Surfing Hawaii
Hawaii is where modern surfing began, and it remains the spiritual home of the sport. The North Shore of Oahu — a seven-mile stretch of coastline from Haleiwa to Sunset Beach — concentrates more world-class waves per mile than anywhere else on Earth. Pipeline, Backdoor, Sunset, Waimea Bay — these are the waves that define high-performance surfing.
But Hawaii is far more than the North Shore. Maui's Jaws (Pe'ahi) is one of the heaviest big waves on the planet. The Big Island's remote coastline hides quality breaks with no one out. Kauai's north shore offers powerful waves in spectacular scenery. And every island has mellow options for days when you want to cruise.
Hawaii's warm water (24-27°C), consistent swell from multiple directions, and established surf infrastructure make it the most accessible world-class surf destination on Earth — direct flights from the US mainland in five hours.
Best Months
November through February (North Shore winter), year-round for south shores
Highlights
- ·Pipeline — the most iconic wave in surfing
- ·Direct flights from the US mainland (5-6 hours)
- ·Warm water year-round (24-27°C)
Travel Tips
- ·Fly into Honolulu (HNL) for Oahu/North Shore, Kahului (OGG) for Maui
- ·Rent a car — essential on every island
- ·North Shore winter is serious — know your limits at Pipe and Sunset
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All Surf Spots in Hawaii
North Shore, Oahu(23)
Pipeline
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Pipeline is the proving ground of professional surfing—a shallow, left-breaking barrel that has defined generations of surfers. The wave breaks just 75 yards from the beach over a...
View Pipeline surf forecast
Sunset Beach
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Sunset Beach is one of surfing's most revered and challenging waves—a football-field-sized playing field of shifting peaks and deep-water power. West Peak is the classic heavy...
View Sunset Beach surf forecast
Waimea Bay
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Waimea Bay is the birthplace of big wave surfing—a thundering right-hander that only truly comes alive when swells exceed 15 feet. When it's on, the takeoff is a heart-stopping...
View Waimea Bay surf forecast
Backdoor
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Backdoor is the right-hand barrel at the Pipeline reef—sharing the same takeoff zone but breaking in the opposite direction. When NW to NNW swells arrive with shorter periods,...
View Backdoor surf forecast
Off The Wall
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Off The Wall sits just west of Pipeline and delivers powerful rights with workable walls and barrel sections. When N-NNE swells sweep sets down from Backdoor, OTW lights up with...
View Off The Wall surf forecast
Rocky Point
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Rocky Point is the North Shore's premier high-performance wave—shifty peaks over reef that offer both rippable faces and solid barrel sections. Strong currents keep the lineup...
View Rocky Point surf forecast
Haleiwa
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Haleiwa is the gateway to the North Shore and a Triple Crown venue that delivers powerful rights and hollow barrels. The Toilet Bowl inside section is brutally shallow, adding...
View Haleiwa surf forecast
Velzyland
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Velzyland is a draining right-hand ledge over shallow coral named after legendary shaper Dale Velzy. Phantom Reef offshore funnels swell directly into the lineup, creating hollow,...
View Velzyland surf forecast
Log Cabins
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Log Cabins catches more northerly swells than its neighbor Pipeline, with westerly swells refracting past toward Pipe. The uneven lava and sand bottom creates heavier barrels that...
View Log Cabins surf forecast
Gas Chambers
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Gas Chambers is a fast, hollow, detonating barrel that breaks over extremely shallow reef between Rocky Point and Pipeline. The name says it all—you're locked in a tube with very...
View Gas Chambers surf forecast
Rockpile
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Rockpile sits between Log Cabins and Off The Wall, offering a mighty left that rolls 150 yards from deep water. Also known as Gap in the Road, it becomes a legitimate big wave...
View Rockpile surf forecast
Leftovers
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Leftovers sits between Haleiwa and Waimea Bay, catching leftover swell that bends around the point. On the right day, it can deliver world-class waves with barely anyone out—one...
View Leftovers surf forecast
Laniakea
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Laniakea is a beautiful right point break 2.5 miles north of Haleiwa, also famous as Turtle Beach for the green sea turtles that bask on shore. The wave offers fun, long walls...
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Chun's Reef
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Chun's Reef is the mellow side of the North Shore—a fun reef break that offers longboard-friendly rights without the intensity of its bigger-name neighbors. Accessible and...
View Chun's Reef surf forecast
Backyards
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Backyards is a shifty wave between Sunset Beach and Velzyland that requires a fast takeoff to get barreled. Shallow coral can detonate without warning, and the break sits directly...
View Backyards surf forecast
Pupukea
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Pupukea is a sand and rock bottom break between the Pipeline area and Rocky Point. Fun and surfable at smaller sizes, it becomes demanding at head-high-plus with legitimate...
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Kammieland
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Kammieland is named after the old Kammie's Market nearby. It offers a fickle but consistent left over shallow reef with long, workable walls—and far less crowd pressure than the...
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Mokuleia
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Mokuleia is a two-mile north-facing beach break stretch west of Haleiwa with multiple peaks and relative solitude. The trade-off is that NE trade winds are onshore here, so it...
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Phantoms
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Phantoms is a big wave outer reef that lurks beyond Velzyland and Sunset Beach, only awakening when XL winter swells march in. It funnels swell toward the shoreline breaks and...
View Phantoms surf forecast
Outer Log Cabins
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Outer Log Cabins is the North Shore's extreme outer reef that refracts long-period WNW swell toward Pipeline. Breaking on only the biggest swells, it reforms into Pipe on the...
View Outer Log Cabins surf forecast
Himalayas
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Himalayas is a massive outer reef off Haleiwa that only breaks on historic, once-in-a-decade swells. Named for the Himalayan scale of the waves it produces, this is true frontier...
View Himalayas surf forecast
Backdoor Outer Reef
North Shore, Oahu, USA
The Backdoor Outer Reef encompasses Pipeline's 2nd and 3rd reef, breaking 80 yards outside the main zone at 4x+ overhead. Foamy lumps reform into Pipe on the inside, creating one...
View Backdoor Outer Reef surf forecast
Avalanche
North Shore, Oahu, USA
Avalanche is a deepwater outer reef near Haleiwa that handles massive swells when the nearshore breaks max out. It offers big wave left-handers in relatively deep water.
View Avalanche surf forecast
South Shore, Oahu(6)
Ala Moana Bowls
South Shore, Oahu, USA
Ala Moana Bowls is the Pipeline of Town—long, hollow, fast lefts over a shallow man-made reef created during 1950s harbor construction. When solid south swells arrive, it produces...
View Ala Moana Bowls surf forecast
Kaisers
South Shore, Oahu, USA
Kaisers is the premier South Shore performance wave—a bowly, hollow right that empties into a deep channel with a left going over shallow reef. The fierce pecking order among...
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Kewalos
South Shore, Oahu, USA
Kewalos is an A-frame peak that has served as the proving ground for some of Hawaii's greatest modern surfers, including Carissa Moore and Seth Moniz. The left walls up for...
View Kewalos surf forecast
Publics
South Shore, Oahu, USA
Publics offers one of the longest lefts in Honolulu, peeling over sharp live coral near Diamond Head. Softer and friendlier on higher tides, it becomes hollower and more dangerous...
View Publics surf forecast
Three's
South Shore, Oahu, USA
Three's is a fast and hollow right-hander in the Waikiki/Diamond Head area that catches more S-SE swell than other south shore breaks, making it one of the more consistent summer...
View Three's surf forecast
Diamond Head Cliffs
South Shore, Oahu, USA
Diamond Head Cliffs encompasses multiple breaks along the iconic crater—Lighthouse, Cliffs, Suicides, and Tongs. More easterly exposure than other south shore spots means it picks...
View Diamond Head Cliffs surf forecast
North Shore, Kauai(5)
Tunnels
North Shore, Kauai, USA
Tunnels is a spectacular hollow right-hander that breaks over shallow reef on Kauai's North Shore. The long paddle out is rewarded with deep barrel tubes in crystal-clear water...
View Tunnels surf forecast
Cannons
North Shore, Kauai, USA
Cannons is the equally hollow and shallow left on the other side of Ha'ena Bay from Tunnels. A shorter paddle than its neighbor, it delivers powerful barrels in a breathtaking...
View Cannons surf forecast
Hanalei Point
North Shore, Kauai, USA
Hanalei Point is a long right point that breaks 300+ yards over lava reef with powerful barrel sections and an inside bowl. Multiple peaks spread the crowd across the lineup. This...
View Hanalei Point surf forecast
Waikoko's
North Shore, Kauai, USA
Waikoko's sits across Hanalei Bay from Hanalei Point, offering a fickle left reef break that requires large N swell and W wind to fire. When conditions align, it's a beautiful,...
View Waikoko's surf forecast
Hideaways
North Shore, Kauai, USA
Hideaways is an exposed reef break in Princeville that produces hollow A-frames on NW swell. Limited to 10 parking spots and accessed by a steep trail, it rewards the effort with...
View Hideaways surf forecast
Kona Coast, Big Island(3)
Banyans
Kona Coast, Big Island, USA
Banyans is the Big Island's best wave—an A-frame reef break that catches both W/NW swells in winter and S swells in summer, making it one of Hawaii's most versatile spots. Long,...
View Banyans surf forecast
Pine Trees (Kohanaiki)
Kona Coast, Big Island, USA
Pine Trees (Kohanaiki) is the most consistent break on the Kona coast, with multiple peaks that work on a wide range of swell directions. The left is usually better. Shallow reef...
View Pine Trees (Kohanaiki) surf forecast
Lyman's
Kona Coast, Big Island, USA
Lyman's is a classic left point/reef break south of Magic Sands on the Kona coast. It works on multiple swell directions—NW in winter, SW in summer—making it one of the more...
View Lyman's surf forecast
North Shore, Maui(2)
Jaws
North Shore, Maui, USA
Jaws (Pe'ahi) is one of the biggest rideable waves on Earth and the birthplace of tow-in surfing. A deep water reef amplifies massive North Pacific swells, producing walls of...
View Jaws surf forecast
Hookipa
North Shore, Maui, USA
Hookipa is world-famous for windsurfing but also delivers excellent reef break surfing. Multiple peaks in the bay catch consistent winter swells, though strong currents and...
View Hookipa surf forecast
NW Coast, Maui(2)
Honolua Bay
NW Coast, Maui, USA
Honolua Bay is Maui's crown jewel—Hawaii's best point break offering 200-400 meter rides through multiple sections (Coconuts, The Cave, Keiki Bowl). Molokai island shadows pure NW...
View Honolua Bay surf forecast
Honokohau Bay
NW Coast, Maui, USA
Honokohau Bay sits just south of Honolua Bay and offers a less crowded alternative when Honolua is maxed out. Solid right reef break with barrel sections that shares the same...
View Honokohau Bay surf forecast
Waikiki, Oahu(2)
Canoes
Waikiki, Oahu, USA
Canoes is Hawaii's most iconic learner wave and the birthplace of modern surfing. Most days it's a gentle, rolling right, but when big south swells hit, the barrel section...
View Canoes surf forecast
Queen's
Waikiki, Oahu, USA
Queen's is named after Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Most days it's a mellow, forgiving wave, but when big south swells hit, the inside ramp...
View Queen's surf forecast
West Shore, Oahu(1)
South Coast, Maui(1)
South Coast, Kauai(1)
West Shore, Kauai(1)
Hilo, Big Island(1)
NW Tip, Oahu(1)
SE Coast, Oahu(1)
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