El Medano Surf Guide

El Medano in Tenerife is a fairly exposed beach and reef break. Spring and Summer provide the best conditions. Offshore winds blow from the west northwest and there is no shelter here from cross shore breezes. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the south southwest. Waves at the beach break both left and right and there is also a left hand reef break. Good surf at all stages of the tide. When the surf is up, it can get quite busy in the water. Watch out for rocks and locals.

El Medano Spot Info

Type:Rating:Reliability:Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef2rarely breaks
20.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing El Medano:

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

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

februaryBest Season: winter
The best time of year for surfing El Medano with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter  and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 6% of the time in February while 10% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 84% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.
clean
6%
Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.
blown out
10%
Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).
too small
84%
Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore El Medano Location Map

Interactive El Medano 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.

  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • 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.
El Medano Surf Forecasts:
Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 11:34 Local Time
Thursday 07
10AM1PM4PM7PM
Wave (m)
0.7
ENE
0.6
ENE
0.7
NE
0.6
NE
Period (s) 6 6 6 6
Wind (km/h)
20
15
10
10
Wind State cross-
on
cross-
on
cross-
on
cross-
on

Swell History at El Medano

Surf stats for El Medano, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Wind History at El Medano

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


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