WorldHonduras › Atlántida › Palma Real

Palma Real 33.4

#5151 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇭🇳 Honduras · Atlántida · near La Ceiba

Wind is the enemy here, boardshorts water, gentle enough to learn.

Warm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner
Surf score33.4 /100
Surfable days69% of the year
Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell0% period 11 s+
Typical size0.7 m 2.4 ft median
Water28°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Palma Real

It rarely works. The nearest airport is LCE (37 km) and the nearest town is La Ceiba (31 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan72%0%0.8 m26°Cboardies
Feb85%0%0.9 m26°Cboardies
Mar82%0%0.9 m27°Cboardies
Apr85%0%0.8 m28°Cboardies
May70%0%0.8 m28°Cboardies
Jun83%0%0.9 m29°Cboardies
Jul75%0%0.8 m28°Cboardies
Aug70%0%0.8 m29°Cboardies
Sep45%0%0.6 m30°Cboardies
Oct37%0%0.5 m29°Cboardies
Nov51%0%0.6 m28°Cboardies
Dec72%0%0.7 m28°Cboardies

What is under Palma Real

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 22 m.

Depth 8 km out22 m
Depth 4 km out20 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 33.4

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%
4.8
Best days 22.4%
2.8
Clean days 18.4%
0.0
Consistency 10.2%
8.1
Season spread 4.1%
3.4
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
3.8

The detail

Faces 355° with 50% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 94% of days. Mean peak period 5.7 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.1 m, with a peak period of 6 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 86%. Months that work: 10 of 12. Coordinates 15.815, -86.510 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,090/ month
typically €959 – €1,220
Rent, one bedroom€570
Groceries€230
Eating out€130
Getting around€75
Phone + internet€80
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,120/ month
typically €1,870 – €2,370
Somewhere to stay€1,250
Eating out€445
Car, transfers, fuel€290
Data + extras€135
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Honduras (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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