Satellite water quality data

Clearest beaches and surf spots

50 coastal spots ranked by underwater visibility. Satellite data from Copernicus Marine and NOAA VIIRS, updated daily.

Not bathing-water safety advice. Check official local notices before entering the water.

50 spots

#	Location	Country	Visibility ↓	Rating	Chlorophyll	Turbidity	SST
1	La Santa	Spain	29.5m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	22.2°C
2	Arugam Bay	Sri Lanka	27.5m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	29.5°C
3	El Quemao	Spain	27.4m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	22.2°C
4	Saint-Leu	Réunion	27.2m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.2 g/m3	25.0°C
5	Oludeniz	Turkey	26.9m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	26.4°C
6	Ponta Preta	Cape Verde	26.7m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.2 g/m3	23.8°C
7	Gracetown	Australia	26.5m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.6 g/m3	20.7°C
8	Barra de la Cruz	Mexico	23.5m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	30.7°C
9	Sopelana	Spain	23.4m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	23.3°C
10	Mundaka	Spain	23.0m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	23.8°C
11	Margaret River	Australia	22.7m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	1.2 g/m3	20.2°C
12	Puerto Escondido	Mexico	22.4m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	3.8 g/m3	31.1°C
13	Playa Grande	Costa Rica	21.4m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	29.9°C
14	El Sunzal	El Salvador	20.3m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	30.6°C
15	San José del Cabo	Mexico	19.1m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	29.6°C
16	Vliho Bay	Greece	18.6m	Crystal clear	0.3 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	26.5°C
17	Cloudbreak	Fiji	13.6m	Good	0.5 mg/m3	4.6 g/m3	25.8°C
18	Nihiwatu	Indonesia	13.2m	Good	0.5 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	27.0°C
19	Lakey Peak	Indonesia	13.2m	Good	0.5 mg/m3	0.5 g/m3	27.0°C
20	Jeffreys Bay	South Africa	12.5m	Good	0.5 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	19.3°C
21	Praia do Amado	Portugal	11.3m	Good	0.6 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	21.0°C
22	Huntington Beach	United States	10.9m	Good	0.7 mg/m3	0.7 g/m3	19.5°C
23	Bundoran	Ireland	10.5m	Good	0.7 mg/m3	2.3 g/m3	15.6°C
24	Troncones	Mexico	10.1m	Good	0.8 mg/m3	5.6 g/m3	31.4°C
25	Huanchaco	Peru	9.9m	Good	0.8 mg/m3	0.8 g/m3	21.1°C
26	Guéthary	France	9.7m	Good	0.8 mg/m3	1.0 g/m3	24.0°C
27	Fraserburgh	United Kingdom	9.2m	Good	0.9 mg/m3	1.0 g/m3	12.6°C
28	Dungeons	South Africa	9.0m	Good	0.9 mg/m3	0.5 g/m3	13.3°C
29	Cocoa Beach	United States	8.7m	Good	1.0 mg/m3	7.8 g/m3	28.2°C
30	Seaburn	United Kingdom	7.4m	Moderate	1.2 mg/m3	0.7 g/m3	13.6°C
31	El Palmar	Spain	7.2m	Moderate	1.3 mg/m3	0.6 g/m3	22.0°C
32	Cimaja	Indonesia	7.2m	Moderate	1.3 mg/m3	0.7 g/m3	28.7°C
33	Kimmeridge Bay	United Kingdom	6.2m	Moderate	1.6 mg/m3	2.5 g/m3	17.0°C
34	Torres	Brazil	6.0m	Moderate	1.7 mg/m3	2.0 g/m3	15.0°C
35	Bournemouth	United Kingdom	5.5m	Moderate	1.9 mg/m3	3.1 g/m3	18.2°C
36	Bloubergstrand	South Africa	5.3m	Moderate	2.0 mg/m3	0.8 g/m3	13.2°C
37	Cannon Beach	United States	5.0m	Moderate	2.2 mg/m3	1.8 g/m3	14.5°C
38	Varkala	India	4.8m	Moderate	2.3 mg/m3	2.0 g/m3	27.3°C
39	Nazaré	Portugal	4.6m	Moderate	2.5 mg/m3	1.7 g/m3	18.4°C
40	Newgale	United Kingdom	4.5m	Moderate	2.5 mg/m3	1.7 g/m3	16.1°C
41	Saunton Sands	United Kingdom	4.1m	Moderate	2.9 mg/m3	3.2 g/m3	17.0°C
42	Woolacombe	United Kingdom	4.1m	Moderate	2.9 mg/m3	3.2 g/m3	17.0°C
43	Lobitos	Peru	4.1m	Moderate	2.9 mg/m3	5.7 g/m3	22.2°C
44	Raglan	New Zealand	4.0m	Moderate	3.0 mg/m3	8.7 g/m3	15.0°C
45	Scarborough	United Kingdom	3.7m	Moderate	3.3 mg/m3	3.7 g/m3	14.5°C
46	Imsouane	Morocco	3.0m	Moderate	4.4 mg/m3	0.8 g/m3	18.9°C
47	Ocean Beach SF	United States	2.8m	Reduced	5.1 mg/m3	14.4 g/m3	17.6°C
48	Muizenberg	South Africa	2.6m	Reduced	5.6 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	13.7°C
49	Hiriketiya	Sri Lanka	2.6m	Reduced	5.6 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	27.7°C
50	Caswell Bay	United Kingdom	2.4m	Reduced	6.3 mg/m3	10.0 g/m3	17.6°C

Satellite data from Copernicus Marine and NOAA CoastWatch. Data from 4 July 2026

Frequently asked questions

What is Secchi depth?

Secchi depth measures underwater visibility in metres. Higher numbers mean clearer water. Anything above 15m is considered excellent; below 3m is poor. Our primary source (Copernicus Marine) provides Secchi depth directly from merged multi-satellite observations. The fallback source (NOAA VIIRS) derives it from Kd490 using the Preisendorfer relationship.

Where does the data come from?

Two satellite sources, used in priority order. Primary: Copernicus Marine Service (EU), which blends multiple satellites into a gap-free L4 product covering Secchi depth, chlorophyll, and suspended particulate matter at 4km resolution. Fallback: NOAA CoastWatch VIIRS sensor aboard Suomi-NPP for spots where Copernicus has coastal land masking.

What does chlorophyll indicate?

Chlorophyll-a concentration (mg/m3) is a proxy for phytoplankton density. Low values typically mean clear, nutrient-poor water. Elevated levels above 5 mg/m3 may indicate an algal bloom, which can reduce visibility and occasionally cause irritation.

What is SPM / turbidity?

Suspended Particulate Matter (g/m3) measures particles floating in the water column (sediment, runoff, organic matter). Higher values mean murkier water. Values above 10 g/m3 usually indicate recent storm activity or river runoff.

What is SST?

Sea Surface Temperature in degrees Celsius from the Copernicus OSTIA satellite analysis. This blends observations from multiple satellites into a daily global product at 0.05 degree resolution, giving reliable coverage for all coastal spots.

How often is the data updated?

The data pipeline runs daily at 10:00 UTC. Copernicus L4 data typically lags by 1 to 2 days. NOAA VIIRS weekly composites update once per week. Both sources search a small area around each coastal point to find the nearest ocean pixel.

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