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Breakwater Harbour. Photo: Panamitsu, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Perfume point - The Reef

Surf spot · New Zealand

Is it worth the trip?

3Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 2 out of 100

Swell
1 ft3 smushy
Energy
2kJ
Wind
NE 8 kn
Temp
22°C

Wed 4 · 1 out of 100

Swell
1 ft2 smushy
Energy
1kJ
Wind
ENE 6 kn
Temp
21°C

Thu 5 · 3 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 smushy
Energy
13kJ
Wind
ENE 9 kn
Temp
22°C

Fri 6 · 4 out of 100

Swell
1 ft4 smushy
Energy
6kJ
Wind
N 7 kn
Temp
27°C

Sat 7 · 4 out of 100

Swell
1 ft4 smushy
Energy
4kJ
Wind
SW 8 kn
Temp
23°C

Sun 8 · 3 out of 100

Swell
1 ft8 smushy
Energy
5kJ
Wind
SE 4 kn
Temp
21°C

Mon 9 · 2 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft8 s
Energy
2kJ
Wind
ESE 3 kn
Temp
20°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 20, too small
  2. Tue 32, too small
  3. Wed 41, too small
  4. Thu 53, too small
  5. Fri 64, too small
  6. Sat 74, too small
  7. Sun 83, too small
  8. Mon 92, too small
  9. Tue 103, too small
  10. Wed 113, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Ntakes swell from the N
  • Offshore: Swind from the land
  • Beginner +who it suits
  • Works 5–20 ftof swell
  • Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

Perfume point - The Reef does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Perfume point - The Reef, each day
DayScorefor ExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov0, too smallunder 1 ft4 sunder 1 ft at break (est.)0kJwind from the north-west, 11 knots24°C
Tue 3Nov2, too small1 ft3 smushy1 ft at break (est.)2kJwind from the north-east, 8 knots22°C
Wed 4Nov1, too small1 ft2 smushy1 ft at break (est.)1kJwind from the east-north-east, 6 knots21°C
Thu 5Nov3, too small2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)13kJwind from the east-north-east, 9 knots22°C
Fri 6Nov4, too small1 ft4 smushy1 ft at break (est.)6kJwind from the north, 7 knots27°C
Sat 7Nov4, too small1 ft4 smushy1 ft at break (est.)4kJwind from the south-west, 8 knots, offshore23°C
Sun 8Nov3, too small1 ft8 smushy1 ft at break (est.)5kJwind from the south-east, 4 knots21°C
Mon 9Nov2, too smallunder 1 ft8 s1 ft at break (est.)2kJwind from the east-south-east, 3 knots20°C
Tue 10Nov3, too small2 ft4 smushy2 ft at break (est.)7kJwind from the north-north-east, 9 knots20°C
Wed 11Nov3, too small1 ft4 smushy1 ft at break (est.)4kJwind from the north, 9 knots24°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 NovLow 05:52 −0.8 mHigh 12:08 +0.8 mLow 18:29 −0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:38 +0.7 mLow 06:50 −0.8 mHigh 13:07 +0.8 mLow 19:27 −0.8 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 01:37 +0.7 mLow 07:49 −0.8 mHigh 14:05 +0.8 mLow 20:26 −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 beginners: 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 Perfume point - The Reef

View of Hawke Bay from Bluff Hill lookout December 2023
Photo: Jakob (TheLoyalOrder), CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Bluff Hill, Napier 4110, New Zealand - panoramio
Photo: новичёк, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Live webcam

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Naiper Beach

Naiper City Centre

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More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Perfume point - The Reef

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

The spot faces N (22°), so it takes swell from the N. The wind blows offshore from the S (202°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 700 m out (1 in 72). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 13°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 20°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Napier, 4.5 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 4 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. 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$1,620–US$3,100 each

about US$1,620–US$3,100 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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 NPE, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$824–US$1,720
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$20–US$33
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$1,620–US$3,100

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

Closest

Napier

about 10 min by car · 6 places to stay

about US$127/nightcountry average

See 6 places to stay in Napier · Booking.com

About Napier 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 28h 55m

About 28h 55m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → NPE, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL), then 25 min by road

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