Otago Peninsula – Smaills Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Otago, New Zealand)

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Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach break guide

Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach Surf Guide

Smaills Beach on the Otago Peninsula is an exposed beach break that has reasonably consistent surf. Summer offers the favoured conditions for surfing. Ideal winds are from the northeast. Waves just as likely from local windswells as from distant groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the south. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Best around mid tide when the tide is falling. Rarely crowded here. Beware of sharks/rips.

Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	fairly consistent	13.2°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach occur when a South swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach (for consistent clean waves)?

marchBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of March. Clean surfable waves are typically found 36% of the time in March while 35% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 29% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

36%

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

29%

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

Explore Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach Location Map

Interactive Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach 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 Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach is Dunedin Airport (DUD) in New Zealand, 29 km (18 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach is Oamaru Airport (OAM), also in New Zealand, 112 km (70 miles) away.

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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.

Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 23:22 Local Time

m, °C	Tue	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	9PM	0AM	3AM	6AM
Wave (m)	SSW	SSW	SSW	SSW
Period (s)	15	14	14	14
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- on

What does Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach look like?

Latest photos from Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: rach Credit: rach

Tides at Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Port Chalmers, New Zealand, 12 km from Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach.

Next High Water: 07:07am | 1.49m

Next Low Water: 12:47am | 0.42m

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

Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (13.2 °C) at Otago Peninsula - Smaills Beach 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 (10.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

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