Surf-Forecast | Portsalon Beach Surf Guide

Lat Long: 55.20° N 7.62° W

Issued: 11 pm 05 Nov 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Portsalon Beach sea temperature is

12.2°C

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

Photo by: Rob Davies

Portsalon Beach Surf Guide

Portsalon Beach in Donegal is a very sheltered beach break that has fairly consistent surf, although summer tends to be mostly flat. Works best in offshore winds from the west southwest with some shelter here from southeast winds. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the north. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. The quality of the surf isn't affected by the tide. Even when the surf is up, crowds are unknown.

Portsalon Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	1	fairly consistent	12.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Portsalon Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Portsalon Beach occur when a North swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Portsalon Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 0% of the time in January while 1% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 99% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

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

blown out

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

too small

99%

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

Explore Portsalon Beach Location Map

Interactive Portsalon 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 closest passenger airport to Portsalon Beach is Londonderry Eglinton Airport (LDY) in North Ireland, 34 km (21 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Portsalon Beach is St Angelo (Enniskillen) Airport (ENK) in England, 90 km (56 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.

Portsalon Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Friday, 6 November 2026, 02:17 Local Time

m, °C	Friday 06
ft, °F	3AM	6AM	9AM	12PM
Wave (m)
Period (s)	-	-	-	-
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Portsalon Beach look like?

Latest photos from Portsalon Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Portsalon Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Ballyhiernan Bay, 7 km from Portsalon Beach.

Next High Water: 03:55am | 2.84m

Next Low Water: 09:49am | 0.47m

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

Portsalon Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (12.2 °C) at Portsalon Beach is fairly cold. Surfers will need a quality steamer wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots because it will be cloudy with an effective air temperature of (9.0 °C).

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