Farewell Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Nelson – West Coast, New Zealand)

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Farewell Spit Surf Guide

Farewell Spit in North West Coast is an exposed beach break that has quite reliable surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds are from the east southeast. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the best swell direction is from the west northwest. The beach breaks offer left-handers. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Relatively few surfers here, even on good days. Beware of rips and rocks.

Farewell Spit Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and point	2	fairly consistent	16.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Farewell Spit:

The best conditions reported for surf at Farewell Spit occur when a Northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

augustBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Farewell Spit 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 29% of the time in August while 64% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 7% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

29%

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

blown out

64%

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

too small

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

Explore Farewell Spit Location Map

Interactive Farewell Spit 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 Farewell Spit is Nelson Airport (NSN) in New Zealand, 96 km (60 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Farewell Spit is Woodbourne Airport (BHE), also in New Zealand, 146 km (91 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.

Farewell Spit Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 12:22 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9AM	12PM	3PM	6PM
Wave (m)	WSW	WSW	WSW	WSW
Period (s)	13	16	16	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Farewell Spit look like?

Latest photos from Farewell Spit. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Farewell Spit

Current tide and informaton

For Farewell Spit, 0 km from Farewell Spit.

Next High Water: 12:37pm | 2.77m

Next Low Water: 06:48pm | 0.62m

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

Farewell Spit Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.3 °C) at Farewell Spit 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*: 16.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Farewell Spit

Surf stats for Farewell Spit, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Farewell Spit

Wind stats for Farewell Spit, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Farewell Spit Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 2 votes.

Overall:2.0
Quality on a good day:2.0
Consistency of Surf:3.0
Difficulty Level:4.0
Crowds:4.0
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Cole from New Zealand

“Amazing picturesque spot - make sure you go when there’s plenty of swell and when the tide is high and dropping. Only locals here are seals & birds.”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

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