New Zealand's most famous surf town. Raglan sits on the west coast of the Waikato, home to Manu Bay — one of the longest left-hand point breaks in the Southern Hemisphere. The town's surf culture is legendary, its community fiercely proud.
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Raglan surfers — long lefts, tight community, pure Kiwi surf soul.
Three legendary lefts in a row — the Raglan trifecta.
Raglan's most famous wave. A long left-hand point that on a good south or southwest swell delivers rides of 300+ metres — one of the best lefts in the Southern Hemisphere.
Join to find locals →A shorter, hollower left north of Manu Bay. More intense and less crowded — the local surfer's preferred wave on a solid swell.
Join to find locals →The entry to the Raglan point break system. A long, cruisy wave ideal for longboarders and surfers working up to Manu Bay's more demanding peaks.
Join to find locals →Raglan's black-sand beach break. More accessible for beginners and a different experience from the famous points.
Join to find locals →Raglan's reputation was sealed in 1966 when the surf documentary The Endless Summer featured Manu Bay. Bruce Brown's film took two Californian surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and what they found at Raglan — a long, perfect left-hand point in a small New Zealand town — became one of the most iconic sequences in surf film history. The footage was shot in winter, the surfers were in full wetsuits, and the wave was extraordinary. Raglan has been on every serious surf traveller's itinerary ever since.
Raglan — or Whaingaroa in Māori — sits in the rohe (territory) of the Tainui people, and the relationship between the local Māori community and the surf culture of the town is one of the most interesting dimensions of Raglan's identity. Māori surfers are a significant presence in the Raglan lineup and community, and the blending of surf culture with tikanga Māori — with the values of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of the ocean and coast — gives the town's surf identity a depth and specificity that sets it apart from surf towns that have no such cultural grounding.
Raglan draws surfers from Hamilton, Auckland, and the broader Waikato region — a two-hour drive from New Zealand's largest city. On a good swell forecast, the road to Raglan fills with vans, and Manu Bay's car park becomes a gathering of the North Island surf community. The town manages this influx with a combination of local pride and genuine hospitality. The cafés, the art galleries, the second-hand shops, and the community spaces of Raglan are genuinely welcoming to the surf visitors who sustain the local economy.
Raglan has been at the forefront of environmental activism in the New Zealand surf community. The town's surf culture has produced strong advocates for ocean health, and organizations like Sustainable Coastlines have roots in the Raglan community. SurfersMatch connects you to surfers who care about the health of the waves they ride — and in Raglan, that care is expressed through direct community action.
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