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	Oludeniz	Turkey	32.9m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	26.5°C
2	Saint-Leu	Réunion	30.0m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.2 g/m3	24.7°C
3	Barra de la Cruz	Mexico	26.8m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	30.3°C
4	Arugam Bay	Sri Lanka	26.6m	Crystal clear	0.1 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	29.8°C
5	La Santa	Spain	22.8m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	22.4°C
6	Playa Grande	Costa Rica	21.8m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	29.9°C
7	El Sunzal	El Salvador	21.6m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	31.0°C
8	Sopelana	Spain	21.3m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	23.2°C
9	El Quemao	Spain	21.0m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	22.4°C
10	Puerto Escondido	Mexico	20.6m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	3.8 g/m3	31.1°C
11	Gracetown	Australia	20.4m	Crystal clear	0.2 mg/m3	0.6 g/m3	20.3°C
12	Ponta Preta	Cape Verde	19.1m	Crystal clear	0.3 mg/m3	0.2 g/m3	24.2°C
13	Vliho Bay	Greece	18.5m	Crystal clear	0.3 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	26.9°C
14	San José del Cabo	Mexico	17.4m	Crystal clear	0.3 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	29.6°C
15	Praia do Amado	Portugal	16.7m	Crystal clear	0.3 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	22.5°C
16	Mundaka	Spain	16.7m	Crystal clear	0.3 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	24.3°C
17	Margaret River	Australia	15.8m	Crystal clear	0.4 mg/m3	1.2 g/m3	19.5°C
18	Cimaja	Indonesia	15.6m	Crystal clear	0.4 mg/m3	0.7 g/m3	28.8°C
19	Guéthary	France	15.5m	Crystal clear	0.4 mg/m3	1.0 g/m3	24.9°C
20	Troncones	Mexico	14.7m	Good	0.4 mg/m3	5.6 g/m3	31.3°C
21	Nazaré	Portugal	13.9m	Good	0.4 mg/m3	1.7 g/m3	18.6°C
22	Cloudbreak	Fiji	13.6m	Good	0.5 mg/m3	4.6 g/m3	25.8°C
23	Bundoran	Ireland	11.8m	Good	0.6 mg/m3	2.3 g/m3	16.3°C
24	Nihiwatu	Indonesia	11.1m	Good	0.7 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	26.4°C
25	Lakey Peak	Indonesia	10.2m	Good	0.8 mg/m3	0.5 g/m3	28.0°C
26	Cocoa Beach	United States	9.4m	Good	0.8 mg/m3	7.8 g/m3	29.1°C
27	Seaburn	United Kingdom	9.3m	Good	0.9 mg/m3	0.7 g/m3	13.9°C
28	Huanchaco	Peru	9.2m	Good	0.9 mg/m3	0.8 g/m3	20.7°C
29	Imsouane	Morocco	8.0m	Good	1.1 mg/m3	0.8 g/m3	20.0°C
30	Fraserburgh	United Kingdom	8.0m	Moderate	1.1 mg/m3	1.0 g/m3	12.4°C
31	El Palmar	Spain	7.5m	Moderate	1.2 mg/m3	0.6 g/m3	22.9°C
32	Scarborough	United Kingdom	7.2m	Moderate	1.3 mg/m3	3.7 g/m3	14.9°C
33	Dungeons	South Africa	6.6m	Moderate	1.5 mg/m3	0.5 g/m3	15.0°C
34	Huntington Beach	United States	6.6m	Moderate	1.5 mg/m3	0.7 g/m3	19.8°C
35	Kimmeridge Bay	United Kingdom	6.4m	Moderate	1.6 mg/m3	2.5 g/m3	17.4°C
36	Muizenberg	South Africa	6.2m	Moderate	1.6 mg/m3	0.3 g/m3	14.9°C
37	Bournemouth	United Kingdom	5.6m	Moderate	1.9 mg/m3	3.1 g/m3	18.9°C
38	Jeffreys Bay	South Africa	5.4m	Moderate	2.0 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	19.2°C
39	Saunton Sands	United Kingdom	5.2m	Moderate	2.1 mg/m3	3.2 g/m3	17.2°C
40	Woolacombe	United Kingdom	5.2m	Moderate	2.1 mg/m3	3.2 g/m3	17.2°C
41	Newgale	United Kingdom	5.1m	Moderate	2.2 mg/m3	1.7 g/m3	16.5°C
42	Raglan	New Zealand	4.9m	Moderate	2.3 mg/m3	8.7 g/m3	14.5°C
43	Bloubergstrand	South Africa	4.7m	Moderate	2.4 mg/m3	0.8 g/m3	13.7°C
44	Lobitos	Peru	4.4m	Moderate	2.6 mg/m3	5.7 g/m3	22.6°C
45	Varkala	India	4.2m	Moderate	2.8 mg/m3	2.0 g/m3	27.1°C
46	Hiriketiya	Sri Lanka	3.9m	Moderate	3.2 mg/m3	0.4 g/m3	27.3°C
47	Cannon Beach	United States	3.8m	Moderate	3.3 mg/m3	1.8 g/m3	11.4°C
48	Caswell Bay	United Kingdom	3.5m	Moderate	3.7 mg/m3	10.0 g/m3	17.7°C
49	Torres	Brazil	3.2m	Moderate	4.1 mg/m3	2.0 g/m3	14.5°C
50	Ocean Beach SF	United States	3.0m	Reduced	4.6 mg/m3	14.4 g/m3	17.5°C

Satellite ocean colour data from Copernicus Marine and NOAA CoastWatch. Data from 8 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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