Scarborough Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Canterbury, New Zealand)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
Weather State
Spot Information

Scarborough Surf Guide

Scarborough in Canterbury is a fairly exposed beach break that only works when conditions are just right with no particular seasonal pattern. Ideal winds are from the southwest. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the best swell direction is from the east northeast. The beach break offers both left and right hand waves. Best around mid tide. It's sometimes crowded here.

Scarborough Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	inconsistent	14.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Scarborough:

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

julyBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Scarborough 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 8% of the time in July while 9% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 83% 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

83%

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

Explore Scarborough Location Map

Interactive Scarborough 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 Scarborough is Christchurch International Airport (CHC) in New Zealand, which is 22 km (14 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Scarborough is Timaru Airport (TIU), also in New Zealand, 149 km (93 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.

Scarborough Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 01:27 Local Time

m, °C	Tue	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9PM	0AM	3AM	6AM
Wave (m)	SSE	SSE	ENE	SSE
Period (s)	18	18	8	16
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	glass	cross- off	cross- off

What does Scarborough look like?

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

Credit: Milan Credit: Connor Jones Credit: Bryn Williams Credit: Chris H Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Scarborough

Current tide and informaton

For Lyttelton, New Zealand, 5 km from Scarborough.

Next High Water: 07:47am | 2.04m

Next Low Water: 01:34am | 0.75m

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

Scarborough Sea Temperature

The water temperature (14.0 °C) at Scarborough is quite cool. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good sealed spring wetsuit. Some surfers would prefer to wear gloves and boots too. Effective windchill factor of (11.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

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

Current Temp*: 14.0°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Scarborough

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

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Scarborough

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

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Scarborough 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 24 votes.

Overall:2.0
Quality on a good day:3.9
Consistency of Surf:2.7
Difficulty Level:2.7
Wind and Kite Surfing:1.8
Crowds:2.7
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Ross from New Zealand

“Good beach, just be careful of the strong rips on the sides, one on the right by the clocktower is particularly bad when at high tide and hosting big swells.”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

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