Hicks Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(East Cape, New Zealand)

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

Hicks Bay Surf Guide

Hicks Bay in East Cape is a sheltered beach break that has fairly consistent surf. Summer offers the best conditions for surfing. The best wind direction is from the southwest. Groundswells are more common than windswells and the best swell direction is from the east northeast. Best around high tide. It very rarely gets crowded here. Watch out for rips and rocks.

Hicks Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	very consistent	18.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Hicks Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Hicks Bay occur when a East-northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

julyBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Hicks Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of July. Clean surfable waves are typically found 7% of the time in July while 16% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 77% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

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

blown out

16%

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

too small

77%

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

Explore Hicks Bay Location Map

Interactive Hicks 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 Hicks Bay is Gisborne Airport (GIS) in New Zealand, 123 km (76 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Hicks Bay is Whakatane Airport (WHK), also in New Zealand, 127 km (79 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.

Hicks Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 17:14 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06			Thu
ft, °F	3PM	6PM	9PM	0AM
Wave (m)	NE	E	NE	NE
Period (s)	10	10	6	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	cross	cross- on	cross

What does Hicks Bay look like?

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

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

Tides at Hicks Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Hicks Bay, New Zealand, 2 km from Hicks Bay.

Next High Water: 10:07pm | 1.99m

Next Low Water: 04:25am | 0.66m

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

Hicks Bay Sea Temperature

The Hicks Bay water temperature is reasonably warm (18.4 °C) and the air temperature will similar (windchill forecast 19.0 °C). A good quality summer wetsuit would be ideal.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 18.4°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite