Tolaga Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(East Cape, New Zealand)

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

Tolaga Bay Surf Guide

Tolaga Bay in East Cape is an exposed beach and point break that has inconsistent surf with no particular seasonal pattern. Offshore winds blow from the southwest. Clean groundswells prevail and the best swell direction is from the east northeast. Waves at the beach break both left and right Best around mid tide when the tide is falling. It very rarely gets crowded here. Beware of rips and rocks.

Tolaga Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	consistent	17.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Tolaga Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Tolaga Bay occur when a East swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-southwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Tolaga Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 20% of the time in May while 23% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 57% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

20%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

23%

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

too small

57%

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

Explore Tolaga Bay Location Map

Interactive Tolaga Bay 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 Tolaga Bay is Gisborne Airport (GIS) in New Zealand, 43 km (27 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Tolaga Bay is Whakatane Airport (WHK), also in New Zealand, 132 km (82 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.

Tolaga Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Thursday, 7 May 2026, 07:13 Local Time

m, °C	Thursday 07
ft, °F	3AM	6AM	9AM	12PM
Wave (m)	S	S	NE	NNE
Period (s)	14	14	6	5
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	cross	cross- on	cross- on

What does Tolaga Bay look like?

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

Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies Credit: Rob Davies

Tides at Tolaga Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Tolaga Bay (Cooks Cove), New Zealand, 2 km from Tolaga Bay.

Next High Water: 09:59am | 1.47m

Next Low Water: 03:54pm | 0.44m

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

Tolaga Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (17.3 °C) at Tolaga Bay is relatively warm. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 17.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 17.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite