WorldAustralia › Western Australia › Lancelin Island

Lancelin Island 81.8

#879 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇦🇺 Australia · Western Australia · near Gingin

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearAdvanced
Lancelin Island, Australia
Photo: Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Surf score81.8 /100
Surfable days97% of the year
Clean days46% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell86% period 11 s+
Typical size2.0 m 6.6 ft median
Water21°C a 2 mm shorty

Best time to surf Lancelin Island

The best time to surf Lancelin Island is April, May, June. The season runs Jan to Jun. In April the water sits around 22°C, so pack a 2 mm shorty, and the typical wave is 1.9 m. The nearest airport is PER (119 km) and the nearest town is Gingin (65 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%41%1.8 m23°Cvest
Feb100%41%1.8 m23°Cvest
Mar100%58%1.6 m22°Cvest
Apr100%72%1.9 m22°C2mm
May95%65%2.0 m22°Cvest
Jun94%70%2.2 m22°C2mm
Jul90%22%2.5 m20°C2mm
Aug91%42%2.4 m19°C2mm
Sep97%50%2.2 m19°C3/2
Oct99%35%2.1 m20°C2mm
Nov100%36%1.9 m21°C2mm
Dec100%26%1.8 m22°Cvest

What is under Lancelin Island

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 54 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 477 m against 54 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out54 m
Depth 4 km out53 m
Channel beside it477 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 81.8

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%
15.1
Best days 22.4%
17.0
Clean days 18.4%
18.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
3.5
Access 4.1%
2.5

The detail

Faces 255° with 47% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 53% of days. Mean peak period 12.9 s. Days over 3 m: 12%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 3.1 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 5%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -31.030, 115.324 (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

Black Rocks right🇫🇷 France · score 89.3Papetoai🇵🇫 French Polynesia · score 89.8Lovers Shore Break🇲🇽 Mexico · score 90.6Pali Kaholo🇺🇸 United States of America · score 90.7
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