Micronesia has some of the best waves in the world. Expect warm, crystal clear water, with perfect powerful waves. In Pohnpei, waves break far from the beach, similar to Tahiti or Fiji, either on the barrier reef or near a reef pass. It is not possible to check the surf from shore, so the only way to get to the waves is by boat. Most of the swells that reach Pohnpei are generated by North Pacific winter storms (does not necessarily have the same swell window as Hawaii) and from typhoons in the Western Pacific. Pohnpei surf season goes from early September thru early May. Up to four feet, the waves on Pohnpei are user-friendly. Once the surf gets bigger, you enter another level of surfing. Late take-off’s, fast down-the-line rides, and hollow barrels are what you will find.

Don’t get scared by the pictures. The big Teahupoo style wave pictures you see on the website do hit Pohnpei only a few times a year. Most swells are perfect 2 to 6ft faces.

The most surfed area of Pohnpei is Palikir Pass (P-Pass), on the northwest side of the island.  This is a full barrel, down-the-line wave. It takes any swell coming from west thru east-northeast, with north swells being the best ones. P-Pass works better with no winds or with light trades. Once you take off, the waves wrap around the reef so that the trade winds will blow right on the face of the wave, making it really clean, even when there are some white caps on the outside. Like anywhere else, too much wind is never good, regardless of where it comes from. P-Pass can be surfed at any tide, but it does get very shallow on a full low tide. P-Pass works the best from 2 to 10 foot faces.

The second most surfed wave on the northwest side of Pohnpei is the Main Pass (Sokehs Pass), located right in front of the Pohnpei Surf Club. It breaks under the same conditions as P-Pass, but it is always bigger, and has a shallow inside section. If you like challenging yourself and surfing big waves, Main Pass is usually twice as big. It has a west and a north take-off spot, a long wall and an incredible inside barrel section. If it had to be compared to some other wave, it looks a lot like Sunset Beach in Hawaii on a 10 ft (Hawaiian!) day. Here, bigger is always better. On smaller days you have to surf far inside, where the reef is dry at any tide.

The east side of Pohnpei has some beautiful waves as well. More than anywhere else, here you will need all the knowledge of our surf guides to score some good waves. The east side has 3 different passes that work in totally different conditions from one another. There are lefts and rights from 2 to 10 ft.

During the month of May, we sometimes get surf from North Pacific storms. June is usually flat, and by late July the winds die out, shifting from absolutely no winds to variable. During the months of August and September, some breaks usually over exposed to onshore conditions come alive  due to the no winds or offshore conditions, east swells generated by trade winds east of Pohnpei, and southwest swells generated by the strong Monsoon southwest winds that blow from Western Micronesia and the Philippines. These waves hit the east to southwest sides of Pohnpei with less power and size. Local knowledge and a good surf guide are essential during this time of the year. If you are lucky enough to be here on one of these summer swells most likely you will be the only surfer around.

Pohnpei’s reefs are always shallow on the inside. Since our boats are always in the channel, there is no reef walking when you paddle in and out. Most surfers do not use booties, but they can be very helpful at times. Remember, the reef is always there. Surf smart and safe!

Pohnpei is like any other surf destination: it rains, goes flat, or gets windy and stormy. Then again, it gets perfect, and when the back-to-back swells start hitting, there is no better place to live the surfer's dream. Here, it does come true.