Staying Home Sucks, home
Red Beach in 2010
Red Beach. Photo: russellstreet, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Red Beach

Surf spot · New Zealand

Is it worth the trip?

5Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: too small (2 ft swell at 5 s), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 4 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
16kJ
Wind
NNE 11 kn
Temp
20°C

Wed 4 · 5 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
19kJ
Wind
NE 11 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 7 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 smushy
Energy
24kJ
Wind
NNE 7 kn
Temp
22°C

Fri 6 · 3 out of 100

Swell
1 ft7 smushy
Energy
10kJ
Wind
N 8 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 4 out of 100

Swell
2 ft4 smushy
Energy
9kJ
Wind
WNW 13 kn
Temp
21°C

Sun 8 · 3 out of 100

Swell
1 ft11 s
Energy
7kJ
Wind
NNW 3 kn
Temp
20°C

Mon 9 · 2 out of 100

Swell
2 ft6 smushy
Energy
24kJ
Wind
N 12 kn
Temp
19°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 25, too small
  2. Tue 34, too small
  3. Wed 45, too small
  4. Thu 57, too small
  5. Fri 63, too small
  6. Sat 74, too small
  7. Sun 83, too small
  8. Mon 92, too small
  9. Tue 108, too small
  10. Wed 116, 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 18 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Red Beach, each day
DayScorefor ExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov5, too small2 ft4 smushy9kJwind from the north-north-east, 10 knots20°C
Tue 3Nov4, too small2 ft5 smushy16kJwind from the north-north-east, 11 knots20°C
Wed 4Nov5, too small2 ft5 smushy19kJwind from the north-east, 11 knots20°C
Thu 5Nov7, too small2 ft5 smushy24kJwind from the north-north-east, 7 knots22°C
Fri 6Nov3, too small1 ft7 smushy10kJwind from the north, 8 knots22°C
Sat 7Nov4, too small2 ft4 smushy9kJwind from the west-north-west, 13 knots21°C
Sun 8Nov3, too small1 ft11 s7kJwind from the north-north-west, 3 knots20°C
Mon 9Nov2, too small2 ft6 smushy24kJwind from the north, 12 knots19°C
Tue 10Nov8, too small2 ft5 smushy17kJwind from the north-west, 5 knots21°C
Wed 11Nov6, too small2 ft5 smushy11kJwind from the west-north-west, 11 knots20°C
Thu 12Nov4, too small1 ft5 smushy3kJwind from the west, 10 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 01:02 +1.0 mLow 07:21 −1.1 mHigh 13:39 +1.1 mLow 20:00 −1.0 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 02:05 +0.9 mLow 08:22 −1.1 mHigh 14:41 +1.1 mLow 21:04 −1.0 m
  • Wed 4 NovHigh 03:11 +0.9 mLow 09:27 −1.0 mHigh 15:45 +1.0 mLow 22:07 −1.0 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 Red Beach

Red Beach - 4608576290
Photo: russellstreet, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Red Beach

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

The spot faces N (21°), so it takes swell from the N. The wind blows offshore from the S (201°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 4.8 km out (1 in 476). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 15°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 21°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Orewa, 2.6 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 2 wind sports spots.

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 2 November 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$832–US$1,720
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$134–US$228
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$342–US$564
Food7 days eating outabout US$302–US$564
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

Orewa

about 5 min by car · 9 places to stay

about US$127/nightcountry average

See 9 places to stay in Orewa · Booking.com

About Orewa 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 2 November 2026.

Getting there: about 25h 55m

About 25h 55m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → AKL, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), then 1h 10m by road

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

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