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Secret Spot 80.9

#1036 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇸🇳 Senegal · Dakar · near Dakar

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Secret Spot, Senegal
Photo: Tbo47 · CC0 · source
Surf score80.9 /100
Surfable days100% of the year
Clean days37% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell68% period 11 s+
Typical size1.4 m 4.7 ft median
Water24°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Secret Spot

The best time to surf Secret Spot is January, February, December. The season runs Oct to Mar. In December the water sits around 22°C, so pack a 2 mm shorty, and the typical wave is 1.5 m. The nearest airport is DKR (3 km) and the nearest town is Dakar (4 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%74%1.5 m19°C2mm
Feb100%69%1.6 m19°C2mm
Mar100%43%1.7 m19°C3/2
Apr100%23%1.6 m19°C2mm
May100%11%1.4 m21°C2mm
Jun100%17%1.4 m25°Cboardies
Jul100%17%1.3 m28°Cboardies
Aug100%19%1.3 m29°Cboardies
Sep100%22%1.3 m29°Cboardies
Oct100%45%1.3 m29°Cboardies
Nov100%60%1.5 m28°Cboardies
Dec100%78%1.5 m22°C2mm

What is under Secret Spot

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor is still shallow, 20 m.

Depth 8 km out20 m
Depth 4 km out18 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 80.9

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%
19.6
Best days 22.4%
10.2
Clean days 18.4%
17.1
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
4.7
Access 4.1%
4.1

The detail

Faces 260° with 69% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 55% of days. Mean peak period 11.6 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.9 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 17%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 14.734, -17.513 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,110/ month
typically €974 – €1,240
Rent, one bedroom€578
Groceries€234
Eating out€135
Getting around€80
Phone + internet€80
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,150/ month
typically €1,890 – €2,410
Somewhere to stay€1,270
Eating out€455
Car, transfers, fuel€295
Data + extras€135
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Airport and town on the doorstep, so the local estimate is 23% above the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Senegal (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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