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Parsons 69.3

#2432 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇦🇺 Australia · South Australia · near Victor Harbor

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Surf score69.3 /100
Surfable days99% of the year
Clean days32% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell69% period 11 s+
Typical size1.3 m 4.4 ft median
Water17°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Parsons

The best time to surf Parsons is April, July, September. The season runs Apr to Apr. In July the water sits around 15°C, so pack a 4/3 with boots, and the typical wave is 1.3 m. The nearest airport is ADL (77 km) and the nearest town is Victor Harbor (15 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan99%19%1.3 m19°C2mm
Feb99%20%1.4 m19°C2mm
Mar99%30%1.3 m19°C3/2
Apr98%43%1.3 m18°C3/2
May100%37%1.4 m17°C3/2
Jun97%36%1.2 m16°C4/3
Jul99%47%1.3 m15°C4/3
Aug100%40%1.4 m14°C4/3
Sep100%42%1.4 m14°C4/3
Oct99%38%1.3 m15°C4/3
Nov100%26%1.3 m16°C3/2
Dec99%16%1.3 m18°C3/2

What is under Parsons

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 27 m.

Depth 8 km out27 m
Depth 4 km out19 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 69.3

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%
14.5
Best days 22.4%
11.1
Clean days 18.4%
14.8
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
1.6
Access 4.1%
3.7

The detail

Faces 190° with 44% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 47% of days. Mean peak period 11.7 s. Days over 3 m: 1%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.1 m, with a peak period of 13 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 36%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -35.632, 138.473 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,840/ month
typically €1,620 – €2,060
Rent, one bedroom€970
Groceries€385
Eating out€220
Getting around€130
Phone + internet€140
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,600/ month
typically €3,170 – €4,030
Somewhere to stay€2,120
Eating out€755
Car, transfers, fuel€490
Data + extras€230
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

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.

Our own project · Sumba, Indonesia
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Sumba has eight spots in this ranking, the best of them inside the world top 50. A cabin is €11,500. The land it sits on is separate, from €6,500 (€9,950 oceanfront), on an 80-year lease that extends at the end. Water, septic and electricity are another €6,500, and furniture is on top, so a finished cabin lands around €28,000 plus the land, payable in instalments.

Eco Beach City is run by the same people as SurfRanking, so treat this as our own advert, not a recommendation. It is an off-plan property in Indonesia: take your own legal and financial advice before paying anything.

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