Surf Forecasts:
Big Bay surf forecast from 5 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 6 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 12s period, WSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 15s period, SW swell with 3,755 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 5 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 9s period with WSW 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 Sunday (Jul 05) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.2m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 12s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Big Bay in the next 16 days are 3.0m 15s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.7m 6s period and expected on Friday (Jul 10) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Sun 5th Jul) | 4ft (1.2m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Mon 6th Jul) | 6ft (1.9m) 12s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Wed 8th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Big Bay over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Righto, let’s check out Big Bay over the next couple weeks.
First up – that water’s *freezing* right now. 56° with a 4° chill below normal for this time of year. You’ll want the thickest rubber you’ve got.
Sunday July 5 is flat and average – a weak 4ft WSW swell at 9 seconds, light onshore breeze, weak energy (442). Don’t bother.
But Monday morning July 6 lights up. Swell hits 7ft from the WSW at 11 seconds, combined energy jumps to 1226, and the wind is glassy out of the ENE at 6 mph. That’s clean, punchy fun. A little big for beginners, but intermediates and up will be stoked. The break faces SW and the swell direction matches – sweet. Crowds are *often* so expect company, but worth it.
Tuesday morning July 7 – another beauty: 6ft SW groundswell at 12 seconds, glassy calm (0 mph NW wind). Energy at 1368. Clean and lined up, though the long period at a beach break can make waves a bit straight – pick your peak.
Wednesday morning July 8 is also clean: 7ft SW at 13 seconds, glassy light SSW breeze. Energy now 2205 – strong.
From Thursday July 9 through Friday July 10, swell pumps up to 10ft from the SSW with cross-offshore winds (SSE at 12 mph). Expert territory – 10ft, 14-second periods, energy over 3000. Ocean’s angry. Sit out if you’re not confident.
There’s a lull Sunday July 12 through Tuesday July 14 – tiny 2ft to 4ft, inconsistent, cross-on winds. Not worth it.
Wednesday July 15 is trash: rain, onshore wind at 19 mph, lumpy 6ft – poor.
Thursday July 16 morning has glassy conditions with 4ft WSW at 11 seconds, energy 741 – small but clean.
Friday July 17 stays clean with cross-off winds and 5ft SSW at 12 seconds – rideable.
Now – Saturday July 18 is the standout for experts: Saturday morning 8ft WSW at *15 seconds* – very long period – energy 3344. Saturday afternoon: 12ft WSW at 14 seconds, energy 4857 – massive. Winds SSE at 6–9 mph, cross-off and clean. That’s a big, powerful, expert-only day. Long-period swell at a beach break can wall up, so choose your spot.
Sunday July 19 morning holds clean with 8ft WSW at 12 seconds, offshore ENE breeze at 3 mph.
Monday July 20 sees swell drop to 6ft WSW at 14 seconds, clean cross-off NE wind – solid end to the run.
Best bets: Monday July 6 morning for glassy 7ft conditions. For experts, Saturday July 18 is the monster – 12ft and clean. Circle that date.
– Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Mon afternoon, min 15°C on Sun night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Fri afternoon, min 10°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sun 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | |||||||||||||||
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) | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 232 | 1010 | 1183 | 645 | 1075 | 1065 | 1558 | 1942 | 1365 | 1545 | 3525 | 3083 | 2763 | 2759 | 2682 | 1674 | 1687 | 1347 | 1229 | 657 | 407 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | glassy | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy | cross | glassy | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | glassy | glassy |
High Tide | 6:44PM1.37m | 6:59AM1.20m | 7:27PM1.34m | 7:53AM1.14m | 8:20PM1.31m | 9:01AM1.10m | 9:26PM1.29m | 10:21AM1.10m | 10:42PM1.29m | 11:40AM1.15m | 11:57PM1.34m | 12:49PM1.25m | 1:03AM1.41m | 1:48PM1.36m | |||||||
Low Tide | 00:58AM0.37m | 12:59PM0.35m | 1:48AM0.38m | 1:49PM0.41m | 2:50AM0.40m | 2:52PM0.47m | 4:03AM0.39m | 4:12PM0.49m | 5:22AM0.34m | 5:37PM0.45m | 6:34AM0.26m | 6:51PM0.37m | 7:34AM0.17m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 | — | — | 7:50 |
 | 5:49 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:51 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | 5:52 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 14 |
Feels °C | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 14 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | S 12 | SSW 11 | SSW 11 |
| kJ | 232 | 1010 | 1183 | 645 | 1075 | 1065 | 1558 | 1942 | 1365 | 1545 | 3525 | 3083 | 2763 | 2759 | 2682 | 1674 | 1687 | 1347 | 1229 | 657 | 407 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 18 | SW 16 | SW 12 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | SW 20 | SW 17 | SW 16 | — | — | — | — | W 14 | S 8 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 |
| kJ | 196 | 50 | 43 | 580 | 357 | 282 | 114 | 188 | 772 | 1014 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 213 | 40 | 63 | 59 | 59 | 56 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 19 | S 8 | — | SW 11 | — | SW 23 | SW 22 | — | W 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 12 | — | — | SW 18 | SW 18 | SW 16 |
| kJ | 14 | 1 | — | 58 | — | 21 | 73 | — | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | — | 12 | 12 | 40 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | — | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 90 | 125 | — | 334 | 348 | 364 | 374 | 151 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 29 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 118 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 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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