Beach forecast for Byron Bay
Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026 · local time (GMT+11) · New South Wales, Australia Today, Thu, Oct 29 · GMT+11- Swimming
- Calm · 3.4 ft
- Water
- 72 °F · nice
- Max UV
- 10 · SPF 50
- Low tide
- 4:30 am and 5:51 pm
Today, Thursday, October 29, it's a good beach day in Byron Bay (7/10). The best hours are from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm: sunshine, pleasant temperatures, little wind, water at 72 °F and low tide at 5:51 pm, though with very high UV. Today is the best day of the week.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 7Good beach day | 12:00–5:00 pm9:00–11:00 am | Calm · 3.4 ft | 72 °F | 10 |
| Fri 30 | 5Fair beach day | 3:00–6:00 pm | Use care · 4.8 ft | 72 °F | 9 |
| Sat 31 | 6Fair beach day | 11:00 am–4:00 pm5:00–7:00 pm | Use care · 4.0 ft | 72 °F | 7 |
| Sun 1 | 6Fair beach day | 7:00–11:00 am | Use care · 3.5 ft | 71 °F | 11 |
| Mon 2 | 5Fair beach day | 2:00–7:00 pm7:00–11:00 am | Use care · 2.7 ft | 71 °F | 10 |
| Tue 3 | 5Fair beach day | 9:00 am–1:00 pm | Use care · 3.3 ft | 71 °F | — |
| Wed 4 | 7Good beach day | 9:00 am–2:00 pm4:00–6:00 pm | Use care · 3.5 ft | 70 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
9 good hours- Mostly sunny
- Feels like 79 °F: pleasant
- Onshore breeze (9 mph)
- Water at 72 °F (nice)
- Low tide at 5:51 pm: more sand
- Calm for swimming: 3.4 ft waves; moderate rip current risk
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Calm · 3.4 ft
3.4 ft waves: calm for swimming. Moderate rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 72 °F
Nice for swimming.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 10 · SPF 50
Max UV 10 (very high): SPF 50 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours. Seek shade 11:00 am–2:00 pm (very high UV).
- Wind 9 mph
Onshore breeze (9 mph).
- Tide & sand 5:51 pm
Low tide at 4:30 am and 5:51 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 11:25 am and 11:36 pm.
The best window, 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, brings sunshine, pleasant temperatures, little wind, water at 72 °F and low tide at 5:51 pm, though with very high UV. 9:00 am to 11:00 am is good too, with sunshine, little wind and water at 71 °F.
We don't have data on jellyfish, sargassum or beach closures: ask the lifeguard or check with the local beach authority.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | 4 | Mainly clear | 60 °F | 6 mph | 2.9 ft | 1 |
| 8:00 am | 5 | Clear sky | 64 °F | 5 mph | 2.9 ft | 2 |
| 9:00 am | 6 | Clear sky | 68 °F | 4 mph | 2.9 ft | 4 |
| 10:00 am | 6 | Mainly clear | 74 °F | 4 mph | 3.0 ft | 6 |
| 11:00 am | 7 | Mainly clear | 78 °F | 4 mph | 3.0 ft | 9 |
| 12:00 pm | 7 | Mainly clear | 79 °F | 5 mph | 3.0 ft | 10 |
| 1:00 pm | 7 | Mainly clear | 78 °F | 7 mph | 3.1 ft | 10 |
| 2:00 pm | 8 | Mainly clear | 77 °F | 8 mph | 3.2 ft | 8 |
| 3:00 pm | 7 | Mainly clear | 75 °F | 9 mph | 3.3 ft | 5 |
| 4:00 pm | 7 | Mainly clear | 72 °F | 9 mph | 3.4 ft | 3 |
| 5:00 pm | 5 | Partly cloudy | 70 °F | 8 mph | 3.5 ft | 1 |
| 6:00 pm | 6 | Mainly clear | 68 °F | 6 mph | 3.6 ft | 0 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Byron Bay
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Clarkes Beach 0.9 mi · NE
- Lifeguard
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Tallow Beach 1.5 mi · SE
- Lifeguard
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Wategos Beach 1.6 mi · NE
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Little Wategos Beach 1.9 mi · NE
- Belongil Beach 2.7 mi · NW
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Broken Head Beach 3.6 mi · S
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
- Kings Beach (Nude) 4.1 mi · S
- Parking
- Nudity allowed
- Brays Beach 4.7 mi · S
- Parking
Named beaches within 6.2 mi, nearest first. Amenities from OpenStreetMap: some may be missing or out of date. View on OpenStreetMap · Add or fix on OpenStreetMap
Beaches and amenities: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Webcams near Byron Bay
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam
How we rate a beach day
We rate every beach hour from 0 to 10 with simple, fixed rules:
- Adds: sunshine (up to 3 points, fewer with more clouds), warmth (up to 4, from the feels-like temperature; ideal between 81 °F and 91 °F), a calm sea (1), water at 70 °F or warmer (1; from 64 °F, half) and low or mid tide (1: more sand). Anything without data is left out and the rest is scaled to 10.
