Tunnel Beach
Dunedin City, Otago, New Zealand
Today at a glance
Best: 8 pm to sunset, sunset 8:15 pm5.4
8 km/h5 mph wind, Fair
4.5
7 km/h4 mph wind, Fair
6.4
6 km/h4 mph wind, Good
6.9
4 km/h2 mph wind, Good
7.4
3 km/h2 mph wind, Great
7.8
2 km/h1 mph wind, Great
8.2
7 km/h4 mph wind, Great
8.4
11 km/h7 mph wind, Great
8.5
11 km/h7 mph wind, Excellent
7.9
8 km/h5 mph wind, Great
8.3
7 km/h4 mph wind, Great
8.1
5 km/h3 mph wind, Great
7.7
3 km/h2 mph wind, Great
7.2
2 km/h1 mph wind, Great
This page puts what matters first for today's conditions.
Best time to swim
Best: 8 pm to sunset. Beach score for daylight hours, with wind in km/hmph underneath.
- Air
- 19°C66°F
- Water
- 13°C55°F
- Wind
- 21 km/hmph ENE
- Gusts
- 74 km/hmph
- Waves
- 0.9 m3 ft
- UV
- 0 low
- Tide
- rising
- Rain
- 0%
- Sunset
- 8:17 pm
Tide, next 24 hours
- High 1 am, 0.9 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 Tunnel Beach
Tunnel Beach is a beach in Otago, New Zealand, covering an area of 10,536 square meters. It is 280 meters long and located 6.1 kilometers from the city of Dunedin. The nearest airport is Dunedin Airport, situated 20 kilometers away.
Tunnel Beach is a locality 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) southwest of the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located just south of St Clair, Tunnel Beach has sea-carved sandstone cliffs, rock arches and caves. The beach's claim to fame is the man-made tunnel dug by local politician John Cargill, son of Captain William Cargill, who had commissioned for his family in the 1870s. Urban legend states that one or more of Cargill's daughters drowned while swimming at the beach, but there is no truth to this story.
Source: Tunnel Beach on Wikipedia (authors). Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; text may have been shortened. Retrieved Oct 19, 2026. Data sources
Facilities
We do not have facility details for this beach yet.
Getting there
- Nearest town
- 6.1 km3.8 miDunedin (city)
- Nearest airport
- 20 km12 miDunedin Airport (DUD)
Facilities from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Check posted signs; details change. Data sources
Nearby beaches
- Saint Clair Beach2.5 km1.5 mi east away8.1 Great
- Ocean Beach4.2 km2.6 mi east away7.9 Great
- Saint Kilda Beach4.3 km2.7 mi east away7.9 Great
- Tomahawk Beach6.6 km4.1 mi east away7.9 Great
- Smaills Beach7.9 km4.9 mi east away7.9 Great
Where to stay near the beach
Compare hotels and apartments near Tunnel 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.
- Sat8.1 GreatBest 12 pm to 5 pmWind up to 10 km/h6 mph, rain 0%
- Sun7.0 GreatBest 1 pm to 4 pmWind up to 17 km/h10 mph, rain 30%
- Mon5.7 GoodBest 9 am to 11 amWind up to 27 km/h16 mph, rain 74%
- Tue4.4 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 35 km/h22 mph, rain 57%
- Wed4.6 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 28 km/h17 mph, rain 32%
- Thu4.1 FairNo standout stretchWind up to 23 km/h14 mph, rain 84%