The Gap, New Zealand

No town nearby. No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Ōtaki, is 91 km away. Nearest airport: PMR (PMR), 83 km.

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About The Gap

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

The spot faces SE (123°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (303°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 20). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. 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, 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, Ōtaki, is 91 km away. Nearest airport: PMR (PMR), 83 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 20 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 The Gap.
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Accommodation.
No town nearby
No bookable town within 50 km: the nearest, Ōtaki, is 91 km away. Nearest airport: PMR (PMR), 83 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in The Gap · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in The Gap · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

The Gap on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

The Gap 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 The Gap, each day
Day	Scorefor Intermediate	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Mon 19Oct	0, too big	6 ft10 scrumbling	579kJ	wind from the north-north-west, 6 knots	21°C
Tue 20Oct	31, poor	5 ft10 scrumbling	402kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 5 knots	15°C
Wed 21Oct	50, good	4 ft9 scrumbling	278kJ	wind from the south-south-east, 3 knots	20°C
Thu 22Oct	65, good	4 ft9 shollow	219kJ	wind from the north-west, 19 knots, offshore	19°C
Fri 23Oct	49, good	4 ft8 smushy	156kJ	wind from the north-east, 5 knots	20°C
Sat 24Oct	57, good	4 ft10 shollow	328kJ	wind from the north-west, 17 knots, offshore	19°C
Sun 25Oct	54, good	3 ft11 shollow	225kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 19 knots, offshore	18°C
Mon 26Oct	23, too small	2 ft10 shollow	89kJ	wind from the north-west, 26 knots, offshore	18°C
Tue 27Oct	17, too small	2 ft5 smushy	16kJ	wind from the north-west, 21 knots, offshore	19°C
Wed 28Oct	13, too small	1 ft8 shollow	16kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 16 knots, offshore	17°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 Tue 20 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for intermediate surfers. Change dates

Tue 20 Oct
Travel out
Fly MDW to PMR, changing at DFW and AKL, then 1h 45 by road. About 30h 20 door to door
Wed 21 Oct
Surf The Gap
Best 19:00 to 22:00 local time: 4 ft at 9 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).
Thu 22 Oct
Surf The Gap
Best 13:00 to 16:00 local time: 4 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.
Fri 23 Oct
Surf The Gap
Best 19:00 to 22:00 local time: 4 ft at 8 s, wind 5 kn (10 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Surf The Gap
Best 19:00 to 22:00 local time: 4 ft at 10 s, offshore wind.
Sun 25 Oct
Surf The Gap
Best 19:00 to 22:00 local time: 3 ft at 11 s, offshore wind.
Mon 26 Oct
Travel home
Fly MDW to PMR, changing at DFW and AKL, then 1h 45 by road. About 30h 20 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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