- Takes away: cold (feels-like below 64 °F, 1 to 4 points), rain (half a point if likely, up to 6 if it rains; thunderstorms, 8), wind from force 4, about 12 mph (1 to 6 points; half a point more if offshore, which blows inflatables out to sea, or onshore, which churns the water), waves (1 to swim with care, 4 if dangerous, 1 more for high rip current risk), very high UV (half a point; extreme, 1), water below 59 °F (1) and spring high tides (1: little sand left).
- Swimming: calm, use care (waves from 2.6 ft, or long swell) or dangerous (from 6.6 ft, or 4.9 ft with a long period), based on how much of the wave reaches this shore given the way it faces. In the U.S., today's and tomorrow's rip current risk comes from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast when it issues one; otherwise we estimate it from the waves.
- Best windows: runs of 2 to 5 hours rated 4 or more and close to the best hour, at least one hour apart.
- Day rating: the average of the best window; a 2-hour window keeps 85% of it and a 3-hour window 95%.
Today, in the best window: sun 2 of 3, warmth 2.6 of 4, calm sea 1 of 1, water 1 of 1 and tide 0.6 of 1; minus UV 0.2.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: weather changes and every beach is different. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
Questions about the beach in Byron Bay
Is it a beach day in Byron Bay today?
A good beach day: 7/10. Best from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with sunshine, pleasant temperatures, little wind, water at 72 °F and low tide at 5:51 pm, though with very high UV.
What are the swimming conditions in Byron Bay today?
3.4 ft waves: calm for swimming. Moderate rip current risk. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Byron Bay?
About 72 °F today: nice. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in Byron Bay today?
UV reaches 10 (very high): SPF 50 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat, and seek shade from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
When is low tide in Byron Bay?
Today low tide is at 4:30 am and 5:51 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 11:25 am and 11:36 pm.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Byron Bay?
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30: a fair beach day (5/10), best from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
What beaches are near Byron Bay?
Clarkes Beach (0.9 mi), Tallow Beach (1.5 mi), Wategos Beach (1.6 mi), Little Wategos Beach (1.9 mi) and Belongil Beach (2.7 mi). See below for amenities and water quality.
Are there jellyfish or sargassum today?
We don't know: there's no open data on jellyfish, sargassum or closures for each beach. Ask the lifeguard, check the flags or the local beach authority's website.
How is the rating worked out?
From the hourly forecast: sun and clouds, feels-like temperature, rain, wind (and whether it blows onshore or offshore), waves and their period, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide. Each factor adds or takes away a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
More about Byron Bay today
Learn more
Our own calculation, using the Open-Meteo forecast (ECMWF, NOAA GFS, Météo-France, Copernicus Marine and CAMS, CC BY 4.0), the tide from Brunswick Heads (TICON-4) and the sun from astronomy-engine. Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database). Source: Hart-Davis, M., Dettmering, D., Seitz, F. (2025), TICON-4: TIdal CONstants based on GESLA-4 sea-level records, SEANOE, https://doi.org/10.17882/109129. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: see https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database#modifications-to-source-data