Black Sands Beach Surf Guide

Black Sands Beach in Efate is a quite exposed beach break. Winter is the optimum time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds blow from the northwest. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the optimum swell angle is from the south. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Rarely crowded here. Be wary of rips - they make surfing here dangerous.

Black Sands Beach Spot Info

Type:Rating:Reliability:Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach5rarely breaks
28.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Black Sands Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Black Sands Beach occur when a South swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northwest.

What's the best time of year to surf Black Sands Beach (for consistent clean waves)?

februaryBest Season: summer
The best time of year for surfing Black Sands Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer  and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 4% of the time in February while 11% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 85% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.
clean
4%
Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.
blown out
11%
Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).
too small
85%
Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Black Sands Beach Location Map

Interactive Black Sands Beach surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The nearest passenger airport to Black Sands Beach is Port Vila Bauerfield (Port-vila) Airport (VLI) in Vanuatu, which is 11 km (7 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Black Sands Beach is Ouanaham (Lifou) Airport (LIF) in New Caledonia, 356 km (221 miles) away.

  • Map Icons:
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  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
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Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.
Black Sands Beach Surf Forecasts:
Todays Surf Summary
Friday, 8 May 2026, 10:30 Local Time
Friday 08
8AM11AM2PM5PM
Wave (m)
0.4
ESE
0.5
ESE
0.5
ESE
0.5
ESE
Period (s) 11 10 10 11
Wind (km/h)
15
20
20
20
Wind State cross-
on
cross-
on
cross-
on
cross-
on

Swell History at Black Sands Beach

Surf stats for Black Sands Beach, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Wind History at Black Sands Beach

Wind stats for Black Sands Beach, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.


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