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Rainbow bay, Australia

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

Also within 20 km of Tweed Heads

All 51 on Tweed Heads's map

Watch this spot We email you when Rainbow bay is worth the trip.

Twin-Towns-Tweeds
Tweed Heads, the nearest town, 2 km away. Photo: Zack Kostevc, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Rainbow bay

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

The spot faces NE (30°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (210°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–12 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 650 m out (1 in 67). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April and May, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Tweed Heads, 2.1 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 19 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.

Water about 23°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 28 h 10 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to Brisbane International Airport (BNE), changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

    See flights MDW → BNE · Skyscanner from about £795 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 2 h from the airport to Rainbow bay.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Tweed HeadsAd

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

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

    See all places to stay 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.

    Surf lessons in Tweed Heads · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in Tweed Heads · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Rainbow bay on Google Maps · Directions

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Forecast

Rainbow bay does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

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

DayScoreInter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct244 ft7 smushy146kJ20°C
Mon 19Oct474 ft5 smushy103kJ19°C
Tue 20Oct405 ft6 smushy163kJ20°C
Wed 21Oct345 ft6 smushy169kJ20°C
Thu 22Oct214 ft6 smushy110kJ21°C
Fri 23Oct324 ft6 smushy110kJ21°C
Sat 24Oct264 ft6 smushy97kJ22°C
Sun 25Oct153 ft7 smushy87kJ22°C
Mon 26Oct254 ft5 smushy74kJ25°C
Tue 27Oct212 ft5 smushy31kJ23°C
Wed 28Oct252 ft6 smushy25kJ19°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

    Fly MDW to BNE, changing at LAX, then 2h by road. About 28h 10 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Laceys

    Best 07:00 to 10:00 local time: 5 ft at 6 s, offshore wind.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Cooks Island

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 5 ft at 6 s, wind 2 kn (3 km/h).

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 28 of 80.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Elephant Rock

    Best 07:00 to 10:00 local time: 4 ft at 6 s, wind 6 kn (11 km/h).

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Dreamtime

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 4 ft at 5 s, wind 9 kn (17 km/h).

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly MDW to BNE, changing at LAX, then 2h by road. About 28h 10 door to door

The plan picks the best of 25 spots near Tweed Heads each day: Cooks Island, Dreamtime, Duranbah, Elephant Rock, end wedge, Forks, Froggys, Greenmount, Insides, Kirra, Laceys, Letitia Spit, Lovers Right, Needle dicks, Nothings, Outsides, Point Danger, Rainbow bay, Snapper Rocks, south beach, Superbank Lefts, Superbanks, Tugun, Tweed Bar, Womin Bay.

The trip from Tweed Heads, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £1,530–£2,920 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to BNE, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag£795–£1,650
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£110–£180
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£240–£395
Food7 days eating out£245–£455
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£105–£175
Total£1,530–£2,920

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

Places to eat near Tweed Heads

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

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

Where to stayAd

Places to stay · Booking.com

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.