Five Finger Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Donegal, Ireland)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Spot Information

Five Finger Strand Surf Guide

Five Finger Strand in Donegal is an exposed beach break that is usually a safe bet, although summer tends to be mostly flat. Works best in offshore winds from the east southeast. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the best swell direction is from the west. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Good surf at all stages of the tide. An uncrowded break, even when it is working.

Five Finger Strand Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	3	very consistent	10.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Five Finger Strand:

The best conditions reported for surf at Five Finger Strand occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East-southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Five Finger Strand (for consistent clean waves)?

aprilBest Season: spring

The best time of year for surfing Five Finger Strand with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Spring and most often the month of April. Clean surfable waves are typically found 30% of the time in April while 57% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 13% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

30%

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

blown out

57%

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

too small

13%

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

Explore Five Finger Strand Location Map

Interactive Five Finger Strand 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 closest passenger airport to Five Finger Strand is Londonderry Eglinton Airport (LDY) in North Ireland, 33 km (20 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Five Finger Strand is Islay Airport (ILY) in U.k, 79 km (49 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.

Five Finger Strand Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 18:28 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05			Wed
ft, °F	4PM	7PM	10PM	1AM
Wave (m)	WNW	WNW	WNW	WNW
Period (s)	8	9	9	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	cross	cross	cross

What does Five Finger Strand look like?

Latest photos from Five Finger Strand. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Five Finger Strand

Current tide and informaton

For Five Finger Strand, 0 km from Five Finger Strand.

Next High Water: 09:10pm | 2.69m

Next Low Water: 03:23am | 0.7m

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

Five Finger Strand Sea Temperature

The water temperature (10.5 °C) at Five Finger Strand is quite cold. Despite the sun, windchill of 6.0 °C means that surfers will need plenty of neoprene. Wear a quality winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots. A windchill factor of (6.0 °C).

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.