TrueSwell

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Tybee Island Surf Forecast

Georgia, GA · Georgia's accessible beachbreak - small but fun on swell.

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Tybee Island Spot Guide

Best swell

ESE
window ENE–S (60°–180°)

Ideal size

1–6 ft
breaking-wave face height

Best wind

WNW
offshore · ESE is onshore

Verified against

Buoy 41008
live NOAA readings · our error

The wave

BreakBeachbreak near the pier
BottomSand
WavesSmall and friendly; Georgia's one dependable lineup
AbilityYes — as beginner-kind as the East Coast gets.
Best tideMid to high
CrowdSavannah's beach town, busy in season, mellow in the water
HazardsStrong tidal currents near the Savannah River channel ends
AccessPaid lots and street parking across the island

Local knowledge

Georgia's short, marsh-buffered coast concentrates its surf culture on Tybee, where a broad, gentle shelf turns what swell survives into soft rollers. It's a longboard island by nature — and when a rare tropical swell lines up, the pier bars show what the place can do.

Nearby spots

FAQ

What swell direction works best at Tybee Island?

ESE swell hits Tybee Island straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from ENE (60°) through S (180°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.

What wind is best at Tybee Island?

WNW wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. ESE wind is straight onshore and chops it up; light wind under ~5 kn is fine from any direction.

When is the best time of year to surf Tybee Island?

Late summer through fall is prime: hurricane season (August-October) sends the year's best long-period swell, and fall-winter nor'easters keep it pumping. Summer runs smallest outside of tropical systems.

What's the best tide at Tybee Island?

Mid to high. Tide predictions for the spot's NOAA station are in the forecast above.

Is Tybee Island good for beginners?

Yes — as beginner-kind as the East Coast gets.

How warm is the water at Tybee Island?

Roughly 52°F at its late-winter coldest to about 84°F in late summer. In practice that means a 4/3 in winter and trunks or a rash guard in summer. The forecast above shows the current water temperature.

How far out is this forecast reliable?

The wave model has real skill to about 10 days, and we cut the chart there instead of padding it with guesses. Days 1-3 are solid, 4-7 useful, 8-10 a trend heads-up - and we publish our measured error against NOAA buoys, updated continuously.

Forecast from TrueSwell's own physics-based wave model (exposure → refraction → breaking, every swell train separately), built on public NOAA and Open-Meteo data and scored daily against NDBC buoy observations. How the model works →