Back Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Taranaki, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Back Beach Surf Guide

Back Beach in Taranaki is a fairly exposed beach break that has reasonably consistent surf. Autumn and winter are the optimum times of year for waves. Offshore winds are from the east. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the ideal swell direction is from the west southwest. Both left and right reef breaks. Best around high tide when the tide is rising. It very rarely gets crowded here. Take care of the strong rips here.

Back Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	fairly consistent	17.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Back Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Back Beach occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

augustBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Back Beach 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 57% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 19% 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

57%

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

too small

19%

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

Explore Back Beach Location Map

Interactive Back Beach 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 Back Beach is New Plymouth Airport (NPL) in New Zealand, 19 km (12 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Back Beach is Wanganui Airport (WAG), also in New Zealand, 131 km (81 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.

Back Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 09:19 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	9AM	12PM	3PM	6PM
Wave (m)	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW
Period (s)	13	13	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	cross- off	glass	glass

What does Back Beach look like?

Latest photos from Back Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Shane Credit: Haley Phillips Credit: Russell Maunder

Tides at Back Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Port Taranaki, New Zealand, 1 km from Back Beach.

Next High Water: 11:42am | 3.09m

Next Low Water: 05:56pm | 0.72m

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

Back Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (17.3 °C) at Back Beach is relatively warm. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 14.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 17.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite