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Piha is Auckland's most famous surf beach, a powerful black sand break on New Zealand's rugged west coast dominated by the iconic Lion Rock standing in the centre of the bay. The volcanic iron sand creates steep banks that produce punchy, quality A-frames when Tasman Sea groundswells push in. The beach is divided into North Piha and South Piha by Lion Rock, each offering different characteristics. The wild, untamed coastline and the bush-clad Waitakere Ranges behind the beach give sessions a distinctly New Zealand character.
South-westerly to westerly groundswells from the Tasman Sea arrive year-round, with the most consistent and powerful conditions from April through September. The wave works on 3-8ft of west to south-west swell. Easterly offshore winds provide clean conditions, most reliable in the early mornings. Summer can bring extended flat spells.
North Piha tends to produce hollower, more powerful peaks near the rocks. South Piha offers a wider beach with more spread-out peaks. Lion Rock creates a landmark for positioning. The sandbars shift with each storm but tend to form in predictable zones influenced by the rock formations. Look for the darker channels indicating rips; the peaks form alongside these.
Piha has some of New Zealand's most dangerous rip currents. The powerful lateral rips sweep inexperienced swimmers and surfers into trouble regularly. Volunteer lifeguards patrol during summer. The black sand creates steep banks that produce powerful shorebreak. The rocks around Lion Rock are hazardous. The water is cold (14-18C).
Car parks at both North and South Piha. The drive from Auckland takes 45 minutes through the Waitakere Ranges. The beach is immediately accessible from the car parks. Lifeguard patrol operates during summer. Basic facilities including toilets are available. No surf rental at the beach; hire in Auckland.
Piha is Auckland's go-to beach and attracts crowds on summer weekends. Surfers share the water with swimmers and bodyboarders. The surf crowd alone is moderate (15-30 surfers). Weekday mornings are quiet. The local crew is experienced and friendly.
Respect the rips. Piha has claimed lives. If caught in a rip, float and signal rather than fighting. A 4/3mm wetsuit is standard; add boots in winter. The best banks often form at North Piha near the rocks. The black sand heats dramatically in summer sun; wear jandals (flip-flops) to the waterline. The Piha Cafe provides excellent post-surf sustenance.
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Based on historical weekly averages
Combining historical conditions with school holiday crowd pressure to find the sweet spot.
How busy each week is based on school holiday overlap from feeder markets.
The timing score combines two signals: historical conditions quality (how good the skiing or surfing typically is in a given week, based on 5 years of weather data) and crowd pressure (how many of this destination's feeder markets have school holidays that week).
Crowd pressure is weighted by each feeder country's share of visitors. If 40% of a resort's visitors come from France and France is on holiday, that contributes 0.40 to the crowd pressure score. Crowds can reduce the timing score by up to 35%, ensuring conditions still matter most.
Scores: 5 = great conditions with low crowds (the sweet spot). 4 = great conditions with moderate crowds, or good conditions with low crowds. 3 = average. 2 = below average conditions or very crowded. 1 = poor conditions or peak holiday chaos.
Last 29 days of logged conditions.
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Create Profile →Current conditions refresh every 3 hours when the cron runs. Hourly data updates every 30 minutes. The 7-day forecast, luck factor, and packing notes are all pre-computed at the same time.
We compare the 7-day forecast to the last 5 years of marine data for the same week at Piha. The delta tells you whether conditions are shaping up better, worse, or about the same as a typical mid-June.
We score each day of the 7-day forecast using the same algorithm as the leaderboard, and highlight the highest scorer.
Open-Meteo's Marine API (swell height, period, water temperature) and Weather API (wind and conditions).
Honestly, no. Every break has tide windows, swell directions and reef contours that a global model cannot see. Treat the score as a starting point, then check a local cam.
The best week for surf at Piha is the week of 30 November (score 3/5) with low crowds.
Decent swell running. Plenty to work with. Reasonable period putting some grunt behind each wave. Light cross-shore texture but very manageable. Conditions improving through the afternoon.
Heads up: rip risk elevated, and rocks exposed at low tide.
Indicators derived from forecast data, not official warnings. Always check local lifeguard or official advice.
Good water clarity: ~10m visibility
Daily scores over the last 12 months at Piha