Surf Forecasts:
Big Bay surf forecast from 5 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 6 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 11s period, WSW swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 15s period, SW swell with 3,595 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 1.6m 6s period and expected on Thursday (Jul 09) 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 | 5AM (Mon 6th Jul) | 7ft (2.1m) 11s |
| 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
Alright, let’s talk it through in good old feet and miles.
Rusty here again. Big Bay’s looking at a solid run of surf, but the first day – Sunday the 5th – is a total flat calm washout. Small, weak, wrong wind. Don’t bother.
The show starts Monday the 6th. Monday morning is glassy clean, swell around 6-7 feet out of the WSW with a 11-second period. Combined energy is moderate to strong (1209). That’s a good swell, but it’s over 4 feet, so it’s for the experienced lot – not for learners. The glassy wind is a huge plus.
Tuesday the 7th is the real prize. Morning is glassy again, 6-foot swell from the SW at 12 seconds. Combined energy is strong (1358). Clean, organised, powerful. That’s the session to aim for.
Wednesday and Thursday keep the swell up, with Wednesday morning at 7 feet SW and clean cross-off wind, Thursday pushing to 10 feet – that’s big, expert-only territory, with very long period swell (around 14 seconds). At an exposed beach, that long period can make it a bit straight, but the power is immense.
Friday the 10th delivers offshore ESE wind in the morning, 8-foot SSW swell at 13 seconds. Strong, clean, beautiful. Combined energy is very strong (2354). Saturday the 11th stays clean and offshore with 6-foot swell.
The best of the lot: Tuesday morning the 7th. That’s the one I’d be marking. Glassy, solid 6-foot groundswell, 12-second period. Perfect.
After that, swell fades. Sunday the 12th is glassy but only 4-5 feet, still fun. By Monday the 13th it’s back to small. Then a gap of a few smaller days, before Thursday the 16th brings another massive pulse – 10-foot SW swell, but with a cross-on wind (N at 15 mph). Combined energy is wild (3963). That’s a big, choppy beast – more for kite-surfing than a clean paddle session.
The second week tails off into messy conditions, especially Friday the 17th with fresh N wind at 22 mph – a washout. A few small clean days around Sunday the 19th are there but nothing special.
Water temp is 55°F – that’s about 5° colder than usual for July, so you’ll want a thick suit.
Go get that Tuesday morning. It’s the highlight.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Very mild (max 18°C on Mon afternoon, min 14°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Very mild (max 17°C on Wed afternoon, min 11°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | 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 | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 11 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 215 | 232 | 1158 | 1204 | 724 | 1025 | 1048 | 1462 | 1874 | 1391 | 1594 | 3440 | 2883 | 2588 | 1756 | 2084 | 1256 | 1347 | 1018 | 866 | 629 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | cross | glassy | cross | glassy | glassy | cross | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | off | off | cross-off | 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 | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:19PM0.29m | 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 | ||||||||
 | |  | | |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | |
 | 7:50 | — | — | 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 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 |
Temp °C | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 |
Feels °C | 13 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 8 | WSW 9 | WSW 12 | WSW 11 | WSW 11 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 12 | SSW 11 | S 11 |
| kJ | 161 | 232 | 1158 | 1204 | 724 | 1025 | 1048 | 1462 | 1874 | 1391 | 1594 | 3440 | 2883 | 2588 | 1756 | 2084 | 1256 | 1347 | 1018 | 866 | 629 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 13 | SW 13 | WSW 18 | SE 12 | SW 12 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | SW 20 | SW 18 | SW 16 | — | — | — | — | W 14 | S 8 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 | W 11 |
| kJ | 215 | 196 | 31 | 5 | 580 | 357 | 289 | 146 | 188 | 781 | 854 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 253 | 40 | 60 | 59 | 58 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 10 | SW 19 | SE 12 | — | SW 11 | — | SW 23 | SW 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 12 | — | SW 20 | SW 18 | SW 18 |
| kJ | 92 | 14 | 6 | — | 58 | — | 21 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | — | 15 | 12 | 12 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 6 | S 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 255 | 142 | 254 | 419 | 335 | 251 | 344 | 226 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 2 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 129 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 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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