Staying Home Sucks, home
Horses galloping back on the beach in front of Castlepoint lighthouse
Castlepoint, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Slippery

Surf spot · New Zealand

Is it worth the trip?

47Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Sun 8: 3 ft swell at 6 s, 4 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 42 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 ssoft
Energy
90kJ
Wind
NW 15 kn
Temp
18°C

Tue 3 · 23 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
20kJ
Wind
NW 15 kn
Temp
18°C

Wed 4 · 28 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 ssoft
Energy
99kJ
Wind
NW 8 kn
Temp
17°C

Thu 5 · 29 out of 100

Swell
3 ft10 smushy
Energy
167kJ
Wind
NE 8 kn
Temp
17°C

Fri 6 · 43 out of 100

Swell
4 ft5 smushy
Energy
62kJ
Wind
N 8 kn
Temp
18°C

Sat 7 · 57 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
56kJ
Wind
E 2 kn
Temp
16°C

Sun 8 · 67 out of 100

Swell
3 ft6 smushy
Energy
75kJ
Wind
WNW 12 kn
Temp
19°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 142, poor
  2. Mon 242, too small
  3. Tue 323, too small
  4. Wed 428, too small
  5. Thu 529, poor
  6. Fri 643, poor
  7. Sat 757, fair
  8. Sun 867, good
  9. Mon 922, too small
  10. Tue 1037, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–10 ftof swell
  • Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Slippery, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov42, poor6 ft9 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)464kJwind from the north-west, 17 knots, offshore16°C
Mon 2Nov42, too small3 ft9 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)90kJwind from the north-west, 15 knots, offshore18°C
Tue 3Nov23, too small2 ft5 smushy2 ft at break (est.)20kJwind from the north-west, 15 knots, offshore18°C
Wed 4Nov28, too small2 ft10 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)99kJwind from the north-west, 8 knots, offshore17°C
Thu 5Nov29, poor3 ft10 smushy3 ft at break (est.)167kJwind from the north-east, 8 knots17°C
Fri 6Nov43, poor4 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)62kJwind from the north, 8 knots18°C
Sat 7Nov57, fair3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)56kJwind from the east, 2 knots16°C
Sun 8Nov67, good3 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)75kJwind from the west-north-west, 12 knots, offshore19°C
Mon 9Nov22, too small2 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.)45kJwind from the north-east, 2 knots15°C
Tue 10Nov37, too small2 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)29kJwind from the north-west, 13 knots, offshore19°C
Wed 11Nov24, too small2 ft8 smushy2 ft at break (est.)28kJwind from the north-north-east, 5 knots14°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

  • Sun 1 NovLow 04:36 −0.8 mHigh 10:55 +0.8 mLow 17:17 −0.8 mHigh 23:26 +0.7 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 05:33 −0.8 mHigh 11:52 +0.8 mLow 18:13 −0.8 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 00:24 +0.7 mLow 06:31 −0.8 mHigh 12:49 +0.8 mLow 19:10 −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 and its town

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.

More surf near here

1 place

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Slippery

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

The spot faces E (110°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (290°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 750 m out (1 in 74). 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 19°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Castlepoint, 3.5 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

Water about 15°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$1,750–US$3,310 each

about US$1,750–US$3,310 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 PMR, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$837–US$1,740
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$1,750–US$3,310

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

Where to stay: Castlepoint

Closest

Castlepoint

6 min by car · 3 places to stay

about US$127/nightcountry average

See 3 places to stay in Castlepoint · Booking.com

About Castlepoint 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 30h 20m

About 30h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PMR, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL), then 1h 45m by road

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