WorldItaly › Olbia-Tempio › Isola Rossa

Isola Rossa 31.2

#5280 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇮🇹 Italy · Olbia-Tempio · near Sassari

Needs the right swell, wind is the enemy here, gentle enough to learn.

RemoteBeginner
Isola Rossa, Italy
Photo: Basilicofresco · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Surf score31.2 /100
Surfable days34% of the year
Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell0% period 11 s+
Typical size0.4 m 1.3 ft median
Water20°C a 2 mm shorty

Best time to surf Isola Rossa

It rarely works. The nearest airport is FCO (294 km) and the nearest town is Sassari (42 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan53%0%0.6 m14°C4/3
Feb54%0%0.7 m14°C4/3
Mar50%0%0.6 m14°C4/3
Apr30%0%0.4 m16°C3/2
May29%0%0.4 m18°C3/2
Jun12%0%0.3 m24°Cvest
Jul17%0%0.2 m26°Cboardies
Aug17%0%0.3 m27°Cboardies
Sep23%0%0.3 m24°Cvest
Oct32%0%0.4 m22°C2mm
Nov43%0%0.5 m19°C2mm
Dec50%0%0.6 m16°C3/2

What is under Isola Rossa

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 17 m.

Depth 8 km out17 m
Depth 4 km out13 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 31.2

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%
15.2
Best days 22.4%
3.1
Clean days 18.4%
0.0
Consistency 10.2%
3.5
Season spread 4.1%
1.1
Water comfort 6.1%
2.9
Access 4.1%
1.2

The detail

Faces 305° with 47% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 66% of days. Mean peak period 4.5 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.2 m, with a peak period of 6 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 41%. Months that work: 4 of 12. Coordinates 41.017, 8.885 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,280/ month
typically €1,120 – €1,430
Rent, one bedroom€667
Groceries€268
Eating out€153
Getting around€89
Phone + internet€94
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,480/ month
typically €2,180 – €2,780
Somewhere to stay€1,460
Eating out€523
Car, transfers, fuel€336
Data + extras€157
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 Italy (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

bagni Fiume ( Livorno )🇮🇹 Italy · score 31.5Tanjung Aru beach 3🇲🇾 Malaysia · score 32.4The Wall🇬🇧 United Kingdom · score 27.0Tre Ponti (La Scaletta)🇮🇹 Italy · score 32.6
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