Tarangua Bay, New Zealand

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Westport, 13 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: WSZ (WSZ), 10 km.

Watch this spot We email you when Tarangua Bay is worth the trip.

About Tarangua Bay

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

The spot faces NW (301°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (121°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 43). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 13°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, February, March and April, with about 1 good days in 7; in September and October, about 0. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Westport, 13 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: WSZ (WSZ), 10 km.

Water about 14°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Save this trip A link to come back to, or to send to the group.

Book the trip

From Chicago: about 29 h 55 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. MDW to CHC, changing at SFO.
See flights MDW → CHC · Skyscanner from about £765 returnAd
Getting there. 4 h from the airport to Tarangua Bay.
Car hire · Discover CarsAd
Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Westport, 13 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: WSZ (WSZ), 10 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Tarangua Bay · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Tarangua Bay · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Tarangua Bay on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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.

Forecast

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Tarangua Bay, each day
Day	Score for intermediates	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	32, poor	4 ft6 smushy	84kJ	wind from the south-west, 13 knots	14°C
Mon 19Oct	28, poor	4 ft11 scrumbling	320kJ	wind from the south-west, 20 knots	13°C
Tue 20Oct	30, poor	6 ft8 smushy	358kJ	wind from the north-east, 1 knot	14°C
Wed 21Oct	35, poor	4 ft10 scrumbling	344kJ	wind from the south-west, 15 knots	14°C
Thu 22Oct	32, poor	4 ft9 ssoft	250kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 16 knots	14°C
Fri 23Oct	29, poor	4 ft7 smushy	163kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 9 knots	15°C
Sat 24Oct	0, too big	6 ft11 ssoft	904kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots	14°C
Sun 25Oct	14, poor	5 ft13 scrumbling	865kJ	wind from the north, 3 knots	15°C
Mon 26Oct	18, poor	5 ft11 smushy	505kJ	wind from the north, 13 knots	16°C
Tue 27Oct	0, too big	11 ft8 smushy	1,174kJ	wind from the west-south-west, 22 knots	15°C
Wed 28Oct	0, too big	6 ft7 smushy	351kJ	wind from the north, 13 knots	14°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 CHC, changing at SFO, then 4h by road. About 29h 55 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Surf Tarangua Bay
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 6 ft at 8 s, wind 1 kn (1 km/h).
Wed 21 Oct
Surf Tarangua Bay
Best 13:00 to 16:00 local time: 4 ft at 10 s, wind 15 kn (28 km/h).
Thu 22 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 33 of 80.
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Tarangua Bay
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 4 ft at 7 s, wind 9 kn (16 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 0 of 80.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly MDW to CHC, changing at SFO, then 4h by road. About 29h 55 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,230–£2,415 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 CHC, estimated from distance and season, changing at SFO, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£765–£1,585
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		£1,230–£2,415

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

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

In the waterAd

Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

Links marked Ad may pay us a small commission if you book. You pay the same price, and it never changes a score.