Pohoiki Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Big Island, USA)

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Pohoiki Surf Guide

Pohoiki in Big Island is an exposed reef break that has pretty consitent surf and can work at any time of the year. Works best in offshore winds from the west northwest. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the ideal swell angle is from the east. Both left and right reef breaks. When it's working here, it can get crowded. Take care of urchins, rocks, locals and sharks.

Pohoiki Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	2	fairly consistent	25.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Pohoiki:

The best conditions reported for surf at Pohoiki occur when a East 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 Pohoiki (for consistent clean waves)?

septemberBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Pohoiki with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of September. Clean surfable waves are typically found 6% of the time in September while 59% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 35% 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

59%

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

too small

35%

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

Explore Pohoiki Location Map

Interactive Pohoiki 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 Pohoiki is Hilo International Airport (ITO) in Usa Hawaii Isl., 36 km (22 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Pohoiki is Bradshaw Aaf Airport (BSF), also in Usa Hawaii Isl., 83 km (52 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.

Pohoiki Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 12:12 Local Time

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

What does Pohoiki look like?

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

Credit: Joe Credit: Joe Credit: Joe Credit: Joe Credit: Christina Colberg

Tides at Pohoiki

Current tide and informaton

For Kapoho Bay, 2 km from Pohoiki.

Next High Water: 05:57pm | 0.89m

Next Low Water: 01:05am | 0.38m

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

Pohoiki Sea Temperature

Sunny with warm air temperatures at Pohoiki today (feels like 24.0 °C once we account for wind), and warmer sea temperatures (25.2 °C). Wear boardshorts or a shorty, or perhaps a thin summer wetsuit to keep the UV off.

Today, many surfers would wear a shorty.

Current Temp*: 25.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Pohoiki

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

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Pohoiki

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

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Pohoiki 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 10 votes.

Overall:2.0
Quality on a good day:4.0
Consistency of Surf:3.7
Difficulty Level:3.1
Wind and Kite Surfing:1.8
Crowds:3.6
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Peter Easterling from United States

“My basis of comparison is Oahu where I lived almost all my life. 4 years here in Puna. Pohoiki is scenic, consistent, mostly uncrowded...but the wave quality is below average. Usually windswell with side winds. Can get excellent but can go for months with only shifty, swelly, erratic surf. There is a dawn patrol crew of mostly older surfers though they generally clear out by mid-morning. Pohoiki is very difficult to predict. You got to drive on down and find out. Conditions vary unpredictably through the day. If you are reasonably thoughtful (meaning don't drop in on others or aggressively hog waves) you will have no problems with the local surfers. One bit of advice: there are several breaks which vary from mellow rollers to lunging, shallow dangerous double overhead barrels. One break, 3rd Bay, is as radical as any spot in the island chain.”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

Discover surf breaks near Pohoiki. Click below to view there surf guides.