Papeete Harbour Reef, French Polynesia

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Papeete, 2 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: PPT (PPT), 3 km.

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About Papeete Harbour Reef

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

The spot faces NW (333°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (153°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 3–12 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 9). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 27°C in July, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 29°C in January, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, February, March and November, with about 1 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Papeete, 2 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: PPT (PPT), 3 km. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot and 4 dive sites.

Water about 27°C: no wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 19 h 55 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to PPT, changing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
See flights MDW → PPT · Skyscanner from about £535 returnAd
Getting there. 25 min from the airport to Papeete Harbour Reef.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Papeete, 2 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: PPT (PPT), 3 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Papeete Harbour Reef · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Papeete Harbour Reef · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Papeete Harbour Reef on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

Papeete Harbour Reef does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Papeete Harbour Reef, each day
Day	Scorefor Intermediate	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	25, too small	3 ft11 shollow	169kJ	wind from the north-east, 6 knots	29°C
Mon 19Oct	11, too small	2 ft10 shollow	48kJ	wind from the north, 7 knots	27°C
Tue 20Oct	29, too small	2 ft8 shollow	80kJ	wind from the south-west, 8 knots	28°C
Wed 21Oct	55, good	4 ft10 shollow	263kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 7 knots	27°C
Thu 22Oct	53, good	4 ft11 shollow	402kJ	wind from the north, 1 knot	26°C
Fri 23Oct	58, good	4 ft11 shollow	355kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 1 knot	27°C
Sat 24Oct	58, good	4 ft11 shollow	325kJ	wind from the north, 3 knots	27°C
Sun 25Oct	47, fair	4 ft11 shollow	400kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 1 knot	27°C
Mon 26Oct	44, fair	5 ft11 shollow	575kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 4 knots	26°C
Tue 27Oct	0, too big	7 ft12 shollow	1,218kJ	wind from the north, 1 knot	27°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 intermediate surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly MDW to PPT, changing at LAX, then 25 min by road. About 19h 55 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 30 of 80.
Wed 21 Oct
Surf Papeete Harbour Reef
Best 11:00 to 14:00 local time: 4 ft at 10 s, wind 7 kn (12 km/h).
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Papeete Harbour Reef
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 4 ft at 11 s, wind 1 kn (1 km/h).
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Papeete Harbour Reef
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 4 ft at 11 s, wind 1 kn (2 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Surf Papeete Harbour Reef
Best 14:00 to 17:00 local time: 4 ft at 11 s, wind 3 kn (5 km/h).
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly MDW to PPT, changing at LAX, then 25 min by road. About 19h 55 door to door

Rough cost

About £805–£1,595 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 PPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at LAX, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£535–£1,110
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Taxi	airport and back, shared	£15–£25
Food	7 days eating out	£155–£290
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£65–£105
Total		£805–£1,595

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

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