Staying Home Sucks, home
ISS006-E-38891 - View of the Society Islands
Mahina, the nearest town, 8 km away. Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Papenoo

Surf spot · French Polynesia

Is it worth the trip?

7Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Fri 6: too small (2 ft swell at 12 s), onshore wind, 14 kn (27 km/h), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 6 out of 100

Swell
1 ft10 shollow
Energy
26kJ
Wind
E 7 kn
Temp
26°C

Tue 3 · 4 out of 100

Swell
1 ft19 shollow
Energy
35kJ
Wind
SE 11 kn
Temp
26°C

Wed 4 · 4 out of 100

Swell
2 ft7 smushy
Energy
29kJ
Wind
SE 17 kn
Temp
25°C

Thu 5 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft14 shollow
Energy
102kJ
Wind
SE 16 kn
Temp
25°C

Fri 6 · 9 out of 100

Swell
2 ft12 shollow
Energy
109kJ
Wind
ESE 14 kn
Temp
25°C

Sat 7 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft11 shollow
Energy
79kJ
Wind
ESE 15 kn
Temp
26°C

Sun 8 · 5 out of 100

Swell
1 ft16 shollow
Energy
66kJ
Wind
ESE 15 kn
Temp
26°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 113, too small
  2. Mon 26, too small
  3. Tue 34, too small
  4. Wed 44, too small
  5. Thu 57, too small
  6. Fri 69, too small
  7. Sat 77, too small
  8. Sun 85, too small
  9. Mon 97, too small
  10. Tue 109, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Ntakes swell from the N
  • Offshore: Swind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 5–18 ftof swell
  • Water 28 °Cno wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Papenoo, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov13, too small3 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)81kJwind from the east, 9 knots25°C
Mon 2Nov6, too small1 ft10 shollow2 ft at break (est.)26kJwind from the east, 7 knots26°C
Tue 3Nov4, too small1 ft19 shollow2 ft at break (est.)35kJwind from the south-east, 11 knots26°C
Wed 4Nov4, too small2 ft7 smushy2 ft at break (est.)29kJwind from the south-east, 17 knots25°C
Thu 5Nov7, too small2 ft14 shollow3 ft at break (est.)102kJwind from the south-east, 16 knots25°C
Fri 6Nov9, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)109kJwind from the east-south-east, 14 knots25°C
Sat 7Nov7, too small2 ft11 shollow3 ft at break (est.)79kJwind from the east-south-east, 15 knots26°C
Sun 8Nov5, too small1 ft16 shollow2 ft at break (est.)66kJwind from the east-south-east, 15 knots26°C
Mon 9Nov7, too small2 ft14 shollow3 ft at break (est.)100kJwind from the east-south-east, 16 knots26°C
Tue 10Nov9, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)76kJwind from the east-south-east, 13 knots26°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 00:48 −0.0 mHigh 07:27 +0.1 mLow 15:00 −0.1 mHigh 21:08 +0.0 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 03:01 −0.0 mHigh 09:03 +0.1 mLow 15:44 −0.1 mHigh 21:43 +0.1 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 03:44 −0.1 mHigh 09:51 +0.1 mLow 16:18 −0.1 mHigh 22:12 +0.1 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 experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

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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

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Papenoo

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

The spot faces N (18°), so it takes swell from the N. The wind blows offshore from the S (198°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 5–18 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 400 m out (1 in 38). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 27°C in July, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Mahina, 7.5 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 5 surf spots.

Water about 28°C: no 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$1,370–US$2,590 each

about US$1,370–US$2,590 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 PPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$603–US$1,250
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$33–US$54
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$308–US$509
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$87–US$141
Totalabout US$1,370–US$2,590

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

Orofara

8 min by car · 1 place to stay

about US$114/nightcountry average

See 1 place to stay in Orofara · Booking.com

About Orofara its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$114 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 20h 05m

About 20h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PPT, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), then 35 min by road

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

Saved: this link opens the same trip

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The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.