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Chacahua 83.9

#578 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇲🇽 Mexico · Oaxaca · near Puerto Escondido

Works almost every day, clean mornings are the norm, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterIntermediate
Chacahua, Mexico
Photo: Carlos Adampol Galindo from DF, México · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Surf score83.9 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days83% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell85% period 11 s+
Typical size1.2 m 4.1 ft median
Water30°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Chacahua

The best time to surf Chacahua is March, April, May. The season runs all year. In May the water sits around 30°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 1.4 m. The nearest airport is OAX (154 km) and the nearest town is Puerto Escondido (66 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%55%1.0 m29°Cboardies
Feb100%78%1.1 m29°Cboardies
Mar100%94%1.1 m29°Cboardies
Apr100%97%1.3 m29°Cboardies
May100%98%1.4 m30°Cboardies
Jun100%83%1.4 m31°Cboardies
Jul100%91%1.4 m31°Cboardies
Aug100%73%1.4 m31°Cboardies
Sep100%89%1.4 m30°Cboardies
Oct100%87%1.3 m30°Cboardies
Nov100%88%1.1 m30°Cboardies
Dec98%57%0.9 m29°Cboardies

What is under Chacahua

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 21 m.

Depth 8 km out21 m
Depth 4 km out22 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 83.9

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%
22.6
Best days 22.4%
9.0
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%
2.2

The detail

Faces 155° with 22% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 97% of days. Mean peak period 13.4 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.6 m, with a peak period of 16 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 46%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 15.968, -97.677 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,050/ month
typically €920 – €1,170
Rent, one bedroom€548
Groceries€221
Eating out€128
Getting around€72
Phone + internet€76
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,040/ month
typically €1,800 – €2,280
Somewhere to stay€1,200
Eating out€429
Car, transfers, fuel€276
Data + extras€132
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. 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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