Surf Forecasts:
Tauranga Bay surf forecast from 12 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 17 Jul, 12AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 19s period, ESE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 17 Jul, 3PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.7m), 16s period, ESE swell with 263 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 17 Jul, 12AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 19s period with ESE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Tauranga Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Tauranga Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 17) at 12AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 19s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 4s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Tauranga Bay in the next 16 days are 0.7m 16s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 17) at 3PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (NZST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 12AM (Fri 17th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 19s |
| Best Surf | 12AM (Fri 17th Jul) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 19s |
| Most Powerful | 3PM (Fri 17th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.7m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Tauranga Bay over the next 16 days.
Alright, Rusty here again. Let’s talk the same story, but in feet, for the imperial crew.
Lookin’ at the charts, there’s a whole lot of nothin’ for the near future. For over a week, the surf is just flat-out poor. Waves are tiny, barely a foot or two at best, with weak energy and messy wind. The water temp at Tauranga Bay is around 62°F, which is normal for the season. We get a few glassy mornings, like Wednesday, July 15th and Thursday, July 16th, but with swell under a foot, it’s a lake, not a surf. Don’t bother paddling out.
Things finally start to stir late on Friday, July 17th. The morning has a long period groundswell (17 seconds) offering some energy (220), but the wave height is still only about 2ft. The wind is glassy, so it’ll be clean, but it’s still a very ordinary, small wave.
The big news is a serious pulse of energy comin’ in on Tuesday, July 21st. The afternoon session there is a monster. We’re talkin’ 15ft of east swell, with energy readings of 4865 — that’s powerful, heavy water. This is not for beginners. If you’re an experienced surfer, this is your session. The wind is cross-offshore, keepin’ the face clean, but the size (well over 8ft) means only the experts should even think about it.
Right behind it, Wednesday, July 22nd, is still a big day for the pros. The afternoon has 10ft from the ENE with a solid 11-second period and a strong offshore wind blowin’ clean. Energy is still pumping at 2144. Conditions will be excellent, but again, this is big, powerful surf.
That big stuff tapers off through the end of the week into the weekend of the 25th and 26th. Saturday, July 25th morning should be a nice, manageable size of around 4ft with light offshore wind and clean conditions. Sunday, July 26th morning looks even cleaner, glassy, with a similar 4ft groundswell. That’s the window for the average surfer to get back in the water.
So to wrap it up: the next week is a write-off. The one to wait for is Tuesday afternoon, July 21st, and Wednesday afternoon, July 22nd — but that’s strictly for the big-dog crew. The weekend after that, the 25th and 26th, will give you clean, fun waves for the rest of us.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sun afternoon. Very mild (max 17°C on Tue afternoon, min 13°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 16°C on Thu afternoon, min 13°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sun 12 | Monday 13 | Tuesday 14 | Wednesday 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | |||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | E 9 | ESE 10 | N 4 | NNW 5 | N 6 | N 6 | ESE 10 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | E 13 | ESE 19 | E 17 | ESE 16 | ESE 15 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 68 | 48 | 57 | 55 | 19 | 83 | 39 | 23 | 20 | 26 | 23 | 11 | 13 | 122 | 212 | 263 | 231 | 218 | 215 | 163 | 113 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-off | glassy | on | glassy | cross-off | cross | cross | cross |
High Tide | 6:00PM2.46m | 6:15AM2.42m | 7:01PM2.56m | 7:18AM2.47m | 8:00PM2.64m | 8:18AM2.51m | 8:55PM2.71m | 9:15AM2.54m | 9:47PM2.75m | 10:09AM2.55m | 10:36PM2.74m | 11:00AM2.54m | 11:23PM2.69m | 11:48AM2.50m | |||||||
Low Tide | 00:02AM0.72m | 12:28PM0.46m | 1:03AM0.62m | 1:28PM0.37m | 2:02AM0.53m | 2:24PM0.30m | 2:59AM0.45m | 3:17PM0.27m | 3:53AM0.40m | 4:07PM0.29m | 4:43AM0.38m | 4:56PM0.36m | 5:31AM0.40m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  | | | | | |  |  | | | | | |  | |  |  | |
 | — | — | 7:31 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:30 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:28 | — | — | 7:28 |
 | 5:29 | — | — | 5:29 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:30 | — | — | 5:31 | — | — | 5:32 | — | 5:32 |
mm | 2 | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
Feels °C | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | E 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 8 | N 6 | N 6 | N 5 | N 5 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | N 4 | ESE 19 | E 17 | ESE 16 | ESE 15 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 | ESE 14 |
| kJ | 68 | 48 | 57 | 55 | 18 | 7 | 31 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 23 | 11 | 3 | 122 | 212 | 263 | 231 | 218 | 215 | 163 | 113 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 11 | E 5 | NE 12 | NE 4 | E 5 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 12 | N 4 | N 4 | E 13 | NNW 4 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 | NNE 8 |
| kJ | 2 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 17 | 20 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 23 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | N 10 | N 11 | NE 9 | NE 12 | NE 11 | NE 11 | NE 11 | NE 10 | NNE 10 | NNE 10 | NNE 10 | NE 10 | NNW 5 | NE 10 | N 4 | — | — | — | NNE 6 | — | N 14 |
| kJ | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | — | 4 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 5 | — | — | NNW 3 | N 4 | NNW 5 | NW 6 | — | — | NNW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 24 | — | — | 3 | 19 | 83 | 39 | — | — | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 65 | 73 | 52 | 81 | 112 | 125 | 10 | 10 | 60 | 10 | 73 | 52 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 73 | 73 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Northland | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Tauranga Bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Tauranga Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Tauranga Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Tauranga Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Tauranga Bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Tauranga Bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Tauranga Bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Northland? If you are looking for accommodation near Tauranga Bay, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Northland, consider staying in Houhora which is 71 km (44 miles) away. Alternatively, find information about places to stay and car hire in Whangarei which is 93 km (58 miles) away
Nearest