Leithfield Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Canterbury, New Zealand)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Leithfield Beach Surf Guide

Leithfield Beach in Kaikoura is an exposed beach break that has quite reliable surf, although summer tends to be mostly flat. Offshore winds are from the west northwest. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the best swell direction is from the south southeast. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Best around low tide. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up.

Leithfield Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	3	fairly consistent	13.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Leithfield Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Leithfield Beach 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 Leithfield Beach (for consistent clean waves)?

julyBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Leithfield Beach 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 33% of the time in July while 27% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 40% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

33%

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

blown out

27%

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

too small

40%

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

Explore Leithfield Beach Location Map

Interactive Leithfield Beach 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 Leithfield Beach is Christchurch International Airport (CHC) in New Zealand, 39 km (24 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Leithfield Beach is Hokitika Airport (HKK), also in New Zealand, 155 km (96 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.

Leithfield Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 19:27 Local Time

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

What does Leithfield Beach look like?

Latest photos from Leithfield Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Luke solvander

Tides at Leithfield Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Amberley Beach, 1 km from Leithfield Beach.

Next High Water: 08:23pm | 1.77m

Next Low Water: 02:44am | 0.45m

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

Leithfield Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.7 °C) at Leithfield Beach 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*: 13.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite