WorldChile › Valparaíso › Vai Uri

Vai Uri 94.3

#47 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇨🇱 Chile · Valparaíso · near Puerto Villamil

Works almost every day, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Vai Uri, Chile
Photo: Meik.ch · CC BY 3.0 · source
Surf score94.3 /100
Surfable days99% of the year
Clean days54% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell81% period 11 s+
Typical size1.6 m 5.4 ft median
Water23°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Vai Uri

The best time to surf Vai Uri is March, November, December. The season runs Jun to Jul. In November the water sits around 22°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 1.6 m. The nearest airport is IPC (2 km) and the nearest town is Puerto Villamil (3515 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan97%64%1.3 m25°Cvest
Feb100%42%1.6 m26°Cboardies
Mar100%70%1.6 m26°Cboardies
Apr100%63%1.6 m25°Cboardies
May99%38%2.1 m24°Cvest
Jun100%49%1.9 m23°Cvest
Jul100%48%1.7 m21°C2mm
Aug99%25%1.8 m21°C2mm
Sep100%50%1.7 m20°C2mm
Oct100%65%1.6 m21°C2mm
Nov96%71%1.6 m22°Cvest
Dec97%68%1.4 m23°Cvest

What is under Vai Uri

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 87 m, shoaling steadily over the last kilometres.

Depth 8 km out87 m
Depth 4 km out45 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 94.3

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%
28.3
Best days 22.4%
13.8
Clean days 18.4%
18.4
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
4.4
Access 4.1%
2.5

The detail

Faces 295° with 39% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 67% of days. Mean peak period 13.0 s. Days over 3 m: 3%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.5 m, with a peak period of 15 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 26%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -27.140, -109.429 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€952/ month
typically €838 – €1,070
Rent, one bedroom€502
Groceries€200
Eating out€115
Getting around€68
Phone + internet€72
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,860/ month
typically €1,640 – €2,080
Somewhere to stay€1,100
Eating out€391
Car, transfers, fuel€251
Data + extras€119
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 Chile (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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