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Waikiki (Queens) Surf Forecast

Oahu South Shore, HI · Gentle rolling South Shore walls - surfing's ancestral home.

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Waikiki (Queens) Spot Guide

Best swell

S
window SE–WSW (130°–250°)

Ideal size

1–6 ft
breaking-wave face height

Best wind

N
offshore · S is onshore

Verified against

—
our measured forecast error

The wave

BreakGentle reef rollers (Queens, Canoes and neighbors)
BottomFlat reef
WavesLong, slow, endlessly forgiving walls
AbilityYes — the most famous learning waves on earth, with beachboys teaching as they have for a century.
Best tideMid to high
CrowdEnormous and international; part of the experience
HazardsShallow reef in spots, rental-board traffic
AccessWalk from anywhere in Waikiki; board lockers and rentals on the beach

Local knowledge

Surfing's modern story starts here: Duke Kahanamoku and the beachboys carried the sport to the world from these exact reefs. Summer south swells give Queens its long, glassy walls, outrigger canoes still share the lineup, and Diamond Head watches it all — tourist cliché and sacred ground at once.

Nearby spots

FAQ

What swell direction works best at Waikiki (Queens)?

S swell hits Waikiki (Queens) straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from SE (130°) through WSW (250°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.

What wind is best at Waikiki (Queens)?

N wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. S 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 Waikiki (Queens)?

Summer (May-September), when Southern Hemisphere groundswell lights up the south shores. Winter is mostly flat here while the north shores go giant.

What's the best tide at Waikiki (Queens)?

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

Is Waikiki (Queens) good for beginners?

Yes — the most famous learning waves on earth, with beachboys teaching as they have for a century.

How warm is the water at Waikiki (Queens)?

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 →