Dinner Plates, New Zealand

No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Owaka, is 52 km away. Nearest airport: IVC (IVC), 62 km.

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About Dinner Plates

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces S (172°), so it takes swell from the S. The wind blows offshore from the N (352°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 300 m out (1 in 32). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 11°C in July, its coldest month (4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves), and 14°C in January, its warmest (4/3 wetsuit and boots). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, February, March and April, with about 1 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Owaka, is 52 km away. Nearest airport: IVC (IVC), 62 km. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

Water about 11°C: 4/3 or 5/4, boots and gloves. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 31 h door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to IVC, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL).
See flights MDW → IVC · Skyscanner from about £785 returnAd
Getting there. 1 h 25 from the airport to Dinner Plates.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Owaka, is 52 km away. Nearest airport: IVC (IVC), 62 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Dinner Plates · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Dinner Plates · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Dinner Plates on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Dinner Plates, each day
Day	Score for experts	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	26, poor	8 ft10 ssoft	1,222kJ	wind from the west, 21 knots	13°C
Mon 19Oct	25, poor	6 ft8 ssoft	446kJ	wind from the west, 11 knots	12°C
Tue 20Oct	25, poor	7 ft9 ssoft	637kJ	wind from the west, 15 knots	14°C
Wed 21Oct	19, too small	4 ft9 scrumbling	273kJ	wind from the north-west, 15 knots, offshore	16°C
Thu 22Oct	15, too small	5 ft7 smushy	216kJ	wind from the west, 14 knots	14°C
Fri 23Oct	25, too small	5 ft9 scrumbling	401kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 11 knots	16°C
Sat 24Oct	17, too small	4 ft10 scrumbling	314kJ	wind from the west, 14 knots	18°C
Sun 25Oct	32, too small	4 ft11 scrumbling	388kJ	wind from the north-west, 19 knots, offshore	19°C
Mon 26Oct	5, too small	3 ft6 smushy	41kJ	wind from the east, 15 knots	10°C
Tue 27Oct	11, too small	5 ft7 smushy	177kJ	wind from the west, 16 knots	13°C
Wed 28Oct	12, too small	2 ft7 smushy	43kJ	wind from the north-west, 24 knots, offshore	10°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly MDW to IVC, changing at DFW and AKL, then 1h 25 by road. About 31h door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Surf Dinner Plates
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 7 ft at 9 s, wind 15 kn (28 km/h).
Wed 21 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 4 ft at best.
Thu 22 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 22 of 80.
Fri 23 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 32 of 80.
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Too small: 4 ft at best.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly MDW to IVC, changing at DFW and AKL, then 1h 25 by road. About 31h door to door

Rough cost

About £1,250–£2,465 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
What	How we worked it out	Each
Flights	return MDW to IVC, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£785–£1,635
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Hire car	6 days, shared	£100–£170
Food	7 days eating out	£230–£430
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£100–£165
Total		£1,250–£2,465

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

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