Tonga

Where to surf in Tonga

The Kingdom of Tonga counts 174 islands spread in a 950km line and divided into four separate groups. The main population centres start with Niuas in the north, working south through Vava'u, Ha'apai and finally Tongatapu, at the southern end of the archipelago. We only map in detail the waves on the NW corner of Tongatapu. Road access and an easy 100m paddle to the reef makes this short Ha’atafu stretch popular. This leaves literally hundreds of potential spots to be found on the other islands, but here little exploring can be done without a boat.

Tongatapu

Starting in the Tongatapu Group at Eua Island in the far south there is a rare wave that breaks down the cliff side at Ufilei, plus a couple of high tide lefts and a right south of the harbour on moderate SW swells.

Heading north the waves on the northwest tip of Tongatapu Island are described in detail, while the rest of the island is surrounded by cliffy shores.

Ha'apai

High volcanic and low limestone islands characterise the Ha'apai, where the fringing, barrier and lagoon reefs catch the swell out of the Tonga Trench and there is enough variation in the reef architecture for good waves to appear.

Vava'u

Same goes for Vava'u, where the west-facing reefs are always offshore, but reliant on more SW swell, making them fickle. To surf the dredging peak at Ovaka takes a 1.5km paddle from private land and a sturdy, fast boat is essential to travel between the dozen known spots peeling off the circular reefs of uninhabited islands that dot the southern Vava'u seascape. The eastern reef gets way more swell and acts as a back-up for small NE or windswell days, but the SE trades usually frag it to hell. These winds and the exposed nature of the southern Vava'u islands make it hard for yachts to find safe anchorage. Tonga's summer (Dec-Mar) offers better hope as winds slacken and N swells arrive.

Niuas

The Niuas Group is closer to Samoa and outposts like Niuatoputapu, Tafahi and Niuafo'ou are volcanic and lack reef passes, so surf potential is minimal.