Staying Home Sucks, home
Haast beach - panoramio (1)
Haast Beach. Photo: Arend Veenhuizen, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Haast Beach

Surf spot · New Zealand

Is it worth the trip?

29Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Sun 8: 5 ft swell at 10 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 29 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
240kJ
Wind
NE 13 kn
Temp
14°C

Wed 4 · 17 out of 100

Swell
5 ft5 smushy
Energy
142kJ
Wind
NE 15 kn
Temp
15°C

Thu 5 · 11 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
89kJ
Wind
ENE 17 kn
Temp
16°C

Fri 6 · 25 out of 100

Swell
6 ft7 smushy
Energy
364kJ
Wind
NE 21 kn
Temp
15°C

Sat 7 · 11 out of 100

Swell
3 ft6 smushy
Energy
66kJ
Wind
W 6 kn
Temp
14°C

Sun 8 · 46 out of 100

Swell
5 ft10 ssoft
Energy
506kJ
Wind
NNE 3 kn
Temp
14°C

Mon 9 · 31 out of 100

Swell
4 ft9 ssoft
Energy
272kJ
Wind
ENE 4 kn
Temp
15°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 258, fair
  2. Tue 329, too small
  3. Wed 417, too small
  4. Thu 511, too small
  5. Fri 625, poor
  6. Sat 711, too small
  7. Sun 846, fair
  8. Mon 931, too small
  9. Tue 1018, too small
  10. Wed 1133, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
  • Offshore: SEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Haast Beach, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov58, fair8 ft8 ssoft10 ft at break (est.)872kJwind from the north-north-west, 2 knots14°C
Tue 3Nov29, too small5 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.)240kJwind from the north-east, 13 knots14°C
Wed 4Nov17, too small5 ft5 smushy5 ft at break (est.)142kJwind from the north-east, 15 knots15°C
Thu 5Nov11, too small4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)89kJwind from the east-north-east, 17 knots16°C
Fri 6Nov25, poor6 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.)364kJwind from the north-east, 21 knots15°C
Sat 7Nov11, too small3 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)66kJwind from the west, 6 knots14°C
Sun 8Nov46, fair5 ft10 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)506kJwind from the north-north-east, 3 knots14°C
Mon 9Nov31, too small4 ft9 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)272kJwind from the east-north-east, 4 knots15°C
Tue 10Nov18, too small4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)86kJwind from the north-east, 6 knots15°C
Wed 11Nov33, too small5 ft7 smushy6 ft at break (est.)217kJwind from the south-west, 7 knots17°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovHigh 05:28 +0.8 mLow 11:38 −0.8 mHigh 17:55 +0.9 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 00:22 −0.9 mHigh 06:41 +0.8 mLow 12:52 −0.8 mHigh 19:08 +0.8 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 01:34 −0.9 mHigh 07:51 +0.8 mLow 14:01 −0.8 mHigh 20:16 +0.9 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Haast Beach

00 2323 West Coast Region
Near Haast Beach. Photo: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Haast Beach

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces NW (322°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (142°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 750 m out (1 in 76). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 13°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 18°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Haast, 4.5 km away (about 10 min by car).

Water about 14°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,790–US$3,400 each

about US$1,790–US$3,400 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to ZQN, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$878–US$1,820
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$134–US$228
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$342–US$563
Food7 days eating outabout US$301–US$563
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$134–US$221
Totalabout US$1,790–US$3,400

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Haast

Closest

Haast

about 10 min by car · 4 places to stay

about US$127/nightcountry average

See 4 places to stay in Haast · Booking.com

About Haast its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$127 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 32h

About 32h door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → ZQN, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL), then 2h 35m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.