Home All Beaches Fistral Beach
🇬🇧 Newquay, Cornwall

Fistral Beach Surf Report

Live conditions · Updated every 30 minutes · Always free

Last updated: 2:30 AM BST
7 /10
Great Conditions
Thursday, April 23, 2026

Great surf today. waist to chest high waves (2.5ft), glassy conditions, incoming tide. Consistent and clean — well worth the session.

⏱ Best time to paddle out
5AM – 7AM
Score 7/10 · Great

Current Conditions

🌊
Wave Height
2.5ft
0.76m open ocean · 0.28m swell
Breaking waves typically 60–80% of this
📡
Swell Period
9.6s
Mixed swell
💨
Wind
Glassy
N · Perfect surface ✓
🌡️
Water Temp
52°F
11°C · 4/3mm wetsuit + boots
🌊
Current Tide
2ft
↑ Rising · MLLW
Best Window Today
5AM–7AM
Score 7/10 · Great

Today's Surf Timeline

Hourly surf score from 5am to 9pm. Taller bar = better conditions. Best window highlighted in teal.

5AM
7
2.3ft
6AM
7
2.2ft
7AM
6
2.2ft
8AM
6
2.4ft
9AM
6
2.4ft
10AM
6
2.6ft
11AM
6
2.7ft
12PM
6
2.8ft
1PM
6
3ft
2PM
6
3ft
3PM
6
3ft
4PM
6
3ft
5PM
6
3ft
6PM
6
3ft
7PM
6
3.1ft
8PM
6
3.1ft
9PM
6
3.1ft
Epic/Great   Good   Fair   Poor

Fistral Beach Surf Guide

Break type Beach Break
Skill level All levels
Best season September – March
Best swell NW to SW, 4–8 ft, 12+ second period
Best wind Offshore SE/E
Best tide Mid tide
Crowds Heavy summer, manageable October–April
Parking Fistral Beach Car Park — pay and display.

Fistral Beach is the undisputed capital of British surfing — a wide, exposed Atlantic-facing beach in Newquay, Cornwall that has hosted the Boardmasters Surf Festival for over 40 years. Facing directly into the Atlantic with no landmass between it and North America, Fistral captures groundswells generated by powerful North Atlantic low-pressure systems reliably from September through March.

Mid tide is the magic window at Fistral. At low tide waves tend to close out across a shallow sandbar, and high tide brings water right to the sea wall. Water temperatures range from 10°C in February to 17°C in August — a 5/4mm hooded wetsuit is essential from November through March.

The beach is split into north and south sections by the headland. The south side tends to be more sheltered and better for beginners, while the north sucks up more swell and produces more powerful, hollow waves for experienced surfers. Newquay town is walking distance — surf schools, board hire, and wetsuit rental are all available on site year-round.

Best Months to Surf Fistral Beach

Jan
Great
Powerful Atlantic swells, cold water, few crowds
Feb
Good
Consistent but bitterly cold — suit up
Mar
Good
Swells easing, water still cold
Apr
Fair
Transition month, variable conditions
May
Fair
Small and inconsistent, crowds building
Jun
Fair
Summer begins, small swells and crowds
Jul
Fair
Peak tourist season, small surf
Aug
Fair
Boardmasters month — packed and small
Sep
Great
Crowds thin, Atlantic swells return
Oct
Great
Best month — powerful swells, emptier lineups
Nov
Good
Solid groundswell, cold and uncrowded
Dec
Good
Winter swells firing, very cold water
Written & reviewed by

Adam Moore

Surf Journalist & Ocean Data Specialist

Adam Moore has been surfing coastlines from Cornwall to California for over 15 years. A former marine science graduate from the University of Exeter and contributing writer for several surf publications, Adam built SurfTidal to solve a simple problem: surf forecast tools designed for data scientists, not for surfers. He believes anyone heading to the beach deserves accurate, honest, plain-English conditions — free of charge. When he's not in the water, he's analysing swell models, testing forecast accuracy, and writing the beach guides you'll find across this site.