WorldUnited States of America › New Jersey › Ventnor Pier

Ventnor Pier 41.6

#4657 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇺🇸 United States of America · New Jersey · near Atlantic City

Works almost every day, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearIntermediate
Ventnor Pier, United States of America
Photo: Mel Taylor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · photo taken 2.1 km from the spot
Surf score41.6 /100
Surfable days95% of the year
Clean days4% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell6% period 11 s+
Typical size1.2 m 3.8 ft median
Water14°C a 4/3 with boots

Best time to surf Ventnor Pier

The best time to surf Ventnor Pier is January, September, October. It rarely works. In September the water sits around 22°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 1.2 m. The nearest airport is PHL (89 km) and the nearest town is Atlantic City (6 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan95%4%1.4 m4°C6/5
Feb99%0%1.3 m1°C6/5
Mar95%4%1.4 m5°C6/5
Apr95%2%1.3 m10°C6/5
May97%2%1.1 m14°C4/3
Jun92%1%0.9 m20°C2mm
Jul92%0%0.9 m24°Cvest
Aug88%1%0.8 m24°Cvest
Sep98%13%1.2 m22°Cvest
Oct96%8%1.3 m19°C3/2
Nov96%1%1.4 m13°C5/4
Dec92%2%1.3 m7°C6/5

What is under Ventnor Pier

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 70 m. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 100 m against 70 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out70 m
Depth 4 km out36 m
Channel beside it100 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 41.6

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%
5.8
Best days 22.4%
10.8
Clean days 18.4%
1.2
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
0.3
Access 4.1%
3.6

The detail

Faces 166° with 50% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 63% of days. Mean peak period 7.5 s. Days over 3 m: 3%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.1 m, with a peak period of 10 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 53%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 39.336, -74.477 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€2,000/ month
typically €1,760 – €2,240
Rent, one bedroom€1,050
Groceries€420
Eating out€240
Getting around€140
Phone + internet€150
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,900/ month
typically €3,430 – €4,370
Somewhere to stay€2,300
Eating out€820
Car, transfers, fuel€530
Data + extras€250
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for United States of America (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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