Scarborough Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Illawarra, Australia)

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Scarborough Beach Surf Guide

Scarborough Beach in Sydney South is an exposed beach break that has reasonably consistent surf. The favoured time of year for waves is autumn. The best wind direction is from the west. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the best swell direction is from the northeast. The beach breaks offer left-handers. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Watch out for urchins, rips, rocks, obstacles, locals and sharks.

Scarborough Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	3	inconsistent	21.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Scarborough Beach:

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

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Scarborough 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 0% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 100% 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

100%

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

Explore Scarborough Beach Location Map

Interactive Scarborough 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 Scarborough Beach is Camden Airport (CDU) in Australia, 36 km (22 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Scarborough Beach is Sydney Bankstown Airport (BWU), also in Australia, 39 km (24 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.

Scarborough Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 11:01 Local Time

m, °C	Thursday 07
ft, °F	7AM	10AM	1PM	4PM
Wave (m)
Period (s)	-	-	-	-
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

What does Scarborough Beach look like?

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

Credit: Callan Oakes Credit: Callan Oakes Credit: Bozidar Dimovski

Tides at Scarborough Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Bulli, 7 km from Scarborough Beach.

Next High Water: 12:10pm | 0.91m

Next Low Water: 05:16pm | 0.56m

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

Scarborough Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (21.2 °C) at Scarborough Beach is warm. If the sun shines as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 13.0 °C, allowing for wind effects.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 21.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Scarborough Beach

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

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Scarborough Beach

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

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Scarborough Beach Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 2 votes.

Overall:3.0
Quality on a good day:3.0
Consistency of Surf:3.0
Difficulty Level:3.0
Wind and Kite Surfing:4.0
Crowds:3.0
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Phil Osopher from Australia

“Have very fond memories of this wave. The northern end of the beach in a nor-easterly swell, can produce fast, long walls. If the swell is too straight; typically of straight beaches, it shuts down. Appears to be a booger's paradise now, there are still early mornings when old fellas on short(ish) boards can still snag some little ones. Very exposed to any wind, but oddly enough, can be OK when the wind is nor-east. Not a bad summer option. (Early of course, unless you enjoy crowds).”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

Discover surf breaks near Scarborough Beach. Click below to view there surf guides.