La Machacona, Spain

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: El Medano, 4 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: TFS (TFS), 2 km.

Watch this spot We email you when La Machacona is worth the trip.

About La Machacona

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

The spot faces S (175°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (355°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 600 m out (1 in 62). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 20°C in January, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in September, its warmest (no wetsuit). No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: El Medano, 4 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: TFS (TFS), 2 km. Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 24°C: no wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Save this trip A link to come back to, or to send to the group.

Book the trip

From Chicago: about 18 h door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to TFS, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS).
See flights ORD → TFS · Skyscanner from about £400 returnAd
Getting there. 20 min from the airport to La Machacona.
Car hire · Discover CarsAd
Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: El Medano, 4 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: TFS (TFS), 2 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in La Machacona · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in La Machacona · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

La Machacona on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Forecast

La Machacona does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

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

Forecast and score for expert surfers at La Machacona, each day
Day	Scorefor Expert	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	10, too small	2 ft4 smushy	16kJ	wind from the north-north-east, 6 knots, offshore	24°C
Mon 19Oct	6, too small	1 ft11 scrumbling	43kJ	wind from the north-east, 5 knots, offshore	23°C
Tue 20Oct	5, too small	2 ft9 scrumbling	54kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 11 knots	23°C
Wed 21Oct	2, too small	1 ft9 scrumbling	23kJ	wind from the north-east, 16 knots	24°C
Thu 22Oct	3, too small	1 ft11 scrumbling	23kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 14 knots	24°C
Fri 23Oct	2, too small	1 ft10 scrumbling	26kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 18 knots	24°C
Sat 24Oct	1, too small	1 ft10 scrumbling	24kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 21 knots	23°C
Sun 25Oct	2, too small	2 ft7 smushy	42kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 13 knots	23°C
Mon 26Oct	2, too small	2 ft7 smushy	25kJ	wind from the north-east, 17 knots	25°C
Tue 27Oct	2, too small	1 ft7 smushy	12kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 15 knots	24°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 expert surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly ORD to TFS, changing at LIS, then 20 min by road. About 18h door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 2 ft at best.
Wed 21 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 1 ft at best.
Thu 22 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 1 ft at best.
Fri 23 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 1 ft at best.
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 1 ft at best.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly ORD to TFS, changing at LIS, then 20 min by road. About 18h door to door

Rough cost

About £700–£1,380 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
What	How we worked it out	Each
Flights	return ORD to TFS, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£400–£835
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Taxi	airport and back, shared	£15–£25
Food	7 days eating out	£175–£330
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£75–£125
Total		£700–£1,380

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

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

In the waterAd

Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

Links marked Ad may pay us a small commission if you book. You pay the same price, and it never changes a score.