Motiti Island – Ernies Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Bay of Plenty, New Zealand)

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

Motiti Island - Ernies Surf Guide

Motiti Island - Ernies in Bay of Plenty is an exposed beach break that has quite reliable surf and can work at any time of the year. Ideal winds are from the west with some shelter here from northwest winds. Poor surf in light onshore winds Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the east southeast. There is no beach break and in addition there are both left and right reef breaks. Best around high tide. Rarely crowded here. Be wary of sharks, they are not unknown here.

Motiti Island - Ernies Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	fairly consistent	18.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Motiti Island - Ernies:

The best conditions reported for surf at Motiti Island - Ernies occur when a East-southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Motiti Island - Ernies (for consistent clean waves)?

aprilBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing Motiti Island - Ernies with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of April. Clean surfable waves are typically found 17% of the time in April while 26% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 57% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

17%

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

blown out

26%

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

too small

57%

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

Explore Motiti Island - Ernies Location Map

Interactive Motiti Island - Ernies 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 Motiti Island - Ernies is Tauranga Airport (TRG) in New Zealand, 19 km (12 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Motiti Island - Ernies is Rotorua Airport (ROT), also in New Zealand, 52 km (32 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.

Motiti Island - Ernies Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 05:02 Local Time

m, °C	Thursday 07
ft, °F	3AM	6AM	9AM	12PM
Wave (m)	NE	NE	NE	NE
Period (s)	8	8	8	6
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	cross	cross

Tides at Motiti Island - Ernies

Current tide and informaton

For Motiti Island - Ernies, 0 km from Motiti Island - Ernies.

Next High Water: 10:22am | 1.54m

Next Low Water: 04:37pm | 0.33m

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

Motiti Island - Ernies Sea Temperature

The Motiti Island - Ernies water temperature is reasonably warm (18.3 °C) and the air temperature will similar (windchill forecast 16.0 °C). A good quality summer wetsuit would be ideal.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 18.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite