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Hanalei Bay Surf Forecast

Kauai, HI · Kauai's long winter point walls inside a postcard bay.

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Hanalei Bay Spot Guide

Best swell

N
window W–ENE (280°–60°)

Ideal size

2–15 ft
breaking-wave face height

Best wind

S
offshore · N is onshore

Verified against

Buoy 51208
live NOAA readings · our error

The wave

BreakLong right point inside a mountain-ringed bay
BottomReef
WavesWinter walls that peel for hundreds of yards
AbilityThe Bowl and outside sections at size are expert waves; smaller inside days are kinder.
Best tideMid
CrowdKauai's tight-knit north-shore community — visitors surf politely
HazardsWinter size, current at the river mouth, reef inside
AccessHanalei Bay's beach parks off Weke Road; paddle from the pier side

Local knowledge

Hanalei is as beautiful as surfing gets — a half-moon bay under waterfall ridges where winter NW swell wraps into long, powerful rights. Kauai's surfing pedigree (the Irons brothers grew up on this island) shows in the lineup; the bay demands both skill and deference in equal measure.

Nearby spots

FAQ

What swell direction works best at Hanalei Bay?

N swell hits Hanalei Bay straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from W (280°) through ENE (60°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.

What wind is best at Hanalei Bay?

S wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. N wind is straight onshore and chops it up; light wind under ~5 kn is fine from any direction.

When is the best time of year to surf Hanalei Bay?

Winter (October-March), when North Pacific storms send the legendary N/NW groundswell. Summer is small to flat on this shore.

What's the best tide at Hanalei Bay?

Mid. Tide predictions for the spot's NOAA station are in the forecast above.

Is Hanalei Bay good for beginners?

The Bowl and outside sections at size are expert waves; smaller inside days are kinder.

How warm is the water at Hanalei Bay?

Roughly 74°F at its late-winter coldest to about 81°F in late summer. In practice that means trunks or a rash guard in winter and trunks or a rash guard in summer. The forecast above shows the current water temperature.

How far out is this forecast reliable?

The wave model has real skill to about 10 days, and we cut the chart there instead of padding it with guesses. Days 1-3 are solid, 4-7 useful, 8-10 a trend heads-up - and we publish our measured error against NOAA buoys, updated continuously.

Forecast from TrueSwell's own physics-based wave model (exposure → refraction → breaking, every swell train separately), built on public NOAA and Open-Meteo data and scored daily against NDBC buoy observations. How the model works →