Surf Forecasts:
Bay of Plenty surf forecast from 15 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 22 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 14s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 22 Jul, 11AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 17s period, S swell with 1,328 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 15 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 11s period with E swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Bay of Plenty this week:
The surf forecast for Bay of Plenty over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 15) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.9m and 11s period with a secondary swell of 0.2m and 9s. Another secondary swell of 0.5m and 4s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Bay of Plenty in the next 16 days are 1.5m 17s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 16) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Wed 15th Jul) | 6ft (1.9m) 11s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 5ft (1.6m) 14s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 5ft (1.5m) 17s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Bay of Plenty over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down the Bay of Plenty surf for the next couple of weeks.
We start off a bit slow, but the first real chance to get wet comes Thursday morning, July 16. Bay of Plenty is a beach/jetty break, good for beginners. Water temp is about 72°, which is right on normal for this time of year.
Thursday morning is the pick of the early run. We’ve got a clean 5ft easterly swell with a 10-second period, and the wind is dead calm – glassy as can be. That’s going to be some real clean, fun surf with moderate energy. The crowd factor is “sometimes,” so expect a few people but nothing too hectic.
From Friday through Sunday, the quality drops. Swell fades and the wind turns cross-on or cross-shore, leaving the surface messy. Not worth paddling out.
We hit a dry patch until Wednesday morning, July 22. That’s the one to mark on the calendar. Swell from the south at 5ft with a very long period of 17 seconds – that’s proper groundswell. The combined energy is 1402, so it’s got some punch. Wind is glassy again, making it ideal for experienced surfers. Over 8ft is expert territory, but 5ft with that period and glassy conditions? That’s a gem. The long period might make it a bit straight on the beach, so pick your spot.
Thursday the 23rd brings a bigger pulse: 8ft from the south, 15-second period, and combined energy of 3245. That’s a solid swell, but it’s borderline for experts only, and the wind is cross-on, so it’ll be a bit lumpy. Worth a look if you’ve got the skills.
After that, the wind gets nasty again. Friday afternoon the 24th has 22 mph cross-shore winds, which is just blown out. Skip it.
The final week is quiet. A few small glassy mornings on the 26th and 28th, but nothing special. The last notable pulse is on Thursday, July 30, with a 7ft swell from the SSW and 13-second period, but the wind is cross-on and choppy, so it’s more of a kite session than a paddle session.
The best of the best is Thursday morning, July 16 for clean, beginner-friendly waves, and Wednesday morning, July 22 for the experienced crew looking for a clean, powerful groundswell.
Rusty out.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Sat morning, min 16°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Mon afternoon, min 17°C on Mon morning). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the S on Sun afternoon, calm by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wed 15 | Thursday 16 | Friday 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | |||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 13 | S 12 | S 11 | SSE 14 | S 10 | SSE 12 | SE 11 | SSW 13 | SSW 7 | S 13 | S 14 | S 17 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 770 | 736 | 520 | 386 | 279 | 279 | 234 | 190 | 196 | 219 | 407 | 338 | 233 | 304 | 235 | 182 | 492 | 355 | 163 | 1042 | 1328 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-off | glassy | on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | glassy |
High Tide | 4:43PM1.98m | 4:55AM1.93m | 5:23PM2.00m | 5:34AM1.89m | 6:01PM1.96m | 6:11AM1.82m | 6:38PM1.88m | 6:48AM1.71m | 7:14PM1.78m | 7:24AM1.59m | 7:52PM1.65m | 8:03AM1.46m | 8:36PM1.52m | 8:51AM1.33m | |||||||
Low Tide | 10:51PM0.26m | 11:06AM0.15m | 11:31PM0.27m | 11:44AM0.18m | 00:10AM0.32m | 12:21PM0.26m | 00:48AM0.41m | 12:56PM0.37m | 1:26AM0.52m | 1:31PM0.50m | 2:06AM0.65m | 2:09PM0.64m | 2:56AM0.77m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:47 | — | — | 6:47 |
 | 5:13 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | 5:16 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 23 |
Feels °C | 18 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | E 11 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 12 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | SE 11 | ENE 6 | S 7 | S 7 | S 14 | S 17 |
| kJ | 770 | 736 | 520 | 386 | 279 | 279 | 234 | 190 | 196 | 194 | 407 | 338 | 233 | 300 | 188 | 182 | 64 | 206 | 127 | 1042 | 1328 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 9 | SSW 4 | S 9 | S 8 | SSW 7 | SSW 13 | SSW 9 | S 13 | S 10 | S 13 | E 10 | E 10 | SSE 14 | SSE 12 | SSE 12 | SSW 12 | S 13 | S 12 | S 13 | SE 10 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 8 | 7 | 39 | 71 | 15 | 53 | 15 | 84 | 55 | 219 | 121 | 92 | 232 | 304 | 235 | 147 | 212 | 141 | 163 | 26 | 14 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 11 | S 10 | SSE 9 | S 11 | SSW 14 | S 10 | SSW 12 | — | S 15 | SSW 10 | NE 6 | SSE 14 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | S 9 | SSE 11 | SE 11 | SE 10 | E 9 | SE 10 |
| kJ | 5 | 17 | 17 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 14 | — | 69 | 74 | 9 | 161 | 96 | 69 | 47 | 45 | 154 | 94 | 54 | 14 | 16 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSW 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | NE 4 | NE 5 | — | — | S 5 | — | NNE 6 | NE 5 | SSW 13 | SSW 7 | — | NE 9 | NE 8 |
| kJ | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 23 | — | — | 35 | — | 4 | 51 | 492 | 355 | — | 28 | 44 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 155 | 665 | 0 | 5 | 276 | 1 | 130 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Bay of Plenty surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Bay of Plenty Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Bay of Plenty provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Bay of Plenty can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Bay of Plenty surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Bay of Plenty) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Bay of Plenty may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast? If you are looking for accommodation near Bay of Plenty, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, consider staying in Durban which is 6 km (4 miles) away. Other places in and around Durban/KwaZulu-Natal South Coast where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Glenwood which is 6 km (4 miles) away, Kwamashu, Umhlanga and Mount Edgecombe.
Nearest