Surf-Forecast | Arawhata Surf Guide

Lat Long: 39.42° S 173.80° E

Issued: 6 am 03 Nov 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Arawhata sea temperature is

14.6°C

Arawhata surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Arawhata Surf Guide

Arawhata in Taranaki is an exposed reef break that has pretty consitent surf. Spring and Summer provide the best conditions. The best wind direction is from the northeast and there is no shelter here from cross shore breezes. Waves can be ok even in light onshore winds Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the southwest. There is no reef break. Good surf at all stages of the tide. A fairly popluar wave that can sometimes get crowded Take care of rocks in the line up.

Arawhata Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	4	fairly consistent	14.6°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Arawhata:

The best conditions reported for surf at Arawhata occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Arawhata (for consistent clean waves)?

augustBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Arawhata with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of August. Clean surfable waves are typically found 24% of the time in August while 59% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 17% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

24%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

59%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

17%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Arawhata Location Map

Interactive Arawhata surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Arawhata is New Plymouth Airport (NPL) in New Zealand, 56 km (35 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Arawhata is Wanganui Airport (WAG), also in New Zealand, 121 km (75 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Arawhata Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 3 November 2026, 09:31 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 03
ft, °F	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM
Wave (m)	W	W	W	W
Period (s)	10	10	10	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

Tides at Arawhata

Current tide and informaton

For Opunake Bay, New Zealand, 7 km from Arawhata.

Next High Water: 05:47pm | 2.8m

Next Low Water: 11:21am | 0.91m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Arawhata Sea Temperature

The water temperature (14.6 °C) at Arawhata is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (16.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 14.6°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite