What is the surf like at Fistral today?

This morning at Fistral: 2.4ft swell, cloud, 17°, 2kt ESE. Swell, wind and tide sit on this page so you can decide before you drive.

What is the Fistral surf forecast for the week?

Fistral this week: Poor now. Best looking Fri 25: pumping, 5.5ft.

How is the Fistral surf report scored?

Open-Meteo supplies swell, wind and weather on a three-hour cron. WorldTides supplies the high and low clocks. We then score Fistral for wrap, wind and the usual tide window. The number at the top is this hour. Later week cards are the best hour of that day. Height is the swell that makes the beach, not the raw model.

Fistral

Today · Tue 22 Sept · 04:20

Quality

Poor

Swell

2.4ft

Tide

15:2209:14

Weather

17°2kt ESE

6-day surf report

Updated Tue 22 Sept 04:20

Watergate Bay

Now · Tue 22

Poor

2.4ft

15–21°2kt ESE

15:2209:14

Wed 23

Clean

4.1ft

13s

13–18°4kt S

16:0610:04

Thu 24

Clean

4.3ft

10–20°2kt ESE

16:4210:44

Fri 25

Pumping

5.5ft

12s

12–20°3kt S

17:1611:20

Sat 26

Pumping

7.2ft

10s

8–18°7kt NNW

17:4911:55

Sun 27

Clean

4.9ft

9–18°6kt SSE

18:2312:29

The beach

Fistral

Fistral sits on the Newquay run. Swell, wind and tide for this beach and the neighbours, so you can pick a peak before you leave the car park. Today is cloud, 17°, 2kt ESE.

Cornwall’s contest beach. Punchy beach break with a defined peak at high tide and more banks as it drops.

North Fistral holds a cleaner line on a north-west swell. South end gets busy and close-out prone in a short-period west.

Faces W. Best swell SW–NW. Level: all. Crowd: busy.

On the sand

Before you paddle out at Fistral

Parking

North Fistral (Fistral Beach Complex): from £2.20 / 1 hour to £15 all day; free 4am–8am; no parking 2am–4am. South Fistral (Newquay Town Council, Pentire Road): from 1 June 2026, 1 April–31 October 9am–4pm £1.20 / 1 hour up to £6.30 / 24 hours; free 4pm–9am and all winter. Cornwall Council Towan Headland is the overflow: summer 9am–6pm £2.50 / £5.10 / £7.50 / £11.50.

Hire & lessons

Fistral Beach Surf School is on the sand, the only school based on Fistral, with lessons for all abilities, kids’ groups, competitive coaching, and hire.

Fistral Beach Surf School

Vibe

Home of British surfing and Boardmasters. The school coaches beginners through to competitive surfers. Contest beach in the water; groms and hire boards in the flagged zone. Not a longboard cruisers’ peak when it has size.

Access & hazards

RNLI patrol Fistral (North, South, Little Fistral sit on the same desk). RNLI-linked reporting has documented rip rescues here. Swim and bodyboard between the red-and-yellow flags; no flags means no lifeguards.

Sources Fistral Beach Complex parking · Newquay Town Council car parks · Cornwall Council Towan Headland · Fistral Beach Surf School · RNLI Fistral

Nearby