WorldPuerto Rico › Puerto Rico › Chatarras

Chatarras 46.8

#4276 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico · Puerto Rico · near San Juan

Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner
Chatarras, Puerto Rico
Photo: Edgar Torres · CC BY 3.0 · source · photo taken 1.2 km from the spot
Surf score46.8 /100
Surfable days79% of the year
Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell0% period 11 s+
Typical size0.8 m 2.6 ft median
Water28°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Chatarras

It rarely works. The nearest airport is SJU (4 km) and the nearest town is San Juan (18 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan79%0%0.8 m27°Cboardies
Feb90%0%1.0 m27°Cboardies
Mar81%0%0.8 m27°Cboardies
Apr78%0%0.8 m27°Cboardies
May90%0%0.8 m28°Cboardies
Jun91%0%0.8 m28°Cboardies
Jul95%0%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Aug84%0%0.8 m29°Cboardies
Sep53%0%0.6 m30°Cboardies
Oct53%0%0.6 m30°Cboardies
Nov74%0%0.7 m29°Cboardies
Dec82%0%0.8 m28°Cboardies

What is under Chatarras

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is already 412 m deep, shoaling steadily over the last kilometres. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 617 m against 412 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out412 m
Depth 4 km out53 m
Channel beside it617 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 46.8

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%
14.4
Best days 22.4%
2.5
Clean days 18.4%
0.0
Consistency 10.2%
9.4
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
4.0

The detail

Faces 6° with 53% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 22% of days. Mean peak period 6.1 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.1 m, with a peak period of 6 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 96%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 18.454, -65.965 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,770/ month
typically €1,560 – €1,980
Rent, one bedroom€934
Groceries€373
Eating out€211
Getting around€124
Phone + internet€135
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,470/ month
typically €3,050 – €3,880
Somewhere to stay€2,040
Eating out€729
Car, transfers, fuel€470
Data + extras€221
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 Puerto Rico (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

Mullaway🇦🇺 Australia · score 56.8Sao Pedro🇧🇷 Brazil · score 57.1Cagalhotos🇵🇹 Portugal · score 65.8Ragged Point🇧🇧 Barbados · score 66.1
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