Best surf spots in Coromandel

Coromandel's surf town: a 4km beach that runs every level and a famous harbour mouth left at the Bar that has been on every NZ surfer's bucket list since the 1960s. Three setups, three different sessions.

Sandbar peaks at the harbour mouth and a long open beach north of it, all under the volcanic dome of Mt Paku. The more critical of the two Tairua / Pauanui sides when a clean NE swell is running.

Don't let the holiday town reputation fool you: this 4km spit hides a river mouth left at one end, a sheltered point at the other, and a long run of sand peaks in between, all under the gaze of the Aldermen Islands on the horizon.

A long, sheltered north facing beach on the upper Coromandel, friendly for families when the swell is in and a beautiful flat walk when it isn't. Backed by a holiday village and a golf course on the spit.

A low-key, dune-backed beach break on the upper Coromandel, 25 minutes north of Whitianga: almost always empty, soft sandy peaks, and a DOC reserve with breeding dotterels at your back. Mercury Bay's quiet catcher of clean north swells.

Famous for the geothermal springs that bubble up through the sand at low tide and draw 700,000 visitors a year. The surf is a separate world entirely, with hollow peaks for those who know when to come.

Two beaches in one entry. Whangapoua is the sheltered, drive-to bay with peaks at either end, while New Chums (Wainuiototo) is the pristine 1km arc over the headland, reached only on foot through nīkau forest and giant pōhutukawa.