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Desperations, Fiji

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Yaro, 11 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: NAN (NAN), 33 km.

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About Desperations

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

The spot faces W (248°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (68°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 15). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 26°C in August, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, March and November, with about 3 good days in 7; in August and September, about 1. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Yaro, 11 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: NAN (NAN), 33 km. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

Water about 28°C: no wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 23 h 25 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

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

    See flights MDW → NAN · Skyscanner from about £665 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 55 min from the airport to Desperations.

  3. Accommodation.

    No town nearby

    No stay checked for this site yet: Yaro, 11 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: NAN (NAN), 33 km.

  4. Hire and lessons.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Surf spot

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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 Desperations, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 19Oct17, poor5 ft11 shollow469kJwind from the south-south-east, 23 knots24°C
Tue 20Oct18, poor3 ft11 shollow259kJwind from the south-south-east, 26 knots25°C
Wed 21Oct26, poor4 ft9 shollow225kJwind from the south-east, 7 knots25°C
Thu 22Oct43, fair4 ft8 shollow209kJwind from the east-north-east, 8 knots, offshore26°C
Fri 23Oct43, fair4 ft7 shollow172kJwind from the east-south-east, 4 knots, offshore26°C
Sat 24Oct33, poor4 ft6 smushy77kJwind from the east, 3 knots, offshore25°C
Sun 25Oct32, poor3 ft8 shollow104kJwind from the west, 6 knots26°C
Mon 26Oct35, too small2 ft13 shollow171kJwind from the south-south-west, 2 knots26°C
Tue 27Oct30, too small3 ft13 shollow209kJwind from the south-south-west, 6 knots25°C
Wed 28Oct30, too small2 ft12 shollow127kJwind from the south-east, 9 knots26°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 today, leaving from Chicago, for intermediate surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Fly MDW to NAN, changing at LAX, then 55 min by road. About 23h 25 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 26 of 80.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Desperations

    Best 12:00 to 15:00 local time: 4 ft at 9 s, wind 7 kn (13 km/h).

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Desperations

    Best 15:00 to 18:00 local time: 4 ft at 8 s, offshore wind.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Desperations

    Best 18:00 to 21:00 local time: 4 ft at 7 s, offshore wind.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Desperations

    Best 09:00 to 12:00 local time: 4 ft at 6 s, offshore wind.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly MDW to NAN, changing at LAX, then 55 min by road. About 23h 25 door to door

Rough cost

About £990–£1,950 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
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to NAN, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag£665–£1,375
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£70–£115
Food7 days eating out£155–£290
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£65–£105
Total£990–£1,950

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

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