WorldUnited States of America › Hawaii › Rec. Center - Pokai Bay

Rec. Center - Pokai Bay 74.1

#2006 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇺🇸 United States of America · Hawaii · near Wahiawa

Works almost every day, no off season, gentle enough to learn.

Works all yearWarm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner
Rec. Center - Pokai Bay, United States of America
Photo: nick hoke · CC BY 3.0 · source · photo taken 3.0 km from the spot
Surf score74.1 /100
Surfable days93% of the year
Clean days25% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell26% period 11 s+
Typical size0.9 m 2.8 ft median
Water25°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Rec. Center - Pokai Bay

The best time to surf Rec. Center - Pokai Bay is January, November, December. The season runs Dec to Jan. In January the water sits around 25°C, so pack a rash vest or 2 mm, and the typical wave is 1.2 m. The nearest airport is HNL (31 km) and the nearest town is Wahiawa (18 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan100%49%1.2 m25°Cvest
Feb98%31%1.1 m24°Cvest
Mar99%32%1.0 m24°Cvest
Apr95%25%0.9 m24°Cvest
May87%11%0.8 m25°Cboardies
Jun85%5%0.8 m26°Cboardies
Jul97%6%0.8 m26°Cboardies
Aug81%5%0.7 m27°Cboardies
Sep83%4%0.7 m26°Cboardies
Oct90%34%0.8 m26°Cboardies
Nov95%37%0.9 m26°Cboardies
Dec100%46%1.1 m25°Cboardies

What is under Rec. Center - Pokai Bay

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 73 m.

Depth 8 km out73 m
Depth 4 km out44 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 74.1

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.

Wave quality 34.7%
21.4
Best days 22.4%
8.0
Clean days 18.4%
11.1
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
5.4
Access 4.1%
4.0

The detail

Faces 235° with 39% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 95% of days. Mean peak period 10.1 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.6 m, with a peak period of 13 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 80%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 21.445, -158.190 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€2,000/ month
typically €1,760 – €2,240
Rent, one bedroom€1,050
Groceries€420
Eating out€240
Getting around€140
Phone + internet€150
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€3,900/ month
typically €3,430 – €4,370
Somewhere to stay€2,300
Eating out€820
Car, transfers, fuel€530
Data + extras€250
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for United States of America (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.

Our own project · Sumba, Indonesia
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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.

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