Slippery, New Zealand

No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Ōtaki, is 92 km away. Nearest airport: PMR (PMR), 81 km.

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About Slippery

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

The spot faces E (110°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (290°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 750 m out (1 in 74). 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 19°C in February, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, February, October and November, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Ōtaki, is 92 km away. Nearest airport: PMR (PMR), 81 km. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

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

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From Chicago: about 30 h 15 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to PMR, changing at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and Auckland International Airport (AKL).
See flights MDW → PMR · Skyscanner from about £745 returnAd
Getting there. 1 h 45 from the airport to Slippery.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Ōtaki, is 92 km away. Nearest airport: PMR (PMR), 81 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Slippery · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Slippery · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Slippery on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Slippery, each day
Day	Score for intermediates	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	0, too big	8 ft9 ssoft	882kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 13 knots	12°C
Mon 19Oct	0, too big	6 ft9 ssoft	632kJ	wind from the north-west, 5 knots	16°C
Tue 20Oct	8, poor	6 ft10 smushy	567kJ	wind from the south, 8 knots	13°C
Wed 21Oct	43, fair	5 ft9 ssoft	451kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 11 knots, offshore	17°C
Thu 22Oct	59, good	4 ft9 ssoft	221kJ	wind from the west, 8 knots, offshore	17°C
Fri 23Oct	42, fair	3 ft8 ssoft	141kJ	wind from the south, 4 knots	14°C
Sat 24Oct	44, fair	5 ft10 ssoft	384kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 23 knots, offshore	17°C
Sun 25Oct	50, good	3 ft11 ssoft	243kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 23 knots, offshore	17°C
Mon 26Oct	24, too small	2 ft10 ssoft	104kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 33 knots, offshore	17°C
Tue 27Oct	13, too small	2 ft6 smushy	17kJ	wind from the north-west, 20 knots, offshore	18°C
Wed 28Oct	61, good	4 ft8 ssoft	178kJ	wind from the west, 14 knots, offshore	15°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 PMR, changing at DFW and AKL, then 1h 45 by road. About 30h 15 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 34 of 80.
Wed 21 Oct
Surf Slippery
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 5 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Slippery
Best 16:00 to 19:00 local time: 4 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Slippery
Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 3 ft at 8 s, wind 4 kn (8 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Surf Slippery
Best 19:00 to 22:00 local time: 5 ft at 10 s, offshore wind.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly MDW to PMR, changing at DFW and AKL, then 1h 45 by road. About 30h 15 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,210–£2,375 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 PMR, estimated from distance and season, changing at DFW and AKL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£745–£1,545
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		£1,210–£2,375

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

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