WorldAustralia › South Australia › D'estrees Bay

D'estrees Bay 60.3

#3151 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇦🇺 Australia · South Australia · near Victor Harbor

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
D'estrees Bay, Australia
Photo: Wikipedian · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · photo taken 3.2 km from the spot
Surf score60.3 /100
Surfable days93% of the year
Clean days29% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell59% period 11 s+
Typical size1.0 m 3.4 ft median
Water17°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf D'estrees Bay

The best time to surf D'estrees Bay is April, July, August. The season runs Apr to Apr. In August the water sits around 15°C, so pack a 4/3 with boots, and the typical wave is 1.0 m. The nearest airport is ADL (140 km) and the nearest town is Victor Harbor (101 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan97%15%1.0 m19°C3/2
Feb100%21%1.2 m19°C2mm
Mar97%35%1.1 m19°C3/2
Apr91%42%1.0 m18°C3/2
May89%34%1.0 m18°C3/2
Jun81%22%0.9 m17°C3/2
Jul90%39%0.9 m16°C4/3
Aug90%43%1.0 m15°C4/3
Sep97%32%1.1 m15°C4/3
Oct95%23%1.0 m16°C4/3
Nov96%21%1.1 m16°C4/3
Dec95%18%1.1 m17°C3/2

What is under D'estrees Bay

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 58 m.

Depth 8 km out58 m
Depth 4 km out49 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 60.3

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%
12.9
Best days 22.4%
8.4
Clean days 18.4%
13.0
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
1.7
Access 4.1%
1.8

The detail

Faces 90° with 28% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 48% of days. Mean peak period 11.8 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.6 m, with a peak period of 12 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 65%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -35.943, 137.599 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,560/ month
typically €1,380 – €1,750
Rent, one bedroom€824
Groceries€327
Eating out€187
Getting around€110
Phone + internet€119
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,060/ month
typically €2,690 – €3,430
Somewhere to stay€1,800
Eating out€642
Car, transfers, fuel€416
Data + extras€196
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 Australia (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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