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Del Monte Beach, United States

Stay in Monterey: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of Monterey

All 13 on Monterey's map

Watch this spot We email you when Del Monte Beach is worth the trip.

MontereyWharf&Harbor
Monterey, the nearest town, 2 km away. Photo: Smatprt, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

About Del Monte Beach

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces N (340°), so it takes swell from the N. The wind blows offshore from the S (160°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 5–19 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 350 m out (1 in 35). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 12°C in May, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 15°C in August, its warmest (4/3 wetsuit and boots). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, February, March and April, with about 1 good days in 7; in May, June and July, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Monterey, 2.1 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots, 1 wind sports spot and 7 dive sites.

Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 6 h 50 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to MRY, direct.

    See flights ORD → MRY · Skyscanner from about £225 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 25 min from the airport to Del Monte Beach.

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in MontereyAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay in Monterey (ad) on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire and lessons.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

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Forecast

The score for intermediates, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Del Monte Beach, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct41, fair4 ft9 scrumbling291kJwind from the west, 4 knots20°C
Mon 19Oct17, poor5 ft8 smushy377kJwind from the west, 8 knots17°C
Tue 20Oct14, poor5 ft10 scrumbling530kJwind from the east-north-east, 4 knots17°C
Wed 21Oct51, good5 ft9 scrumbling316kJwind from the north-north-east, 2 knots17°C
Thu 22Oct21, too small3 ft7 smushy89kJwind from the north-north-east, 1 knot17°C
Fri 23Oct43, fair5 ft6 smushy143kJwind from the north-north-west, 3 knots18°C
Sat 24Oct41, fair6 ft7 smushy287kJwind from the north, 2 knots18°C
Sun 25Oct18, too small4 ft7 smushy113kJwind from the west, 7 knots17°C
Mon 26Oct47, fair5 ft7 smushy235kJwind from the south-south-west, 7 knots13°C
Tue 27Oct36, fair4 ft7 smushy170kJwind from the east-north-east, 4 knots16°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for intermediate surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to MRY, then 25 min by road. About 6h 50 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Del Monte Beach

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 5 ft at 10 s, wind 4 kn (7 km/h).

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Del Monte Beach

    Best 11:00 to 14:00 local time: 5 ft at 9 s, wind 2 kn (3 km/h).

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Ghost tree

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 4 ft at 7 s, wind 1 kn (2 km/h).

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Del Monte Beach

    Best 11:00 to 14:00 local time: 5 ft at 6 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Del Monte Beach

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 6 ft at 7 s, wind 2 kn (3 km/h).

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to MRY, then 25 min by road. About 6h 50 door to door

The plan picks the best of 3 spots near Monterey each day: Del Monte Beach, Ghost tree, The Wharf.

The trip from Monterey, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £920–£1,680 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to MRY, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag£225–£465
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Taxiairport and back, shared£15–£25
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£270–£455
Food7 days eating out£260–£480
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£115–£190
Total£920–£1,680

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near Monterey

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

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