Surf-Forecast | El Faro Surf Guide

Lat Long: 20.24° S 70.15° W

Issued: 8 pm 02 Nov 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's El Faro sea temperature is

20.5°C

El Faro surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

El Faro Surf Guide

El Faro in Tarapaca is an exposed beach and reef break that has inconsistent surf. Summer offers the optimum conditions for surfing. The best wind direction is from the east northeast. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the south southwest. A choice of left and right reefs. Best around low tide. It very rarely gets crowded here. Take care of rocks in the line up.

El Faro Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	2	inconsistent	20.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing El Faro:

The best conditions reported for surf at El Faro occur when a South-southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East-northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf El Faro (for consistent clean waves)?

januaryBest Season: summer

The best time of year for surfing El Faro with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 14% of the time in January while 62% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 24% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

14%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

62%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

24%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore El Faro Location Map

Interactive El Faro 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 El Faro is Diego Aracena International (Iquique) Airport (IQQ) in Chile, which is 33 km (20 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to El Faro is Chacalluta (Arica) Airport (ARI), also in Chile, 211 km (131 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

El Faro Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Monday, 2 November 2026, 23:26 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 03
ft, °F	0AM	3AM	6AM	9AM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	13	13	13	13
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

Tides at El Faro

Current tide and informaton

For Iquique, Chile, 3 km from El Faro.

Next High Water: 04:53am | 1.28m

Next Low Water: 12:03pm | 0.37m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

El Faro Sea Temperature

Sunny with pleasantly warm air temperatures (feeling like 21.0 °C once we account for wind), and similar sea temperatures (20.5 °C). Wear boardshorts or a shorty, or better still a thin summer wetsuit to keep the UV off.

Today, many surfers would wear a shorty.

Current Temp*: 20.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite