Closed beta · API · New Zealand

Tide API

Tide times and heights for New Zealand stations, harbours and coastal waters, returned as JSON.

Predictions come from LINZ tidal data at 321 stations, eight MetService regional models for selected harbours and coastal waters, and a global tide model for other locations.

The beta is full. General availability is planned for the second half of November 2026.

Register for launch Read the API docs
Example response

Who it's for

The Tide API is provided by MetService, New Zealand's national meteorological service.

It's for developers building apps, services and devices that show or use New Zealand tide times and heights, and for the organisations behind them and the digital agencies that build for them. Examples include fishing, boating, mooring and coastal apps, and tide displays.

Stations and model areas

Predictions are available for 321 LINZ tide stations by station ID, and by coordinate for points over water inside eight regional model areas: Tauranga, the Hauraki Gulf, the Inner Hauraki Gulf, Greater Cook Strait, Cook Strait, Raglan Harbour, Manukau Harbour and Dunedin. A global model covers locations elsewhere.

High and low tides, or a height series

The tide times endpoints return each high and low tide with its time and height. The timeseries endpoints return sea surface height at a step you choose, from one value every 15 minutes to one every 30 days. Both take a start and end time for the period you want.

Heights and times

Heights are returned as sea_surface_elevation in metres, relative to Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT, the default) or Mean Sea Level (MSL). Times are in UTC, in ISO 8601 format.

Where the predictions come from

  • Stations. Predictions for 321 tide stations are calculated from tidal data published by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the agency that charts New Zealand's waters.
  • Regional models. Eight tide models, built and run by MetService, cover selected New Zealand harbours and coastal waters. They give predictions for points over water inside each model's area.
  • Global model. Locations outside the stations and regional models use a global tide model.
  • Coverage map. The coverage map shows every station and model area.

These are tide predictions, and the API doesn't return observed sea levels. The Tide API isn't intended for navigation.

Moored yachts in a New Zealand harbour

Choosing a station or a model

  • A station. For a place at or near one of the 321 LINZ stations, such as a harbour entrance or a town's tide table, request that station by ID.
  • A regional model. For a point over water inside one of the eight model areas, such as a marina, mooring or spot inside a harbour, request that model with the point's coordinate.
  • The global model. For a coordinate anywhere else, in New Zealand or overseas, request the global model.

The coverage map shows every station and model area. The grid spacing below is approximate.

Raglan Harbour
About 45 m
Inner Hauraki Gulf
About 110 m
Cook Strait
About 220 m
Manukau Harbour
About 220 m
Tauranga
About 330 m
Dunedin
About 330 m
Hauraki Gulf
About 900 m
Greater Cook Strait
About 2.2 km
Global model
About 3.7 km

Caching

Responses can be cached for up to 31 days and shown to your own users. An app can keep its own copy of the coming weeks' tides for each location it shows and serve every user from that copy, so its call count depends on how many locations it shows and how often it refreshes them.

  • 321

    LINZ tide stations

  • 8

    Regional models

  • 15 min

    Shortest interval in a height series

  • LAT or MSL

    Datum

Built for developers

Several points can be requested in one call, by list, radius or bounding box. Each response states its units, errors use RFC 9457 fields, and the API key is sent as a bearer token. The OpenAPI spec and an llms.txt file are published for code generators and AI coding assistants.

Example response

Full API reference
GET /tide/v4/stations/linz6401a/tidetimes
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer <your-api-key>"   "https://api.marine.metservice.com/tide/v4/stations/linz6401a/tidetimes?datum=LAT&year=2026&time_range=2026-10-20T00:00:00Z/2026-10-21T00:00:00Z"
{
  "metadata": {
    "model_id": null,
    "station_id": "linz6401a",
    "datum": "LAT",
    "data_year": "2026",
    "units": {
      "sea_surface_elevation": "m",
      "latitude": "degrees",
      "longitude": "degrees"
    }
  },
  "locations": [
    {
      "coordinates": {
        "latitude": -36.78333333333333,
        "longitude": 174.98333333333332
      },
      "predictions": [
        {
          "time": "2026-10-20T02:10:00Z",
          "sea_surface_elevation": 2.3856119360582424,
          "tidal_stage": "high"
        },
        {
          "time": "2026-10-20T08:16:00Z",
          "sea_surface_elevation": 1.045153054406518,
          "tidal_stage": "low"
        },
        {
          "time": "2026-10-20T14:10:00Z",
          "sea_surface_elevation": 2.243541441359398,
          "tidal_stage": "high"
        },
        {
          "time": "2026-10-20T20:17:00Z",
          "sea_surface_elevation": 0.9909008447924326,
          "tidal_stage": "low"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

