Beach forecast for Hokitika
Today, Thursday, October 29, 2026 · local time (GMT+13) · West Coast, New Zealand Today, Thu, Oct 29 · GMT+13- Swimming
- Dangerous · 11 ft
- Water
- 57 °F · very cold
- Max UV
- 7 · SPF 50
- Low tide
- 7:28 am and 7:50 pm
Today, Thursday, October 29, it's not a beach day in Hokitika (0/10). Today is the best day of the week.
Beach forecast for the next 7 days
| Day | Rating | Best hours | Swimming | Water | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | 0Not a beach day | Not today | Dangerous · 11 ft | 57 °F | 7 |
| Fri 30 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 17 ft | 56 °F | 7 |
| Sat 31 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 11 ft | 57 °F | 8 |
| Sun 1 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 5.3 ft | 57 °F | 3 |
| Mon 2 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 11 ft | 56 °F | 1 |
| Tue 3 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 7.1 ft | 56 °F | — |
| Wed 4 | 0Not a beach day | No good window | Dangerous · 5.4 ft | 57 °F | — |
Each rating comes from sun, temperature, rain, wind, waves, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide.
Today in detail
- Mostly sunny
- UV 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen
- Low tide at 7:28 am: more sand
- Low tide at 7:50 pm: more sand
- Feels like 45 °F: chilly for the beach
- Rain (0.16 in)
Dangerous surf during beach hours. Stay out if the red flag is up, and never swim where there is no lifeguard.
Today, hour by hour
- Swimming Dangerous · 11 ft
11 ft waves every 9 s: dangerous for swimming. Stay out if the red flag is up. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
- Water 57 °F
Very cold: ease in and keep swims short.
- Sun & sunscreen UV 7 · SPF 50
Max UV 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen, reapplied every 2 hours.
- Wind 22 mph
Fresh onshore wind (22 mph): blowing sand.
- Tide & sand 7:50 pm
Low tide at 7:28 am and 7:50 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide at 1:15 am and 1:38 pm.
We don't have data on jellyfish, sargassum or beach closures: ask the lifeguard or check with the local beach authority.
Today, hour by hour
| Time | Rating | Sky | Feels like | Wind | Waves | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7:00 am | 0 | Light rain | 45 °F | 15 mph | 9.8 ft | 0 |
| 8:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 44 °F | 15 mph | 10.0 ft | 0 |
| 9:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 44 °F | 14 mph | 10 ft | 1 |
| 10:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 44 °F | 14 mph | 10 ft | 3 |
| 11:00 am | 0 | Light drizzle | 44 °F | 16 mph | 10 ft | 5 |
| 12:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 45 °F | 19 mph | 10 ft | 6 |
| 1:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 45 °F | 21 mph | 11 ft | 7 |
| 2:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 44 °F | 22 mph | 11 ft | 6 |
| 3:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 43 °F | 21 mph | 11 ft | 5 |
| 4:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 42 °F | 21 mph | 11 ft | 3 |
| 5:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 41 °F | 20 mph | 11 ft | 2 |
| 6:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 40 °F | 18 mph | 11 ft | 1 |
| 7:00 pm | 0 | Light drizzle | 40 °F | 17 mph | 11 ft | 0 |
Beach hours only: from one hour after sunrise to half an hour before sunset.
Beaches near Hokitika
Map: OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles · © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Hokitika Beach 2.0 mi · NE
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Parking
Named beaches within 6.2 mi, nearest first. Amenities from OpenStreetMap: some may be missing or out of date. View on OpenStreetMap · Add or fix on OpenStreetMap
Beaches and amenities: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Webcams near Hokitika
Webcams provided by windy.com — add a webcam
How we rate a beach day
We rate every beach hour from 0 to 10 with simple, fixed rules:
- Adds: sunshine (up to 3 points, fewer with more clouds), warmth (up to 4, from the feels-like temperature; ideal between 81 °F and 91 °F), a calm sea (1), water at 70 °F or warmer (1; from 64 °F, half) and low or mid tide (1: more sand). Anything without data is left out and the rest is scaled to 10.
- Takes away: cold (feels-like below 64 °F, 1 to 4 points), rain (half a point if likely, up to 6 if it rains; thunderstorms, 8), wind from force 4, about 12 mph (1 to 6 points; half a point more if offshore, which blows inflatables out to sea, or onshore, which churns the water), waves (1 to swim with care, 4 if dangerous, 1 more for high rip current risk), very high UV (half a point; extreme, 1), water below 59 °F (1) and spring high tides (1: little sand left).
- Swimming: calm, use care (waves from 2.6 ft, or long swell) or dangerous (from 6.6 ft, or 4.9 ft with a long period), based on how much of the wave reaches this shore given the way it faces. In the U.S., today's and tomorrow's rip current risk comes from the National Weather Service surf zone forecast when it issues one; otherwise we estimate it from the waves.
- Best windows: runs of 2 to 5 hours rated 4 or more and close to the best hour, at least one hour apart.
- Day rating: the average of the best window; a 2-hour window keeps 85% of it and a 3-hour window 95%.
Today, in the best window: sun 0 of 3, warmth 0 of 4, calm sea 0 of 1, water 0 of 1 and tide 1 of 1; minus cold 4, rain 3, wind 1.5, waves 5 and cold water 1; short window: the rating keeps 85%.
It's a guide, not a guarantee: weather changes and every beach is different. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
Questions about the beach in Hokitika
Is it a beach day in Hokitika today?
Not a beach day: 0/10. No good beach time today.
What are the swimming conditions in Hokitika today?
11 ft waves every 9 s: dangerous for swimming. Stay out if the red flag is up. High rip current risk. If you're caught in a rip current, don't swim against it: swim parallel to shore and wave for help. Always follow the lifeguard's flags.
How warm is the water in Hokitika?
About 57 °F today: very cold. That's the sea surface temperature offshore; it can differ a little at the shoreline.
How much sun protection do I need in Hokitika today?
UV reaches 7 (high): SPF 50 sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat.
When is low tide in Hokitika?
Today low tide is at 7:28 am and 7:50 pm: that's when there's the most sand. High tide is at 1:15 am and 1:38 pm.
What about tomorrow? Will it be a beach day in Hokitika?
Tomorrow, Friday, October 30: not a beach day (0/10).
What beaches are near Hokitika?
Hokitika Beach (2.0 mi). See below for amenities and water quality.
Are there jellyfish or sargassum today?
We don't know: there's no open data on jellyfish, sargassum or closures for each beach. Ask the lifeguard, check the flags or the local beach authority's website.
How is the rating worked out?
From the hourly forecast: sun and clouds, feels-like temperature, rain, wind (and whether it blows onshore or offshore), waves and their period, UV, water temperature and, where there is one, the tide. Each factor adds or takes away a fixed number of points and the rating sums them up out of 10.
More about Hokitika today
Learn more
Our own calculation, using the Open-Meteo forecast (ECMWF, NOAA GFS, Météo-France, Copernicus Marine and CAMS, CC BY 4.0), the tide from Hokitika River Bar (LINZ) and the sun from astronomy-engine. This work is based on Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand data which are licensed by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Modified: secondary port of the LINZ Secondary Ports table 2026-27 (https://www.linz.govt.nz/products-services/tides-and-tidal-streams/tide-predictions), computed by TidePlanet with the LINZ method from the harmonic constants of Westport in the Slackwater database (https://github.com/openwatersio/slackwater-database).