St Andrews Surf Forecast and Surf Reports
(Scotland – East Coast, UK)

St Andrews Surf Guide
St Andrews on the East Coast is a quite exposed beach break that has unreliable waves. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. The best wind direction is from the southwest. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the northeast. Waves at the beach are both lefts and rights. When it's working here, it can get crowded. Watch out for dangerous rips.
St Andrews Spot Info
Type: | Rating: |
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Reliability: | Todays Sea Temp*: |
inconsistent | 5.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite |
Surfing St Andrews:
The best conditions reported for surf at St Andrews occur when a Northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southwest.
What's the best time of year to surf St Andrews (for consistent clean waves)?
Explore St Andrews Location Map
Interactive St Andrews 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 St Andrews is Leuchars Airport (ADX) in U.k, 6 km (4 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to St Andrews is Dundee Airport (DND), also in U.k, 19 km (12 miles) away.
Wednesday, 3 March 2021, 06:14 Local Time
Wednesday 03 | ||||
3AM | 6AM | 9AM | 12PM | |
Wave (m) |
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Period (s) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
Wind (km/h) | ![]() |
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Wind State | glass | glass | on | on |
Tides at St Andrews
NEXT | IS AT (local time) | remaining |
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high tide | ||
low tide |
Swell History at St Andrews
Surf stats for St Andrews, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.
Wind History at St Andrews
Wind stats for St Andrews, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.
St Andrews 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.
St Andrews has technically two breaks East and West sands (Easy being the one almost always referred when talking about surfing) so I’ll split the comment in two parts per break.
East Sands: inconsistent is probably the best description of it, fun unchallenging waves up to head high (haven’t paddled out in anything higher so use the other comment for that).
Closing out on a dropping tide isn’t an exaggeration, it’s like someone hits a switch and you've about half an hour before the wave start properly shutting down or at least don’t peel as much. Although I’ve seen some of the mal/longboard riders sneaking across the face when the tide is dropping but rising mid seems to be the best time.
In terms of safety there is a nasty rip at the end of the beach with rocks a sometimes another current will try to drag towards it so keep an eye on your position. Getting dropped in on can happen (it’s never a sign of aggression that I’ve seen) although after a crash course in surf etiquette at another break I do my best to respect wave priority. Line up is always friendly and relaxed, good atmosphere getting hooted into a wave is not uncommon.
West Sands: Not much to say, always empty, plenty of room and again inconsistent. Vast majority of the time waves are mushy (or it’s flat) but is waist high off-shore conditions can be very fun and some rides are suppressing long. Usually come here after check east and it’s poor or too crowded. A goofy footer will get a nice view of St Andrews during their ride, water tends to be a turquoise colour and cleaner than east. Although it looks a beginner friendly beach the current pulling towards the river Eden can be ridiculously strong so be cautious.
For more advanced surfers there are plenty of other much better options in the area. I have cooked up a storm at one of these places a few times after getting too big for my boots and the shame of it stills haunts me to this day!
Sorry for long windedness but hope it’s helps.”
Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:
Discover surf breaks near St Andrews. Click below to view there surf guides.
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Wave Buoys Nearest To St Andrews:
- Closest Wave BuoyFirth of Forth WaveNet Site15 mi
- Second closest Wave BuoyTorness Power Station Waverider29 mi
- Third closest Wave BuoyNewbiggin Waverider95 mi
- Fourth closest Wave BuoyMoray Firth WaveNet Site114 mi
- Fifth closest Wave BuoyTyne-Tees WaveNet Site126 mi