Is it worth the trip?
35Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 8 s
Mon 2 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 763kJ
- Wind
- WNW 10 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Tue 3 · 60 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 ssoft
- Energy
- 186kJ
- Wind
- ENE 8 kn
- Temp
- 13°C
Wed 4 · 45 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 103kJ
- Wind
- ENE 6 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Thu 5 · 33 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 172kJ
- Wind
- ENE 14 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Fri 6 · 28 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 127kJ
- Wind
- W 5 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Sat 7 · 31 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 186kJ
- Wind
- W 8 kn
- Temp
- 13°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 1,063kJ
- Wind
- ENE 5 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 20, too big
- Tue 360, good
- Wed 445, fair
- Thu 533, poor
- Fri 628, poor
- Sat 731, poor
- Sun 80, too big
- Mon 964, good
- Tue 1051, fair
- Wed 1151, fair
The spot in six facts
- Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
- Offshore: SEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–10 ftof swell
- Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
- Best Mar, Jun2 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
Riviera's does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 0, too big | 8 ft9 smushy9 ft at break (est.) | 763kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 10 knots | 14°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 60, good | 4 ft8 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 186kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 8 knots | 13°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 45, fair | 4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 103kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 6 knots | 14°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 33, poor | 3 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 172kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 14 knots | 14°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 28, poor | 3 ft8 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 127kJ | wind from the west, 5 knots | 14°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 31, poor | 4 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 186kJ | wind from the west, 8 knots | 13°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft10 ssoft8 ft at break (est.) | 1,063kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 5 knots | 14°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 64, good | 4 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 113kJ | offshorewind from the east, 5 knots, offshore | 14°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 51, fair | 4 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 95kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 8 knots | 14°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 51, fair | 3 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 111kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 7 knots | 13°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 05:31 +0.8 mLow 11:42 −0.7 mHigh 17:57 +0.8 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 00:26 −0.9 mHigh 06:45 +0.7 mLow 12:55 −0.7 mHigh 19:10 +0.8 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 01:36 −0.9 mHigh 07:54 +0.8 mLow 14:04 −0.8 mHigh 20:18 +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.
Best time to go
best Mar, Jun
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Riviera's on Google Maps · Directions
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.
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More surf near here
1 place
- Haast Beach 36.7 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Riviera's
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NW (309°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (129°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 45). 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 18°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually March and June, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Haast.
Water about 14°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$1,790–US$3,400 each
about US$1,790–US$3,400 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to ZQN, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$878–US$1,820 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$134–US$228 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$342–US$563 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$301–US$563 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$134–US$221 |
| Total | about US$1,790–US$3,400 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Haast
67 min by car · 4 places to stay
about US$127/nightcountry average
About Haast its beds, food and every spot near it
Nearest beds: Haast, 38 km (about 1h 10m by car)
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 31h 45m
About 31h 45m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → ZQN, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL), then 2h 20m by road
Flights MDW → ZQN on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.