Christmas Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(The Wairarapa, New Zealand)

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

Christmas Bay Surf Guide

Christmas Bay in the Waiararpa is a fairly exposed beach break that has quite consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds blow from the northwest with some shelter here from northeast winds. Does not handle onshore winds very well Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the best swell direction is from the south southeast. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Relatively few surfers here, even on good days. Submerged rocks are a hazard.

Christmas Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	fairly consistent	15.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Christmas Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Christmas Bay occur when a South-southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Christmas Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 27% of the time in May while 31% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 42% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

27%

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

blown out

31%

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

too small

42%

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

Explore Christmas Bay Location Map

Interactive Christmas Bay 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 Christmas Bay is Masterton Airport (MRO) in New Zealand, 49 km (30 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Christmas Bay is Palmerston North Airport (PMR), also in New Zealand, 83 km (52 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.

Christmas Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 18:33 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06			Thu
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	15	14	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

What does Christmas Bay look like?

Latest photos from Christmas Bay. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Christmas Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Castlepoint, New Zealand, 1 km from Christmas Bay.

Next High Water: 08:49pm | 1.24m

Next Low Water: 03:26am | 0.25m

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

Christmas Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.5 °C) at Christmas Bay 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 (18.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite