Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Tahiti, French Polynesia)

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Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) break guide

Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) Surf Guide

Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) in Tahiti is an exposed beach and point break that has fairly consistent surf. Summer offers the optimum conditions for surfing. Offshore winds are from the south. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the north northeast. The beach break offers both left and right hand waves. Sometimes crowded. Beware of rips and sharks.

Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and point	4	fairly consistent	28.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay):

The best conditions reported for surf at Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) occur when a North-northeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

decemberBest Season: summer

The best time of year for surfing Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer and most often the month of December. Clean surfable waves are typically found 3% of the time in December while 9% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 88% 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

88%

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

Explore Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) Location Map

Interactive Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's 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 nearest passenger airport to Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) is Temae (Moorea) Airport (MOZ) in French Polynesia, which is 38 km (24 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) is Huahine Airport (HUH), also in French Polynesia, 195 km (121 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.

Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 10:36 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	11AM	2PM	5PM	8PM
Wave (m)	E	E	E	E
Period (s)	9	9	9	9
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

What does Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) look like?

Latest photos from Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay). Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Nahana Credit: Nahana

Tides at Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay)

Current tide and informaton

For Mahina, 5 km from Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay).

Next High Water: 02:04pm | 0.23m

Next Low Water: 08:39pm | 0.09m

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

Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) Sea Temperature

Sunny with very warm air temperatures, feeling like 27.0 °C once we account for any wind. Sea temperatures (28.8 °C) very warm too. Staying comfortable in the water at Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) 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*: 28.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay)

Surf stats for Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay), see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) Location Map

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay)

Wind stats for Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay), see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Papenoo Beach (Chinaman's Bay) 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 3 votes.

Overall:4.0
Quality on a good day:3.3
Consistency of Surf:3.0
Difficulty Level:1.0
Wind and Kite Surfing:4.0
Crowds:3.3
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Nahana from French Polynesia

“Nice surf spot, with a shallow wave reaching 3 meters during
high swells. Sometimes you can see shark fins but no
attack reported (frequented place). Fresh water showers
Available.”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

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