High and low tides at Matiatia Bay (station linz6401a) for 20 October 2026, from the 2026 LINZ dataset. Times are in UTC.

Specifications

Status
The Tide API is in a closed beta, and the beta is full. General availability is planned for the second half of November 2026.
Returns
High and low tide times and heights, or a sea surface height series
Sources
321 LINZ tide stations, 8 MetService regional models, 1 global tide model
Coverage
Stations in New Zealand. Regional models for selected New Zealand harbours and coastal waters. The global model covers other locations
Height
sea_surface_elevation, in metres
Datum
LAT (default) or MSL
Height series step
Time between values: 15 or 30 minutes, 1, 3, 6 or 12 hours, or 1, 7 or 30 days
Times
UTC, ISO 8601
Requests
By station ID, coordinate, radius, bounding box, or a list of points
Format
REST, JSON over HTTPS
Base URL
https://api.marine.metservice.com/tide/v4
Authentication
API key in the Authorization header: Bearer <your-api-key>
Errors
RFC 9457 fields: type, title, status, detail
Caching
Responses can be cached for up to 31 days and shown to your own users
Price
Free during the beta. We'll publish pricing before general availability.
Full specifications in the API docs

Limits and plans

  • Other marine data. The API returns tide heights and times only, with no tidal currents, waves, storm surge or weather. We plan to add other marine data to the API.
  • Observed sea levels. Measured sea levels aren't included. The API returns predictions only.
  • Stations outside New Zealand. All 321 stations are in New Zealand, and outside New Zealand predictions come from the global model. We plan to add stations outside New Zealand.
  • Navigation. The Tide API isn't intended for navigation.
Open sea off a rocky headland

Questions

Can I join the beta?

The beta is full. Register for launch and we'll email you when the Tide API is generally available.

When will it be generally available?

General availability is planned for the second half of November 2026.

What will it cost?

Free during the beta. We'll publish pricing before general availability.

We haven't set prices yet, and we're asking people who might use the API what they'd expect to pay. The pricing survey takes about 3 minutes. Take the pricing survey

Is this LINZ data?

Partly. Predictions at the 321 stations are calculated from tidal data published by LINZ. Model requests use one of the eight MetService regional models, or the global tide model elsewhere. The Tide API isn't intended for navigation.

What's the difference between stations and models?

Station requests return predictions at one of 321 LINZ tide stations. Model requests return predictions for a coordinate: a point over water inside one of eight regional model areas around New Zealand, or the global model elsewhere. Each response names the station or model the prediction came from.

Can I cache the responses?

Yes. Responses can be cached for up to 31 days and shown to your own users. The Caching section above explains what that means for the number of calls.

Does it include tidal currents?

No. The Tide API returns tide heights and high and low tide times only.

Does it cover Australia or other countries?

The stations are in New Zealand. The global model gives predictions for locations elsewhere.

I use an earlier version of the Tide API. What happens to it?

We're contacting existing customers directly about moving to version 4.

Can I build with an AI coding assistant?

Yes. An assistant can work from the OpenAPI spec or our llms.txt. Generated code should send the key as a bearer token and treat times as UTC.

Launch registration

The Tide API is in a closed beta, and the beta is full. General availability is planned for the second half of November 2026.

Register for launch

We'll email you when the Tide API is generally available. The form covers all our APIs, so choose Tide API.

To talk to our team about commercial use, contact us.

Help us set fair launch pricing. We'd like to know what people who might use the API would expect to pay, and the survey takes about 3 minutes.

Take the pricing survey

The Tide API is provided by MetService, New Zealand's national meteorological service.

Station predictions are based on Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand data which are licensed by Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.

The Tide API isn't intended for navigation.