WorldIreland › Cork › Donomore Reefs

Donomore Reefs 63.7

#2819 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇮🇪 Ireland · Cork · near Cork

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

Works all yearIntermediate
Surf score63.7 /100
Surfable days88% of the year
Clean days12% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell27% period 11 s+
Typical size1.4 m 4.5 ft median
Water13°C a 5/4 with boots and hood

Best time to surf Donomore Reefs

The best time to surf Donomore Reefs is January, March, November. It rarely works. In January the water sits around 10°C, so pack a 6/5 with boots, gloves and hood, and the typical wave is 1.7 m. The nearest airport is ORK (36 km) and the nearest town is Cork (41 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan95%26%1.7 m10°C6/5
Feb91%8%2.6 m9°C6/5
Mar97%18%1.6 m10°C6/5
Apr88%13%1.2 m10°C5/4
May90%8%1.1 m13°C4/3
Jun77%5%0.8 m14°C4/3
Jul67%1%0.8 m17°C3/2
Aug77%1%0.9 m18°C3/2
Sep92%7%1.0 m15°C4/3
Oct94%5%1.7 m14°C4/3
Nov93%20%1.9 m12°C5/4
Dec94%7%2.1 m11°C5/4

What is under Donomore Reefs

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 61 m.

Depth 8 km out61 m
Depth 4 km out33 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 63.7

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%
15.6
Best days 22.4%
16.4
Clean days 18.4%
5.3
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
0.0
Access 4.1%
3.6

The detail

Faces 185° with 44% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 45% of days. Mean peak period 10.0 s. Days over 3 m: 10%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 3.0 m, with a peak period of 12 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 41%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 51.591, -8.802 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,760/ month
typically €1,550 – €1,970
Rent, one bedroom€925
Groceries€370
Eating out€210
Getting around€125
Phone + internet€130
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,430/ month
typically €3,020 – €3,840
Somewhere to stay€2,020
Eating out€720
Car, transfers, fuel€465
Data + extras€220
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Ireland (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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