Surf spot

Duranbah

Forecast conditions and map view for Duranbah in Australia, QLD, Gold Coast. Open the interactive surf map to inspect wind, waves, and nearby spots.

Country: Australia, QLD, Gold Coast
Coordinates: -28.1673, 153.5522

Metric
Metric	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00	00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00
Wave height (m)	1	1.1	1	1	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.3	0.5	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.4	0.6	0.4	1.1	1.6	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.1	1	1	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.8	1	0.9	0.9	0.9	0.9
Wave direction	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	SE	SE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	E	ENE	ENE	ENE	ESE	ESE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SSE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SE	SSE	SSE	SSE	SSE	SE	SE	SE	SE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE	ESE
Wave period (s)	5.2	5.5	5.4	5.5	8.6	8.8	5.5	5.2	5.2	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.5	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.5	5.3	5.7	5.5	5.5	5.3	5.3	5.3	5.5	5.3	5.8	8.3	8.4	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.7	10	9.4	8.1	7.3	7	7	7	8.2	8.3	8.2	8.3	8	8.1	8	8	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	6.4
Wave energy (kJ)	57	75	61	57	109	111	50	46	46	45	43	39	37	36	34	33	29	27	20	25	20	20	20	20	19	18	18	16	15	11	16	33	311	296	274	243	82	32	168	276	299	304	281	173	147	124	120	108	102	93	85	66	57	54	49	69
Wind speed (km/h)	6.6	6.7	6.2	10.2	13	10	4	4.3	5	5.7	4.3	8	10.6	9.8	4.1	4.4	5.2	4.7	3.6	12.6	15.1	12.6	10	8.7	8.4	6.9	13.3	16.3	18.4	20.3	18.8	18.4	15.6	13.1	11.8	10.3	18.4	16.9	12.8	14.5	9.7	7.1	5.9	10.1	8.8	10.5	3.3	5.2	5	4.9	2.2	8.7	12.1	11.5	5.8	6.2
Wind direction	SSWCross-off	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	SEOffshore	ESECross-off	ESECross-off	SGlassy	SWGlassy	WSWCross	SWCross	SWGlassy	ECross-off	ENECross	NECross-on	NNWGlassy	NWGlassy	WNWCross-on	WGlassy	NWGlassy	NNECross-on	NNECross-on	NOnshore	NNWOnshore	NNWOnshore	NNWOnshore	SOffshore	SSWCross-off	SOffshore	SOffshore	SSEOffshore	SOffshore	SOffshore	SSWCross-off	SSWCross-off	SSWCross-off	SSWCross-off	SOffshore	SOffshore	SSWCross-off	SOffshore	SSWCross-off	SWCross-off	SWCross-off	SOffshore	SECross-off	ESECross-off	SWGlassy	WSWCross	WSWCross	WSWGlassy	WGlassy	NECross-on	NECross-on	NNECross-on	NNWOnshore	NWCross-on

Duranbah, often called “D-Bah,” is one of the Gold Coast’s most famous beach breaks, sitting right near the NSW–QLD border at the southern end of the Gold Coast. It’s known for being punchy, consistent, and very surfable across a wide range of conditions.

Quick description

Type: Beach break
Wave quality: Fast, fun, and often hollow
Best for: Intermediate to advanced surfers, though it can have forgiving peaks for beginners on smaller days
Consistency: Very reliable, with plenty of swell exposure
Crowds: Usually busy, especially when conditions are good

What it’s like to surf

Duranbah is famous for producing clean, powerful peaks that can open up into walls or throw a short barrel when the sandbanks line up. Because it faces fairly open ocean, it picks up a lot of swell and can work even when other spots are flat. On smaller days it’s playful and manageable; on larger swells it can get heavy, steep, and difficult to surf.

Conditions and features

Best swell: East to southeast swell tends to light it up
Best wind: West to southwest/offshore winds generally clean it up
Tide: Can work on a range of tides, but sandbank-dependent
Hazards: Strong rips, shifting sandbanks, heavy shorebreak at times, and busy lineups

Vibe

Duranbah has a high-energy, competitive feel. It’s a popular local and visiting surfer magnet because it often has quality waves when nearby spots don’t. You’ll usually find a mix of shortboarders, bodyboarders, and surf coaches/learners in the lineup.