Surf-Forecast | Onekaka Surf Guide

Lat Long: 40.75° S 172.71° E

Issued: 12 pm 04 Nov 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Onekaka sea temperature is

14.6°C

Onekaka surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Photo by: Rob Davies

Onekaka Surf Guide

Onekaka in Nelson - Tasman Bay is an exposed beach break. Summer in particular tends to be flat. Ideal winds are from the southwest with some shelter here from west winds. Surfable in an onshore breeze The location means that groundswells are unknown and the best wave direction is from the east northeast. The beach break provides left and right handers. The location means that it never gets crowded.

Onekaka Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	rarely breaks	14.6°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Onekaka:

The best conditions reported for surf at Onekaka occur when a East-northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Onekaka 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 0% of the time in January while 3% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 97% 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

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

too small

97%

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

Explore Onekaka Location Map

Interactive Onekaka 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 Onekaka is Nelson Airport (NSN) in New Zealand, 75 km (47 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Onekaka is Woodbourne Airport (BHE), also in New Zealand, 130 km (81 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.

Onekaka Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 4 November 2026, 17:10 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 04			Thu
ft, °F	4PM	7PM	10PM	1AM
Wave (m)
Period (s)	-	-	-	-
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	cross- on	glass	glass

What does Onekaka look like?

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

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

Tides at Onekaka

Current tide and informaton

For Collingwood, New Zealand, 10 km from Onekaka.

Next High Water: 06:39pm | 3.7m

Next Low Water: 12:57am | 0.77m

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

Onekaka Sea Temperature

The water temperature at Onekaka is rather cool (14.6 °C) and the air temperature will feel similar. A good quality spring wetsuit with optional neoprene boots should suffice. No need for wetsuit gloves.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit and neoprene boots.