WorldNew Zealand › The Bombie

The Bombie 85.9

#378 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇳🇿 New Zealand · near Kaitaia

Very consistent, no off season, real size comes through.

Works all yearBig waveRemoteAdvanced
Surf score85.9 /100
Surfable days87% of the year
Clean days30% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell70% period 11 s+
Typical size2.6 m 8.5 ft median
Water19°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf The Bombie

The best time to surf The Bombie is January, March, October. The season runs Jan to Jan. In October the water sits around 17°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 2.5 m. The nearest airport is AKL (277 km) and the nearest town is Kaitaia (73 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan95%43%2.1 m21°C2mm
Feb95%14%2.1 m21°C2mm
Mar98%42%2.3 m21°C2mm
Apr87%25%2.8 m20°C2mm
May80%29%2.8 m19°C3/2
Jun79%22%3.0 m18°C3/2
Jul79%19%2.9 m17°C3/2
Aug75%27%3.0 m16°C3/2
Sep78%30%3.1 m16°C3/2
Oct90%45%2.5 m17°C3/2
Nov91%36%2.5 m19°C3/2
Dec96%26%2.2 m20°C2mm

Why 85.9

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%
21.3
Best days 22.4%
21.9
Clean days 18.4%
13.6
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
2.4
Access 4.1%
0.9

The detail

Faces 120° with 100% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 43% of days. Mean peak period 12.6 s. Days over 3 m: 35%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 4.3 m, with a peak period of 15 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 2%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates -35.322, 172.512 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,500/ month
typically €1,320 – €1,680
Rent, one bedroom€790
Groceries€314
Eating out€183
Getting around€106
Phone + internet€115
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,940/ month
typically €2,590 – €3,290
Somewhere to stay€1,730
Eating out€616
Car, transfers, fuel€400
Data + extras€187
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

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.

Our own project · Sumba, Indonesia
Own a cabin on a surf coast in Sumba

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

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