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Swansea Bay, UK

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

Also within 20 km of Swansea

All 13 on Swansea's map

Watch this spot We email you when Swansea Bay is worth the trip.

P.3. Swansea City Centre 2012
Swansea, the nearest town, 2 km away. Photo: Numero007, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Swansea Bay

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

The spot faces SE (154°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (334°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 300 m out (1 in 30). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 8°C in February, its coldest month (5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves), and 18°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Swansea, 1.5 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 wind sports spots.

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 16 h 40 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to CWL, changing at Dublin Airport (DUB). About 7 flights a week that month.

    See flights ORD → CWL · Skyscanner from about £385 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 1 h 10 from the airport to Swansea Bay.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in SwanseaAd

    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 Swansea · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in Swansea · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Swansea Bay on Google Maps · Directions

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Forecast

Swansea Bay does not suit beginners. 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

DayScoreExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct62 ft8 smushy33kJ13°C
Mon 19Oct21 ft13 smushy57kJ13°C
Tue 20Oct122 ft10 scrumbling90kJ11°C
Wed 21Oct208 ft8 smushy639kJ11°C
Thu 22Oct287 ft7 smushy406kJ13°C
Fri 23Oct537 ft9 scrumbling730kJ10°C
Sat 24Oct246 ft7 smushy359kJ12°C
Sun 25Oct144 ft10 scrumbling251kJ13°C
Mon 26Oct358 ft7 smushy553kJ15°C
Tue 27Oct116 ft10 scrumbling691kJ14°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

    Fly ORD to CWL, changing at DUB, then 1h 10 by road. About 16h 40 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 2 ft at best.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Rest day

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

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Swansea Bay

    Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 7 ft at 7 s, wind 4 kn (8 km/h).

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Swansea Bay

    Best 16:00 to 19:00 local time: 7 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Swansea Bay

    Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 6 ft at 7 s, wind 7 kn (12 km/h).

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly ORD to CWL, changing at DUB, then 1h 10 by road. About 16h 40 door to door

The plan picks the best of 6 spots near Swansea each day: Bracelet Bay, Caswell Bay, Langland, Langland - Sandbar, Swansea Bay, The Mixens.

The trip from Swansea, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £1,115–£2,075 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 CWL, estimated from distance and season, changing at DUB, full-service airlines, with a hold bag£385–£800
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£105–£175
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£250–£420
Food7 days eating out£240–£445
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£100–£170
Total£1,115–£2,075

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

Places to eat near Swansea

  • ChopstixAsian fusion · in the centreFood hygiene 5 of 5, Mar 2025
  • The Falafel StallMiddle eastern · in the centreFood hygiene 5 of 5, Jan 2026
  • Burger KingBurger · 0.1 km from the centreFood hygiene 5 of 5, Feb 2026
  • Greek FlavoursGreek · 0.1 km from the centreFood hygiene 5 of 5, Sep 2025
  • Thai TasteThai · 0.1 km from the centreFood hygiene 5 of 5, Jan 2026
  • Wiwo Noodle BarRamen · 0.1 km from the centre

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; food hygiene ratings from the Food Standards Agency (Open Government Licence). 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.