Bells Beach - Bowl Surf Break

Lat Long: 38.37° S 144.28° E

Bells Beach - Bowl Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 3 am 07 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's Bells Beach - Bowl sea temperature is
13.5° C
0.4° 

Bells Beach - Bowl surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


Bells Beach - Bowl surf forecast from 7 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Tuesday 11 Aug, 4AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 16s period, SW swell with offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Thursday 13 Aug, 1PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 16s period, WSW swell with 10,006 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 7 Aug, 1PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 16s period with SW swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Bells Beach - Bowl this week:

The surf forecast for Bells Beach - Bowl over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 07) at 1PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at Bells Beach - Bowl in the next 16 days are 4.5m 16s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 13) at 1PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.1m 5s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 09) at 1PM.

Wave TypeTime (AEST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 1PM (Fri 7th Aug)3.5ft (1.0m) 16s
Best Surf 4AM (Tue 11th Aug)5ft (1.6m) 16s
Most Powerful 1PM (Thu 13th Aug)15ft (4.5m) 16s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for Bells Beach - Bowl over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

G’day, it’s Rusty.

Right off the bat, this stretch is all about Bells Beach – Bowl. We’ve got a solid window of surf coming up, but you’ve gotta pick your moments. The first real standouts are on the 11th and 12th, with clean conditions and a good, long-period SW groundswell pushing in. The energy is moderate to strong, (1213 and 822 in the morning). It’s not huge, but the quality is there. After that, things get properly serious.

The 13th is the big one. That’s when the swell jack up to 11.5ft with a strong energy reading (7687). This is expert territory. The wind is cross-off, so it will be grinding, but it’s way over the 8ft mark, making it only for the crew with plenty of experience. The following afternoon (14th) settles back to a more manageable 6.9ft, still solid with solid energy (2802). This is probably the pick of the second half of the week.

There’s a bit of a lull around the 15th with onshore winds, which makes things messy at this point break. The 17th and 18th see smaller, clean waves return, more for the longboard or groveler. The 20th afternoon brings another pulse of energy, but the wind is a bit iffy.

For the first break I’ll mention, the water temp is about average for this time of year, sitting at 56.3°F.

The Bells Beach – Bowl (Bells-Beach-Bowl) is consistent, but for this outlook, the true standout is Thursday the 13th and Friday the 14th. Expect a powerful, lined-up reef and point break with solid SW swell. If you’re not an expert, give it a miss on the 13th. The surf on the 11th and 12th is much more approachable for the advanced punters. Crowds are possible, so get in early.

Short Range Forecast

Moderate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Sun night. Very mild (max 16°C on Sat morning, min 9°C on Fri morning). Winds increasing (calm on Fri afternoon, strong winds from the NNE by Sun morning).

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Light rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 14°C on Tue morning, min 8°C on Wed afternoon). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the WSW on Mon morning, light winds from the WNW by Mon night).

Friday
7
Saturday
8
Sunday
9
Monday
10
Tuesday
11
Wednesday
12
Thursday
13
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
3
3
3
1
1
0
0
0
2
2
2
4
4
1
0
2
2
2
6
3
3
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.1
SW
16
1
SW
15
1
SW
18
1
SW
16
1
SW
16
0.8
SW
14
0.7
SW
14
0.6
SW
13
1
SW
21
1.3
SW
19
1.3
SW
17
3
WSW
13
1.2
SW
15
1.1
SW
14
0.9
SW
16
1.2
SW
17
1.6
SW
16
2.1
SW
12
3.5
SW
16
2.2
SW
16
1.7
SW
15
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
546
427
588
492
468
297
192
111
815
1135
1062
2947
623
529
358
822
1179
1276
5649
2404
1246
Wind (km/h)
10
WNW
5
W
10
N
15
N
20
N
30
NNE
35
NNE
35
NNE
15
N
35
WSW
30
WSW
20
WNW
20
NNW
30
NNW
30
N
30
NNW
35
W
35
WSW
25
W
25
WSW
15
WNW
Wind State
off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
off
cross-off
cross-off
off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
High Tide
4:48PM1.80m
6:04AM1.79m
5:24PM1.75m
7:02AM1.74m
6:09PM1.69m
8:12AM1.69m
7:06PM1.62m
9:32AM1.68m
8:25PM1.55m
10:50AM1.72m
9:59PM1.54m
11:54AM1.79m
11:28PM1.60m
Low Tide
11:02AM0.70m
11:24PM0.14m
11:46AM0.81m
00:11AM0.13m
12:38PM0.93m
1:07AM0.16m
1:45PM1.02m
2:14AM0.21m
3:11PM1.05m
3:33AM0.25m
4:42PM0.98m
4:51AM0.25m
5:55PM0.82m
clear
clear
part cloud
cloud
cloud
light rain
light rain
light rain
light rain
light rain
cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
rain showers
light rain
rain showers
light rain
part cloud
part cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:18
7:16
7:16
7:15
7:13
7:13
7:11
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:37
5:38
5:39
5:40
5:42
5:43
5:44
 mm
3
2
1
5
1
1
3
1
1
Temp °C
12
14
12
16
14
13
11
12
11
13
11
10
14
12
13
11
9
11
14
14
12
Feels °C
10
12
9
11
9
7
4
5
8
7
4
6
7
5
6
4
1
6
9
9
7
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for Bells Beach - Bowl:

join our community of surf reporters

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 Bells Beach - Bowl 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 Bells Beach - Bowl Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for Bells Beach - Bowl provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Bells Beach - Bowl can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Bells Beach - Bowl 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 (Bells Beach - Bowl) 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 Bells Beach - Bowl 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.

Bells Beach - Bowl is 26 km (16 miles) from the city of Geelong. If you plan a holiday in Torquay, look for hotels and other accommodation in Geelong. Geelong has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.

Nearest locationNearest