Smaills Beach
Otago, New Zealand
Today at a glance
Best: 7 pm to sunset, sunset 8:15 pm5.3
8 km/h5 mph wind, Fair
4.5
7 km/h4 mph wind, Fair
6.3
6 km/h4 mph wind, Good
6.8
4 km/h2 mph wind, Good
7.4
3 km/h2 mph wind, Great
7.7
2 km/h1 mph wind, Great
8.1
7 km/h4 mph wind, Great
8.3
11 km/h7 mph wind, Great
8.3
11 km/h7 mph wind, Great
7.8
8 km/h5 mph wind, Great
8.2
7 km/h4 mph wind, Great
7.9
5 km/h3 mph wind, Great
7.6
3 km/h2 mph wind, Great
7.1
2 km/h1 mph wind, Great
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Best time to swim
Best: 7 pm to sunset. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 21°C70°F
- Water
- 13°C55°F
- Wind
- 32 km/hmph E
- Gusts
- 138 km/hmph
- Waves
- 1.1 m3 ft
- UV
- 1 low
- Tide
- rising
- Rain
- 0%
- Sunset
- 8:15 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- High 1 am, 0.8 m3 ft
- Low 7 am, -0.6 m2 ft
- High 2 pm, 0.9 m3 ft
Tide is modeled, not measured. Rip current and water quality data are not available for this beach yet.
Beach info
Lifeguards, parking and facilities before you head down.
About Smaills Beach
Smaills Beach is a sand beach located in Otago, New Zealand. It has an area of 80,252 square meters and is 772 meters long. The nearest airport is Dunedin Airport, 28 kilometers away, and the closest town is Dunedin, 5,750 meters away.
Smaills Beach (often spelled "Smails Beach") is a beach on the Pacific Ocean 7.6 kilometres (4.7 mi) southeast of the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located within the Ocean Grove Reserve adjacent to Tomahawk Beach, at the point where Otago Peninsula joins the mainland of the South Island, Smaills Beach is a white sand beach for much of its length, but its western end is covered in volcanic boulders. Just offshore from the beach, dominating the wave patterns of the surf, is the rocky outcrop known as Bird Island. Smaills Beach is clothing-optional, renowned for its wildlife, and popular with surfers.
Source: Smaills Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Retrieved Oct 19, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
- Parking5 within 500 m0.3 miNearest 170 m550 ft. Fee not listed
- SurfaceSand
Getting there
- Nearest bus stop
- 940 m0.6 miOcean Grove Terminus
- Nearest town
- 5.8 km3.6 miDunedin (city)
- Nearest airport
- 28 km17 miDunedin Airport (DUD)
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- Tomahawk Beach1.3 km0.8 mi west away7.9 Great
- Saint Kilda Beach3.7 km2.3 mi west away7.9 Great
- Ocean Beach3.8 km2.3 mi west away7.9 Great
- Boulder Beach4.3 km2.7 mi east away6.9 Good
- Saint Clair Beach5.4 km3.4 mi west away8.1 Great
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Smaills Beach.
Beachfront rooms go first on warm weekends.
Loads the map from Stay22, our stays partner.
Hotel results come from our stays partner. We may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you, and it never changes the beach score.
The days ahead
Best score each day, with the stretch to aim for.
- Sat8.0 GreatBest 12 pm to 5 pmWind up to 10 km/h6 mph, rain 0%
- Sun6.9 GoodBest 1 pm to 4 pmWind up to 17 km/h10 mph, rain 30%
- Mon5.6 GoodBest 9 am to 11 amWind up to 27 km/h16 mph, rain 74%
- Tue4.2 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 35 km/h22 mph, rain 57%
- Wed4.5 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 28 km/h17 mph, rain 32%
- Thu4.0 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 23 km/h14 mph, rain 84%