Taapuna, French Polynesia

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Punaauia, 4 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: PPT (PPT), 5 km.

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About Taapuna

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

The spot faces W (263°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (83°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–13 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 700 m out (1 in 70). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 27°C in July, its coldest month (no wetsuit), and 29°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, February, March and November, with about 2 good days in 7; in June, about 0. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Punaauia, 4 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: PPT (PPT), 5 km. Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots and 7 dive sites.

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

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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 Taapuna.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Punaauia, 4 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: PPT (PPT), 5 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Taapuna · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Taapuna · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Taapuna 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 Taapuna, each day
Day	Score for experts	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	26, too small	4 ft12 ssoft	460kJ	wind from the north-north-east, 3 knots	28°C
Mon 19Oct	9, too small	3 ft10 ssoft	121kJ	wind from the north, 13 knots	26°C
Tue 20Oct	18, too small	6 ft8 smushy	378kJ	wind from the south, 12 knots	24°C
Wed 21Oct	27, poor	7 ft9 smushy	762kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots	24°C
Thu 22Oct	51, good	7 ft10 ssoft	1,071kJ	wind from the south-east, 10 knots	24°C
Fri 23Oct	36, fair	7 ft10 ssoft	816kJ	wind from the south-south-east, 11 knots	24°C
Sat 24Oct	54, good	7 ft11 ssoft	1,245kJ	wind from the south-south-east, 8 knots	24°C
Sun 25Oct	46, fair	7 ft10 ssoft	1,054kJ	wind from the south-south-east, 11 knots	24°C
Mon 26Oct	58, good	9 ft11 ssoft	1,735kJ	wind from the south-south-east, 4 knots	25°C
Tue 27Oct	59, good	11 ft12 ssoft	2,760kJ	wind from the west-south-west, 5 knots	25°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 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 24 of 80.
Wed 21 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 32 of 80.
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Taapuna
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 7 ft at 10 s, wind 10 kn (19 km/h).
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Taapuna
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 7 ft at 10 s, wind 11 kn (20 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Surf Taapuna
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 7 ft at 11 s, wind 8 kn (14 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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