El Faro Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Tarapaca, Chile)

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Spot Information

El Faro Surf Guide

El Faro in Tarapaca is an exposed beach and reef break that does not work very often. Summer offers the best conditions for surfing. Ideal winds are from the east northeast. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the best swell direction is from the south southwest. Both left and right reef breaks. Best around low tide. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Watch out for rocks.

El Faro Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	2	inconsistent	16.7°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
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 07:17 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	5AM	8AM	11AM	2PM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	16	15	15	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	glass	glass	glass

Tides at El Faro

Current tide and informaton

For Iquique, Chile, 3 km from El Faro.

Next High Water: 11:33am | 1.34m

Next Low Water: 06:38pm | 0.49m

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

El Faro Sea Temperature

Sunny with pleasantly warm air temperatures (feels like 21.0 °C) at El Faro, yet the sea remains several degrees colder than the air. Most surfers will need a spring wetsuit though a summer suit or even a shorty may suffice for a short session.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 16.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite