WorldMexico › Colima › Boca de Apisa

Boca de Apisa 75.0

#1886 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇲🇽 Mexico · Colima · near Manzanillo

Works almost every day, no off season, boardshorts water.

Works all yearWarm waterIntermediate
Boca de Apisa, Mexico
Photo: Jack Borno · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · photo taken 5.8 km from the spot
Surf score75.0 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days45% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell82% period 11 s+
Typical size1.0 m 3.4 ft median
Water29°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Boca de Apisa

The best time to surf Boca de Apisa is March, April, May. The season runs Mar to Nov. In May the water sits around 28°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 1.2 m. The nearest airport is ZLO (15 km) and the nearest town is Manzanillo (16 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan97%39%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Feb100%38%0.9 m27°Cboardies
Mar100%49%1.0 m26°Cboardies
Apr100%53%1.1 m26°Cboardies
May100%54%1.2 m28°Cboardies
Jun100%48%1.2 m30°Cboardies
Jul100%45%1.1 m30°Cboardies
Aug99%42%1.1 m31°Cboardies
Sep100%46%1.2 m30°Cboardies
Oct100%48%1.1 m30°Cboardies
Nov100%45%1.0 m29°Cboardies
Dec100%37%0.9 m28°Cboardies

What is under Boca de Apisa

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor falls away into open ocean, 1,110 m, deep right up to the door, so swell arrives with its energy intact.

Depth 8 km out1110 m
Depth 4 km out166 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 75.0

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%
14.9
Best days 22.4%
7.2
Clean days 18.4%
18.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
4.0

The detail

Faces n/a with 0% open water around it. Friendly morning wind n/a. Mean peak period 13.7 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.4 m, with a peak period of 16 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 76%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 19.163, -104.414 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,230/ month
typically €1,080 – €1,380
Rent, one bedroom€645
Groceries€260
Eating out€150
Getting around€85
Phone + internet€90
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,400/ month
typically €2,110 – €2,690
Somewhere to stay€1,420
Eating out€505
Car, transfers, fuel€325
Data + extras€155
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Mexico (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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