Surf-Forecast | Tahunanui Beach Surf Guide

Lat Long: 41.28° S 173.24° E

Issued: 6 am 03 Nov 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's Tahunanui Beach sea temperature is

15.7°C

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

Photo by: Rob Davies

Tahunanui Beach Surf Guide

Tahunanui Beach in Nelson - Tasman Bay is a sheltered beach break that has inconsistent surf with no particular seasonal pattern. Offshore winds blow from the south and there is no shelter here from cross shore breezes. Easily blown out by an onshore breeze Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell angle is from the north northwest. The beach break provides left and right handers. Best around high tide. Even when the surf is up, crowds are unknown.

Tahunanui Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	1	inconsistent	15.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Tahunanui Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Tahunanui Beach occur when a North-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

januaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Tahunanui Beach with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of January. Clean surfable waves are typically found 0% of the time in January while 4% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 96% 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

96%

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

Explore Tahunanui Beach Location Map

Interactive Tahunanui 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 Tahunanui is Nelson Airport (NSN) in New Zealand, 3 km (2 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Tahunanui is Woodbourne Airport (BHE), also in New Zealand, 59 km (37 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.

Tahunanui Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 3 November 2026, 13:59 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 03
ft, °F	10AM	1PM	4PM	7PM
Wave (m)	N	N	N	N
Period (s)	6	6	5	6
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Tahunanui Beach look like?

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

Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Tahunanui Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Nelson, New Zealand, 3 km from Tahunanui Beach.

Next High Water: 05:49pm | 3.41m

Next Low Water: 12:19am | 1.19m

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

Tahunanui Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.7 °C) at Tahunanui Beach 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 (15.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite