Back Beach 77.5
#1533 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇳🇿 New Zealand · Taranaki · near New Plymouth
Works almost every day, no off season.
Best time to surf Back Beach
The best time to surf Back Beach is January, February, March. It rarely works. In February the water sits around 20°C, so pack a 2 mm shorty, and the typical wave is 1.4 m. The nearest airport is HLZ (176 km) and the nearest town is New Plymouth (5 km).
| Month | Surfable | Clean | Size | Water | Suit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 98% | 33% | 1.5 m | 20°C | 2mm |
| Feb | 98% | 37% | 1.4 m | 20°C | 2mm |
| Mar | 99% | 37% | 1.5 m | 18°C | 3/2 |
| Apr | 97% | 17% | 1.8 m | 18°C | 3/2 |
| May | 93% | 25% | 1.9 m | 17°C | 3/2 |
| Jun | 92% | 30% | 1.8 m | 16°C | 3/2 |
| Jul | 94% | 25% | 2.1 m | 15°C | 4/3 |
| Aug | 95% | 17% | 2.1 m | 14°C | 4/3 |
| Sep | 95% | 22% | 2.1 m | 14°C | 4/3 |
| Oct | 99% | 17% | 1.8 m | 15°C | 4/3 |
| Nov | 99% | 30% | 1.7 m | 18°C | 3/2 |
| Dec | 99% | 12% | 1.6 m | 18°C | 3/2 |
Why 77.5
Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.
The detail
Faces 325° with 53% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 40% of days. Mean peak period 12.0 s. Days over 3 m: 11%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 3.1 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 20%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -39.068, 174.015 (OpenStreetMap).
What it costs to be here
Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for New Zealand (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.
Sumba has eight spots in this ranking, the best of them inside the world top 50. A cabin is €11,500. The land it sits on is separate, from €6,500 (€9,950 oceanfront), on an 80-year lease that extends at the end. Water, septic and electricity are another €6,500, and furniture is on top, so a finished cabin lands around €28,000 plus the land, payable in instalments.
Eco Beach City is run by the same people as SurfRanking, so treat this as our own advert, not a recommendation. It is an off-plan property in Indonesia: take your own legal and financial advice before paying anything.
Spots nearby
Filters by month, level and water, map, side by side comparison and a trip planner.