Santa Cruz Surf Guide

Santa Cruz in Nayarit is an exposed point/Rivermouth break that has quite reliable surf. Summer offers the favoured conditions for surfing. Offshore winds are from the east. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the southwest.The waves is a point break that peels left. Rarely crowded here. Beware of rips, sharks and rocks.

Santa Cruz Spot Info

Type:Rating:Reliability:Todays Sea Temp*:
Point/river1fairly consistent
28.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Santa Cruz:

The best conditions reported for surf at Santa Cruz occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

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

septemberBest Season: summer
The best time of year for surfing Santa Cruz with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer  and most often the month of September. Clean surfable waves are typically found 52% of the time in September while 42% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 6% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.
clean
52%
Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.
blown out
42%
Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).
too small
6%
Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Santa Cruz Location Map

Interactive Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz is Tepic Airport (TPQ) in Mexico, which is 38 km (24 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Santa Cruz is Licenciado Gustavo Diaz Ordaz International (Puerto Vallarta) Airport (PVR), also in Mexico, 84 km (52 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.
Santa Cruz Surf Forecasts:
Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 16:16 Local Time
Tuesday 05Wed
3PM6PM9PM0AM
Wave (m)
0.4
SW
0.4
SW
0.4
SW
0.4
WSW
Period (s) 14 14 15 15
Wind (km/h)
15
10
5
5
Wind State on on glass cross-
off

Swell History at Santa Cruz

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

Wind History at Santa Cruz

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


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