Surf-Forecast | Papatea Bay Surf Guide

Lat Long: 37.66° S 177.85° E

Issued: 12 am 04 Nov 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Papatea Bay sea temperature is

16.2°C

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

Photo by: Rob Davies

Papatea Bay Surf Guide

Papatea Bay in East Cape is an exposed beach break that has pretty consitent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the southeast and there is no shelter here from cross shore breezes. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the north. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights and in addition there are both left and right reef breaks. The quality of the surf isn't affected by the tide. Even when the surf is up, crowds are unknown.

Papatea Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	3	fairly consistent	16.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Papatea Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Papatea Bay occur when a North swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: summer

The best time of year for surfing Papatea Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 16% of the time in January while 35% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 49% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

16%

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

blown out

35%

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

too small

49%

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

Explore Papatea Bay Location Map

Interactive Papatea 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.

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.

Papatea Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 4 November 2026, 03:48 Local Time

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

What does Papatea Bay look like?

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

Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Papatea Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Papatea Bay, 0 km from Papatea Bay.

Next High Water: 03:14pm | 1.69m

Next Low Water: 08:52am | 0.26m

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

Papatea Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (16.2 °C) at Papatea Bay 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*: 16.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite