WorldChile › Antofagasta › Hornito

Hornito 84.0

#569 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇨🇱 Chile · Antofagasta · near Mejillones

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

Works all yearIntermediate
Hornito, Chile
Photo: Omar Burgos Dättwyler · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · photo taken 6.2 km from the spot
Surf score84.0 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days93% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell93% period 11 s+
Typical size1.3 m 4.4 ft median
Water17°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Hornito

The best time to surf Hornito is February, March, April. The season runs all year. In March the water sits around 17°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 1.3 m. The nearest airport is ANF (67 km) and the nearest town is Mejillones (31 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%94%1.2 m18°C3/2
Feb100%98%1.2 m19°C3/2
Mar100%99%1.3 m17°C3/2
Apr100%97%1.3 m17°C3/2
May100%95%1.4 m18°C3/2
Jun100%91%1.4 m17°C3/2
Jul100%86%1.4 m16°C3/2
Aug100%87%1.5 m16°C3/2
Sep100%88%1.5 m15°C4/3
Oct100%91%1.5 m15°C4/3
Nov100%93%1.3 m17°C3/2
Dec100%94%1.2 m17°C3/2

What is under Hornito

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor falls away into open ocean, 504 m, deep right up to the door, so swell arrives with its energy intact. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 761 m against 504 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out504 m
Depth 4 km out139 m
Channel beside it761 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 84.0

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%
25.2
Best days 22.4%
9.7
Clean days 18.4%
18.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
1.6
Access 4.1%
3.5

The detail

Faces 260° with 39% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 100% of days. Mean peak period 13.5 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.8 m, with a peak period of 15 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 29%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -22.864, -70.297 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,120/ month
typically €986 – €1,250
Rent, one bedroom€590
Groceries€235
Eating out€135
Getting around€80
Phone + internet€85
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,190/ month
typically €1,930 – €2,450
Somewhere to stay€1,290
Eating out€460
Car, transfers, fuel€295
Data + extras€140
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Chile (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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