French Polynesia · Pacific Islands
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Teahupoo is surfing's most terrifying wave. A left-hand reef break on Tahiti that produces a barrel so thick and heavy it defies physics. The wave does not break in the conventional sense; the entire ocean volume folds over a near-vertical underwater cliff, creating a lip that plunges below sea level. The result is a cavernous, impossibly heavy tube that has maimed and nearly killed the world's best surfers. This is the absolute limit of what is humanly possible in the ocean.
South-westerly groundswells from April through October, generated in the Roaring Forties. The wave needs 4ft-plus to barrel and handles 15ft-plus on the most extreme days. North-easterly offshore winds hold the thick tube open. The wave breaks year-round but the biggest swells arrive in the Southern Hemisphere winter (June-August).
The take-off zone is over the reef pass where the horseshoe-shaped reef creates the depth transition. The peak is concentrated. You either air-drop into the barrel or you do not make the wave. There is no shoulder, no carving wall, no alternative. The deep channel adjacent to the reef provides safety and the paddle-out route.
Everything here can kill you. The lip weighs tonnes and breaks below sea level onto razor-sharp coral centimetres deep. Hold-downs pin surfers against the reef. The wave produces no exit on bigger days; you either make the barrel or you are in severe trouble. Multiple surfers have been critically injured here. Safety jet-skis are essential.
Access is by boat from the Teahupoo village dock (5-minute ride). The break sits in the channel off the reef pass. Boat hire is arranged through local operators. Accommodation in the village or nearby Papara. Tahiti is reached by international flights to Papeete.
Teahupoo is surfed by a small elite community. On moderate days (4-6ft), 10-20 experienced surfers paddle out. On bigger days, only a handful of the world's best attempt it, supported by jet-ski teams. The hierarchy is absolute. Do not paddle out unless you are genuinely prepared for the consequences.
Teahupoo requires years of preparation at lesser barrel venues before any consideration of paddling out. The wave is not comparable to anything else; no amount of experience at Pipeline or Cloudbreak fully prepares you for the unique mechanics here. If visiting to spectate, the boat channel provides extraordinary viewing of the wave from water level. The Tahitian community is warm and welcoming; respect their land and ocean.
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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 28 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 Teahupo'o. 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 Teahupo'o is the week of 30 November (score 3/5) with low crowds.
Next to nothing in the water. Check back tomorrow. Mid-period swell giving the waves decent shape and push. Heavy offshore making for difficult paddle-outs but textbook faces. Best conditions early morning before the sea breeze arrives. Not enough swell to get this spot firing properly.
Heads up: jellyfish: peak season, and rocks exposed at low tide.
Indicators derived from forecast data, not official warnings. Always check local lifeguard or official advice.
Crystal clear water: ~26m visibility
Daily scores over the last 12 months at Teahupo'o