Surf Forecasts:
Bonza Bay surf forecast from 20 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 24 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 10s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 24 Jul, 2PM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 17s period, S swell with 2,833 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 20 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 12s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Bonza Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Bonza Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 20) at 8PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.4m and 12s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 9s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Bonza Bay in the next 16 days are 2.2m 17s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 24) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.1m 8s period and expected on Monday (Jul 27) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 8PM (Mon 20th Jul) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 12s |
| Best Surf | 5AM (Fri 24th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Fri 24th Jul) | 7ft (2.2m) 17s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Bonza Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what’s cookin’.
Bonza Bay is our only spot on the menu for this stretch, and it’s a river mouth that’s a bit of a mixed bag. The water is sitting at a chilly 64°, which is a whopping 4° colder than usual for this time of year. That’s a serious bite, so you’ll want a thick wetsuit.
We’ve got a bit of a slow start. Swell is on the way, but the first few days are a write-off. The week gets going in earnest on Tuesday the 21st. That morning is the real standout. We’ve got a clean 4ft SE swell rolling in with glassy conditions. The wind is dead calm, just a slight air. It’s not the biggest, but it’ll be the cleanest you’ll get all week. The afternoon drops off, so get it while it’s good.
The pattern turns a bit ragged after that. Wednesday and Thursday offer some small waves, but the wind is messy and cross-shore. Friday the 24th sees a bigger push of energy, with a solid 7ft S swell on the afternoon, but it’s a bit onshore and messy. The energy is strong, but the quality is lacking.
The weekend is a bit of a washout with strong cross-shore winds and poor surf. We then hit a real lull for a few days, with tiny, weak waves and poor conditions through the end of July.
Then, we get a proper looker on Saturday, August 1st. The morning brings a clean 6ft S swell, with a very long period of 16 seconds. The wind is light and offshore from the west. The wave energy is very strong, and the conditions are marked as excellent for experienced surfers. This is a proper groundswell. For a river mouth, that long period can make the waves a bit walled-up, but the clean offshore wind is a huge plus. The afternoon is similar but with a bit more wind. It’s a promising one, but it’s a long way out, so keep an eye on it.
That’s the story from here. Stay warm and keep your eyes on that first Saturday of August.
Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Wed afternoon, min 14°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Thu night. Warm (max 20°C on Sat afternoon, min 15°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | |||||||||||||||
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 10 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | S 12 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 | SSW 18 | S 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SSW 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 753 | 624 | 515 | 403 | 392 | 815 | 454 | 280 | 250 | 309 | 191 | 1469 | 1358 | 2510 | 1074 | 898 | 752 | 735 | 424 | 263 | 294 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:04PM1.76m | 8:11AM1.54m | 8:54PM1.64m | 9:08AM1.43m | 10:02PM1.54m | 10:41AM1.36m | 11:31PM1.50m | 12:30PM1.39m | 00:52AM1.53m | 1:41PM1.48m | 1:48AM1.61m | 2:28PM1.59m | 2:30AM1.69m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 1:29PM0.67m | 2:11AM0.85m | 2:12PM0.80m | 3:06AM0.95m | 3:07PM0.92m | 4:27AM1.01m | 4:32PM1.01m | 6:10AM0.99m | 6:18PM1.01m | 7:23AM0.90m | 7:32PM0.94m | 8:10AM0.79m | 8:21PM0.85m | ||||||||
 | |  | | | | | |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 7:07 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:05 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — | 7:03 | — | — |
 | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:23 | — | — | 5:23 | — | — | 5:24 | — | — | 5:25 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 19 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 27 | 26 |
Feels °C | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 20 | 23 | 22 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | S 12 | S 12 | SE 11 | S 11 | S 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 634 | 624 | 515 | 403 | 331 | 815 | 454 | 280 | 250 | 309 | 139 | 63 | 750 | 2510 | 1074 | 898 | 752 | 735 | 424 | 263 | 192 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | SSW 10 | SSW 11 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SE 11 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | SE 12 | ENE 9 | SSW 18 | SE 11 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SE 11 | S 16 | SSW 13 |
| kJ | 339 | 172 | 183 | 203 | 392 | 325 | 282 | 244 | 172 | 114 | 112 | 15 | 1358 | 30 | 133 | 125 | 123 | 84 | 90 | 127 | 294 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 10 | S 12 | SSW 15 | SSW 11 | E 9 | E 9 | E 5 | E 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | S 22 | ESE 11 | — | S 19 | E 10 | E 10 | E 10 | E 9 | SE 11 | SE 11 |
| kJ | 31 | 76 | 45 | 65 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 44 | 65 | 73 | 40 | 9 | 47 | — | 270 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 57 | 29 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ENE 6 | — | SW 4 | SW 6 | SSW 8 | SSW 10 | — | — | — | — | — | NE 4 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | NE 8 |
| kJ | 753 | — | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | 12 | 88 | 191 | 1469 | — | — | — | — | — | 8 | 20 | 143 | 543 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 34 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 0 | 19 | 18 | 25 | 53 | 52 | 23 | 23 | 129 | 99 | 19 | 455 | 24 | 19 | 239 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Eastern Cape - Wild 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 Bonza 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 Bonza Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Bonza Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Bonza Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Bonza 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 (Bonza 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 Bonza 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.
Bonza Bay is 7 km (4 miles) from the city of East London. If you plan a holiday in Eastern Cape - Wild Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in East London. East London has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest