La Union Beach tide times

La Union refers to the cluster of surf spots concentrated around San Fernando city and the adjacent municipalities of Bauang and San Juan on the northwest coast of Luzon, 260 kilometres north of Manila. This is the closest accessible surf coast to the capital, four to five hours by road via the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEX). 5 metre beach break, peaking around December and January on the largest swell events.

The main breaks are at Monaliza Point in San Juan municipality, Urbiztondo Beach in San Juan, and Bacnotan beaches further north. Monaliza Point is the most consistent: a sandy point that bends the swell and focuses it into a right-hander with shoulder-to-head-high faces on the best days of the season. Urbiztondo Beach in front of the Urbiztondo stretch of San Juan — the street with the highest concentration of surf schools, board rental shops, and beach restaurants — is the training break, a shorter, more forgiving beach break suitable for beginners.

2 metres. The wave quality at La Union is far more swell-direction and wind-sensitive than tide-sensitive, but the tidal state does shift the break position relative to the sandbar. The optimum window at Monaliza Point is typically on a mid-to-low incoming tide: the bar is still exposed enough to make the wave stand up and steepen, and the small additional depth on the rising tide smooths the takeoff.

At high tide the wave tends to flatten and push through without breaking cleanly. The offshore wind from the NE monsoon (blowing onshore from northeast to southwest by the time it wraps the coast) can be a limiting factor — the lightest wind is typically the early morning before the trade picks up. Dawn patrol in December and January is the standard window.

The road from Manila takes 4 to 5 hours avoiding peak hours; the expressways have reduced the commute substantially from the old Route 3 trunk road. Manila-based surfers treat La Union as the weekend escape; the town of San Fernando has become a well-developed secondary city with accommodation from backpacker guesthouses to mid-range hotels. The swell season overlaps with Christmas and New Year, making January the most crowded month in the water.

Outside swell season (April through September, SW monsoon), the coast goes flat and the surfing stops; La Union pivots to swimming beaches, kiteboarding on the northern Bauang coast, and the Poro Point beach park. Shore fishing along the La Union coast targets pompano, sea bass, and trevally from the rocky points north of Urbiztondo; the incoming tide in the late afternoon, running from roughly 2 hours before high water, is the standard productive window for the sandy beach casters working the wave zone. The Ilocos region further north, accessible in a day trip from La Union, holds the heritage city of Vigan (UNESCO World Heritage) and the Paoay Church, both significant cultural destinations.

Bangui Windmill Farm in Ilocos Norte (3 hours north of La Union) is a common add-on to the La Union circuit. 3 metres on height. PAGASA publishes authoritative tide predictions for La Union (San Fernando) gauge.