Surf Forecasts:
Big Bay surf forecast from 28 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 29 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 13s period, SW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 29 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 13s period, SW swell with 1,367 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 29 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 6.5ft (2.0m), 13s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Big Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Big Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.0m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 8s. Another secondary swell of 1.1m and 7s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Big Bay in the next 16 days are 2.0m 13s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 6.5ft (2.0m) 13s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Big Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. We’ve got a solid run of surf on the cards for Big Bay, with a few standout sessions that are gonna have you grinning.
The overall pattern shows a consistent SW groundswell hanging around for the first week, with a pulse of bigger, more powerful WSW energy arriving in the second week. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing weird going on there.
First up, the best early call is Wednesday morning, July 29th at Big Bay. We’re looking at a clean 6ft SW swell with a long 13-second period, giving it proper energy. The wind is a light E cross-off, so the face will be clean. This is excellent surf, but that 6ft with a long period packs a punch – it’s one for the experienced crew.
After a few days of smaller, cleaner surf (Thursday morning, 5ft SW with ESE offshore wind is a nice one for intermediates), the real standout arrives on Monday morning, August 3rd. The swell bumps up to 5ft from the WSW with a 14-second period. With a light NE cross-off breeze, it’s gonna be clean and punchy. This is the pick of the first week.
Then we get a big jump. Wednesday morning, August 5th sees a solid 11ft WSW groundswell (period 13 seconds). The wind is a cross-on N breeze, which will chop it up a bit at this exposed beach. This is big, powerful stuff – only for experts, and honestly, the wind might make it a bit of a battle. Could be more of a kite session than a paddle session.
The real gem is hiding in the second week. Sunday August 9th is a dream. We’ve got a 8ft SSW swell with a 12-second period. The morning is dead glassy with zero wind, and the afternoon is clean with a light S cross-off. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers. That’s your best bet for the whole forecast.
Monday August 10th is also a cracker, with glassy conditions and a 6ft SW swell in the morning, building to 8ft SSW in the afternoon – both clean and punchy. The big stuff continues into Thursday August 13th with a 10ft SW swell and a perfect glassy morning, yielding the best score of the whole run. That’s a long-range call, but it looks promising.
Crowds are likely at Big Bay, especially on the prime days, so get out there early.
Rusty, signing off.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 21°C on Fri afternoon, min 13°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 23°C on Sat afternoon, min 12°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | Monday 3 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 16 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1367 | 1053 | 1083 | 976 | 796 | 600 | 545 | 416 | 355 | 250 | 589 | 494 | 479 | 411 | 435 | 319 | 934 | 983 | 878 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | cross-off | cross | cross-off | off | cross | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | glassy | glassy | cross | cross | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | glassy |
High Tide | 3:06AM1.38m | 3:33PM1.43m | 3:38AM1.41m | 4:03PM1.49m | 4:09AM1.43m | 4:33PM1.52m | 4:41AM1.42m | 5:03PM1.53m | 5:13AM1.39m | 5:34PM1.52m | 5:48AM1.34m | 6:08PM1.47m | |||||||
Low Tide | 9:09PM0.31m | 9:22AM0.17m | 9:40PM0.25m | 9:50AM0.13m | 10:11PM0.22m | 10:18AM0.12m | 10:42PM0.20m | 10:47AM0.13m | 11:13PM0.20m | 11:16AM0.16m | 11:47PM0.21m | 11:48AM0.21m | 00:24AM0.25m | ||||||
 |  | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 7:41 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — |
 | 6:02 | — | 6:04 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:06 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 19 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 15 |
Feels °C | 12 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 14 | WSW 13 | WSW 12 |
| kJ | 1367 | 1053 | 1083 | 976 | 796 | 600 | 545 | 416 | 355 | 250 | 589 | 494 | 479 | 411 | 435 | 319 | 934 | 983 | 878 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | S 5 | SSE 6 | W 19 | WSW 18 | WSW 16 | SE 10 | SE 11 | SE 12 | S 9 | S 9 | SW 14 | SW 12 | — | — |
| kJ | 75 | 31 | 18 | 7 | 13 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 60 | 215 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 53 | 154 | — | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 18 | WSW 18 | SE 5 | — | — | — | — | S 12 | WSW 16 | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 60 | 7 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 53 | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | N 4 | NW 4 | NW 3 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 134 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Big Bay 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 Big Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Big Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Big Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Big Bay 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 (Big Bay) 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 Big Bay 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.
Big Bay is 8 km (5 miles) from the very large city of Robben Island. If you plan a holiday in Cape Town, look for hotels and other accommodation in Robben Island. Robben Island has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as cheap car hire and transport links.
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