Mexico surf forecast

Surfing in Mexico

Mexico's Pacific coast is long and mostly faces south-west, which leaves it wide open to swells from the Southern Hemisphere. The spots on this page run from Los Cabos at the tip of Baja California down the mainland through Riviera Nayarit, Colima, Guerrero and Oaxaca. For most of them the main season is roughly April to October, when long-period south and south-west swells arrive, sometimes boosted by tropical storms offshore. Mornings tend to be cleanest before onshore sea breezes build.

The character changes along the coast. In Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido's Zicatela is a famously heavy beach break, best left to experienced surfers when the summer swells run, while Barra de la Cruz near Huatulco is a long, fast right-hand point that lines up on south and south-east swells. Pascuales in Colima is another powerful beach break that closes out readily. Troncones, north of Ixtapa, has a mix of points and beach peaks for intermediates. San José del Cabo picks up summer south swell on rocky points.

Riviera Nayarit, north of Puerto Vallarta, is gentler. Sayulita and Punta de Mita have softer points and reefs that suit beginners and longboarders and can work year round, with the north-west swells of the northern winter often giving the best days there from about November to February.

Hazards include strong rips and heavy shore break on the exposed beaches, rock and urchins at the points, and crowds at the best-known waves. Tide affects many of the points and reefs, so check how a spot behaves through the tide before paddling out.