Swell Cabin › South America › Peru

Huanchaco surf guide

Historic fishing village where caballitos de totora reed boats have ridden waves for thousands of years, near the Chan Chan ruins.

Location
La Libertad, Peru (-8.0800, -79.1200)
Best season
Mar – Oct: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October
Water temperature
16–20°C (3/2 mm (warmest) to 4/3 mm (coldest))
Waves
Point break, Beach break
Suits
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers

Live surf cams in Huanchaco

Surf spots in Huanchaco

What's on in Huanchaco

Huanchaco is a relaxed fishing and surf town near Trujillo with a young traveller crowd: evenings are sunsets on the malecón, seafood restaurants and a few hostel and beach bars. No fixed weekly nights or upcoming events could be confirmed online; Trujillo is 20 minutes away by colectivo.

Updated 2026-11-05.

Where to stay in Huanchaco

212 places to stay within 10 km: 130 hotel, 44 guest house, 15 hostel, 5 surf camp, 4 bed and breakfast, 4 holiday rental, 4 villa, 3 resort, 2 motel, 1 chalet. Compare them by distance to the nearest surf spot on the interactive map.

Surf camps: Un Lugar Surf Camp, Moksha Yoga and Surf Hostel, Urcia Surf House, PointBreak Surf Camp, Huanchaco Surf Camp.

Hostels: Hospedaje los Tres Delfines, Mandala Youth Hostel, Huanchaco Inn, Hostal Bella Mar - Huanchaco, Hostal Casa Fresh, Hospedaje ILALO Económico.

Cafés, food and surf shops

14 cafés and bakeries, 268 restaurants and bars, 12 surf schools and 0 surf shops nearby. Surf schools: Alawa Surf School, Koa Surf School, Eco Surf Station, Curvita Surf School, Club de Pesca Deportiva Surfcasting Trujillo, Totora Surf School & Hostel, Onechako Surf School, Surf School Muchik.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to surf in Huanchaco?

The best surf season in Huanchaco is Mar – Oct (March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October). The sea ranges from 16°C to 20°C over the year.

Which months have the most good surf days in Huanchaco?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Huanchaco's best spot were good or better most often in June (80% of days, 64% great), March (85% of days, 52% great) and May (80% of days, 52% great), and least often in December (47%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

Do I need a wetsuit in Huanchaco?

Water temperature in Huanchaco is 16–20°C: 3/2 mm (warmest) to 4/3 mm (coldest).

Is Huanchaco good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Huanchaco suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Punta Huanchaco.

What are the surf spots in Huanchaco?

Huanchaco has 1 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Punta Huanchaco (Point break, left-hander, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at mid to high tide, rising).

Where should surfers stay in Huanchaco?

Swell Cabin lists 212 places to stay within 10 km of Huanchaco, including 5 surf camps such as Un Lugar Surf Camp, Moksha Yoga and Surf Hostel, Urcia Surf House and PointBreak Surf Camp, 15 hostels, 44 guesthouses and homestays, 8 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

What is the nightlife like in Huanchaco?

Huanchaco is a relaxed fishing and surf town near Trujillo with a young traveller crowd: evenings are sunsets on the malecón, seafood restaurants and a few hostel and beach bars. No fixed weekly nights or upcoming events could be confirmed online; Trujillo is 20 minutes away by colectivo.

What is the surf forecast for Huanchaco this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Huanchaco and each of its 1 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/huanchaco: 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 Huanchaco?

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 Huanchaco weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times (approximate: there is no tide gauge near the town).

Is the Huanchaco surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Huanchaco is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 51 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-24, typically 60 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. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-05.

How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Huanchaco?

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 1 spots fully verified, 1 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 Huanchaco?

Yes: Huanchaco (El Elio) on SkylineWebcams (free); Balneario de Huanchaco on SkylineWebcams (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

Where can I take surf lessons in Huanchaco?

Surf schools in and around Huanchaco include Alawa Surf School, Koa Surf School, Eco Surf Station, Curvita Surf School, Club de Pesca Deportiva Surfcasting Trujillo and Totora Surf School & Hostel.

Nearby surf towns

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