Kawaihae Breakwater Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Big Island, USA)

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Kawaihae Breakwater Surf Guide

Kawaihae Breakwater in Big Island is a fairly exposed reef break that has quite reliable surf. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds are from the northeast. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the northwest. A choice of left and right reefs. Sometimes crowded. Beware of rocks, rips and sharks.

Kawaihae Breakwater Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	3	fairly consistent	25.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Kawaihae Breakwater:

The best conditions reported for surf at Kawaihae Breakwater occur when a West swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Kawaihae Breakwater with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 17% of the time in January while 5% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 78% 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

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

too small

78%

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

Explore Kawaihae Breakwater Location Map

Interactive Kawaihae Breakwater 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 Kawaihae Breakwater is Waimea Kohala (Kamuela) Airport (MUE) in Usa Hawaii Isl., 19 km (12 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Kawaihae Breakwater is Upolu (Opolu) Airport (UPP) in USA, 24 km (15 miles) away.

Map Icons:
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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.

Kawaihae Breakwater Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 07:04 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	5AM	8AM	11AM	2PM
Wave (m)	NW	NW	NW	NW
Period (s)	11	11	11	11
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	cross- on	cross- on	cross

What does Kawaihae Breakwater look like?

Latest photos from Kawaihae Breakwater. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: David Buchan Credit: Ledge Shackchaser Credit: hai on Credit: hai on Credit: Ledge Shackchaser

Tides at Kawaihae Breakwater

Current tide and informaton

For Kawaihae, Big Island, Hawaii, 2 km from Kawaihae Breakwater.

Next High Water: 07:37pm | 0.64m

Next Low Water: 11:37am | 0.07m

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

Kawaihae Breakwater Sea Temperature

Sunny with very warm air temperatures, feeling like 26.0 °C once we account for any wind. Sea temperatures (25.8 °C) very warm too. Staying comfortable in the water at Kawaihae Breakwater won't be a problem, but wear at least a rash-vest to keep the UV off.

Today, many surfers would wear a rashvest wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 25.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Kawaihae Breakwater

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

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Kawaihae Breakwater

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

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Kawaihae Breakwater 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:3.0
Quality on a good day:3.5
Consistency of Surf:2.5
Difficulty Level:3.0
Wind and Kite Surfing:1.0
Crowds:2.5
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Justin Brown from United States

“Kawaihae Breakwall or LSD's only breaks on a swell coming from less than 310 degrees due to the shadow effect of Maui on more Northern swells. In addition, the swell must be fairly strong to make this deepwater longboard wave break at all. Due to these limitations, Breakwall has a pretty limited number of good surfing days per year, and only in the winter. When the waves are breaking at overhead or better it is an outstanding longboard wave that produces frequent 100 yard rides. A great spot for the keikis as the wave reforms on the inside at about knee to waist high.”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

Discover surf breaks near Kawaihae Breakwater. Click below to view there surf guides.