# Croyde surf guide Thatched-cottage village with one of England's best beach breaks — punchy, hollow low-tide peaks — plus neighbouring Saunton for longboarding. - **Location:** Devon, England, United Kingdom (51.1300, -4.2370) - **Best season:** Mar – May, Sep – Nov (September, October, November, March, April, May) - **Water:** 10–17°C (3/2 mm (warmest) to 5/4 mm, boots, gloves & hood (coldest)) - **Waves:** Beach break - **Suits:** Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers - **Interactive map, stays and what's on:** https://swellcabin.com/town/croyde - **Feed (new YouTube surf videos and Instagram posts from Croyde):** https://swellcabin.com/town/croyde?feed ## Surf pools nearby - [The Wave](https://www.thewave.com/), Bristol: 122 km away, Wavegarden Cove. Inland surf lake near Bristol. Sessions from beginner to expert barrels, kids, women-only and adaptive surfing; hours change through the year. ## Surf spots - **Croyde Beach**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at low to mid tide, rising. Suits all levels. (51.1301, -4.2436) - **Saunton Sands**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at low tide. Suits all levels. (51.1158, -4.2316) - **Putsborough**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces NW (offshore wind from the SE), best at mid to high tide, rising. Suits all levels. (51.1452, -4.2225) - **Woolacombe**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at low to mid tide, rising. Suits all levels. (51.1711, -4.2139) - **Westward Ho!**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces NNW (offshore wind from the SSE), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (51.0426, -4.2463) ## What's on Croyde's nightlife is its village pubs, The Thatch and Billy Budds, plus the pubs in neighbouring Georgeham. It's busiest in summer with surf-crowd pub nights; in winter it's quiet, and no current fixed weekly nights or upcoming events could be confirmed. _Updated 2026-11-03._ ## Where to stay 340 places to stay within 10 km. Surf camps: Baggy Surf Lodge. Hostels: Baggys. ## FAQ ### When is the best time to surf in Croyde? The best surf season in Croyde is Mar – May, Sep – Nov (September, October, November, March, April, May). The sea ranges from 10°C to 17°C over the year. ### Which months have the most good surf days in Croyde? Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Croyde's best spot were good or better most often in January (53% of days, 22% great), March (43% of days, 12% great) and February (42% of days, 11% great), and least often in July (0%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast. ### Do I need a wetsuit in Croyde? Water temperature in Croyde is 10–17°C: 3/2 mm (warmest) to 5/4 mm, boots, gloves & hood (coldest). ### Is Croyde good for beginner surfers? Yes. Croyde suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Croyde Beach, Saunton Sands, Putsborough, Woolacombe and Westward Ho!. ### What are the surf spots in Croyde? Croyde has 5 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Croyde Beach (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at low to mid tide, rising); Saunton Sands (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at low tide); Putsborough (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces NW (offshore wind from the SE), best at mid to high tide, rising); Woolacombe (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at low to mid tide, rising); Westward Ho! (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces NNW (offshore wind from the SSE), best at all tides). ### Where should surfers stay in Croyde? Swell Cabin lists 340 places to stay within 10 km of Croyde, including 1 surf camps such as Baggy Surf Lodge, 1 hostels, 43 guesthouses and homestays, 83 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot. ### What is the nightlife like in Croyde? Croyde's nightlife is its village pubs, The Thatch and Billy Budds, plus the pubs in neighbouring Georgeham. It's busiest in summer with surf-crowd pub nights; in winter it's quiet, and no current fixed weekly nights or upcoming events could be confirmed. ### What is the surf forecast for Croyde this week? Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Croyde and each of its 5 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/croyde: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway). ### When is the best tide to surf in Croyde? It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Croyde weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times, predicted from the Ilfracombe tide gauge (13 km away). ### How accurate is the surf forecast for Croyde? Swell Cabin checks it against the Bideford Bay wave buoy (8 km away, E.U. Copernicus Marine Service): over 319 hours from 2026-10-23 to 2026-11-05 the forecast wave height was within 20% of the buoy 21% of the time. Last checked 2026-11-05. ### Is the Croyde surf forecast checked against measurements? Yes. The open water off Croyde is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 39 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 44 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 100% of the time. Of the three wave models compared, Météo-France has been the closest to the satellites here. Nearer the coast, the buoy above decides the correction. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-03. ### How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Croyde? Trust in this page's data is medium (55/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 5 spots fully verified, 5 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; no open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md). ### Is there a live surf cam in Croyde? Swell Cabin hasn't found a live surf cam it could check in Croyde yet (it only lists cams it has opened); the surf forecast on its page shows the waves this week. ### Is there a surf pool (wave pool) near Croyde? Yes: The Wave in Bristol (122 km away, Wavegarden Cove, https://www.thewave.com/). A wave pool works when the sea is flat and is a good place to learn or train; check its website for sessions and seasons. ### Where can I take surf lessons in Croyde? Surf schools in and around Croyde include Surf South West Croyde, Lords of Down End Surf School Croyde, Surfing Croyde Bay, Coasteering Croyde Bay, Surf Saunton and Nick Thorn Surf School.