Portsalon Beach Surf Guide

Portsalon Beach in Donegal is a very sheltered beach break that has quite reliable surf, although summer tends to be mostly flat. Ideal winds are from the west southwest with some shelter here from southeast winds. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the north. The beach break offers both left and right hand waves. Surfable at all stages of the tide. Crowds are never a problem here.

Portsalon Beach Spot Info

Type:Rating:Reliability:Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach1fairly consistent
11.0°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.

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
0%
Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.
blown out
1%
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)
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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.
Portsalon Beach Surf Forecasts:
Todays Surf Summary
Friday, 8 May 2026, 02:57 Local Time
Friday 08
4AM7AM10AM1PM
Wave (m)
0.3
NNW
Period (s) 9 - - -
Wind (km/h)
15
15
15
15
Wind State cross-
off
cross-
off
cross-
off
cross

Swell History at Portsalon Beach

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

Wind History at Portsalon Beach

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


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