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San Onofre, United States

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

Also within 20 km of San Clemente

All 31 on San Clemente's map

Watch this spot We email you when San Onofre is worth the trip.

San Clemente CA Photo Don Ramey Logan
San Clemente, the nearest town, 6 km away. Photo: Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About San Onofre

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

The spot faces SW (215°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (35°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 950 m out (1 in 96). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 15°C in January, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 22°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, March, April and May, with about 2 good days in 7; in February and November, about 1. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is San Clemente, 6.3 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 9 surf spots.

Water about 20°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 7 h 20 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

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

    See flights ORD → SNA · Skyscanner from about £215 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 1 h 05 from the airport to San Onofre.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in San ClementeAd

    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 San Clemente · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in San Clemente · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

San Onofre on Google Maps · Directions

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Forecast

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

DayScoreSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct263 ft13 ssoft356kJ23°C
Mon 19Oct314 ft13 ssoft418kJ22°C
Tue 20Oct294 ft12 ssoft345kJ21°C
Wed 21Oct233 ft12 ssoft264kJ21°C
Thu 22Oct183 ft11 ssoft157kJ20°C
Fri 23Oct173 ft5 smushy50kJ21°C
Sat 24Oct152 ft12 ssoft144kJ23°C
Sun 25Oct132 ft12 ssoft106kJ24°C
Mon 26Oct102 ft11 ssoft65kJ24°C
Tue 27Oct112 ft7 smushy43kJ23°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

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to SNA, then 1h 05 by road. About 7h 20 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Birdhits

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 4 ft at 12 s, wind 3 kn (5 km/h).

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Birdhits

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 3 ft at 11 s, wind 5 kn (10 km/h).

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 33 of 80.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 32 of 80.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Rest day

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

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to SNA, then 1h 05 by road. About 7h 20 door to door

The plan picks the best of 15 spots near San Clemente each day: 204.0, Birdhits, Calafia, Church (Trestles), Churches Point, Cottons, Linda Lane Beach, Lost Winds, Riviera, San Clemente Pier, San Onofre, State park, T Street, Trestles, Upper Trestles.

The trip from San Clemente, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £970–£1,760 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 ORD to SNA, estimated from distance and season, 2 airlines on the route, with a hold bag£215–£445
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Taxiairport and back, shared£75–£125
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£970–£1,760

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

Places to eat near San Clemente

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.