61%0%0.8 m22°C2mm

What is under BackDoor (Haifa)

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 50 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 68 m against 50 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out50 m
Depth 4 km out30 m
Channel beside it68 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 33.2

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
7.9
Best days 22.4%
5.7
Clean days 18.4%
0.0
Consistency 10.2%
5.6
Season spread 4.1%
1.5
Water comfort 6.1%
4.5
Access 4.1%
3.6

The detail

Faces 5° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 65% of days. Mean peak period 6.0 s. Days over 3 m: 1%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.4 m, with a peak period of 8 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 70%. Months that work: 5 of 12. Coordinates 32.836, 34.980 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€2,180/ month
typically €1,920 – €2,440
Rent, one bedroom€1,140
Groceries€459
Eating out€259
Getting around€151
Phone + internet€162
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€4,240/ month
typically €3,740 – €4,750
Somewhere to stay€2,510
Eating out€891
Car, transfers, fuel€578
Data + extras€270
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 8% above the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Israel (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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Spots nearby

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