Surf report for Playa España
About surfing at Playa España when it works, how to read the report and common questions
How Playa España works
A sand and shingle beach east of Gijón, in Villaviciosa. It is fairly protected from cross-shore winds, so it holds days that are already messy at more open beaches.
- Type of wave
- Sand and shingle beach break
- Workable size
- Its range is with San Lorenzo between 0.6 and 1.5 m
- Swell that works
- NW–NNW; it also works with a northerly
- Period
- Very good from 10 s; holds 8–9 s with size
- Ideal wind
- SSE (~160°, offshore)
- Best tide
- Mid
- Level
- Suitable for almost every level
Full surf guide to Playa España →
How to read this report
- Wave height. It is the real height at the beach, not the open-sea swell: each beach has its own factor, because the same swell does not break the same at Playa España as at the beach next door.
- Period. The seconds between two waves. It is the most underrated number: at the same size, a long period brings waves with power and shape, a short one brings them messy.
- Wind. Always in knots. What matters is not the strength but the direction: blowing from land to sea (offshore) it grooms the wave, from sea to land it messes it up.
- Tide. In metres. Every beach has its good window, and outside it the same day can go from surfable to useless in two hours.
- AI score. A score from 0 to 5 given by a model trained on real ratings of sessions at this very beach — not a generic formula. When the day is bad it says so, which is the point.
Frequently asked questions about surfing at Playa España
What is the best tide to surf at Playa España?
Mid. The report above gives the tide height hour by hour for the next 8 days, so you can line your session up with the good window.
Which wind works at Playa España?
Its offshore wind comes from SSE (~160°, offshore). Every beach on this coast faces a different way, so the wind that ruins one can be exactly the good one somewhere else: if it does not help here, check the other beaches.
Is Playa España good for beginners?
Suitable for almost every level.
Where does this data come from?
The conditions (waves, wind, period, tide and water temperature) come from Open-Meteo and are updated every hour. The quality score is computed by a model specific to Playa España, trained on ratings of real sessions at this beach.