Staying Home Sucks, home
Mount Maunganui Main Beach, 2013 (03)
Mount Maunganui. Photo: Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Mount Maunganui

Surf spot · New Zealand

Is it worth the trip?

4Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: too small (3 ft swell at 6 s), 3 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 2 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft12 s
Energy
2kJ
Wind
NNE 6 kn
Temp
17°C

Wed 4 · 4 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 s
Energy
28kJ
Wind
NE 8 kn
Temp
17°C

Thu 5 · 6 out of 100

Swell
3 ft6 s
Energy
53kJ
Wind
ENE 6 kn
Temp
18°C

Fri 6 · 4 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 s
Energy
23kJ
Wind
N 12 kn
Temp
18°C

Sat 7 · 3 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 s
Energy
37kJ
Wind
W 9 kn
Temp
19°C

Sun 8 · 3 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 s
Energy
16kJ
Wind
N 11 kn
Temp
17°C

Mon 9 · 4 out of 100

Swell
1 ft6 s
Energy
14kJ
Wind
NE 14 kn
Temp
19°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 22, too small
  2. Tue 32, too small
  3. Wed 44, too small
  4. Thu 56, too small
  5. Fri 64, too small
  6. Sat 73, too small
  7. Sun 83, too small
  8. Mon 94, too small
  9. Tue 109, too small
  10. Wed 118, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Beginner +who it suits
  • Works 5–20 ftof swell
  • Water 18 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

Mount Maunganui does not suit intermediates. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Mount Maunganui, each day
DayScorefor ExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov2, too small1 ft4 s6kJwind from the north, 12 knots17°C
Tue 3Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft12 s2kJwind from the north-north-east, 6 knots, offshore17°C
Wed 4Nov4, too small2 ft6 s28kJwind from the north-east, 8 knots, offshore17°C
Thu 5Nov6, too small3 ft6 s53kJwind from the east-north-east, 6 knots, offshore18°C
Fri 6Nov4, too small2 ft6 s23kJwind from the north, 12 knots18°C
Sat 7Nov3, too small3 ft5 s37kJwind from the west, 9 knots19°C
Sun 8Nov3, too small2 ft6 s16kJwind from the north, 11 knots17°C
Mon 9Nov4, too small1 ft6 s14kJwind from the north-east, 14 knots, offshore19°C
Tue 10Nov9, too small3 ft5 s28kJwind from the north, 8 knots18°C
Wed 11Nov8, too small3 ft5 s36kJwind from the west-north-west, 7 knots18°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 00:38 +0.8 mLow 06:52 −0.9 mHigh 13:15 +0.9 mLow 19:33 −0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 01:39 +0.7 mLow 07:52 −0.8 mHigh 14:15 +0.8 mLow 20:35 −0.8 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 02:44 +0.7 mLow 08:55 −0.8 mHigh 15:17 +0.8 mLow 21:38 −0.8 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 intermediates: 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 Mount Maunganui

OV docked at Mount Maunganui, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
Photo: Enmanuelgac, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Mount Maunganui Bay of Plenty - New Zealand
Photo: Umedha Hettigoda, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Maunganui beach 01
Near Mount Maunganui. Photo: Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Live webcam

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Live webcam

Port of Tauranga - Berth 1 and 2

Port of Tauranga - Berth 23 and 24, 2 km away

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More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Mount Maunganui

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

The spot faces SW (244°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (64°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea is about 15°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 22°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Mount Maunganui, 3.2 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 9 surf spots, 1 wind sports spot and 1 climbing area.

Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. 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$1,740–US$3,300 each

about US$1,740–US$3,300 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 AKL, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$831–US$1,720
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$1,740–US$3,300

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

Where to stay: 3 towns

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Mount Maunganui

about 10 min by car · 11 places to stay

about US$127/nightcountry average

See 11 places to stay in Mount Maunganui · Booking.com

About Mount Maunganui 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 27h 35m

About 27h 35m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → AKL, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), then 2h 50m by road

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