
Surf Forecasts:
Buffalo Bay Wildside surf forecast from 22 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 23 Jul, 2PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 11s period, SW swell with onshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 24 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 16s period, SSW swell with 6,916 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 22 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 7ft (2.2m), 13s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Buffalo Bay Wildside this week:
The surf forecast for Buffalo Bay Wildside over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 22) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.2m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 0.9m and 11s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Buffalo Bay Wildside in the next 16 days are 4.0m 16s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 24) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 5s period and expected on Sunday (Jul 26) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Wed 22nd Jul) | 7ft (2.2m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 2PM (Thu 23rd Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Fri 24th Jul) | 13ft (4.0m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Buffalo Bay Wildside over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next couple of weeks for Buffalo Bay Wildside. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so let’s get into it.
Right off the bat, we’re looking at a pretty solid run of southwest groundswell, but the early part of the week is a bit of a write-off for clean surfing. The first thing on the menu is Wednesday morning, July 22nd, with a 7ft SW swell at 12 seconds, but the wind’s up from the WSW at 9 mph, putting a cross-on chop on the face. It’s gonna be a messy one. The water temps are sitting about average for the time of year, nothing wild there.
The standout window looks like the end of the week, specifically Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th. Friday morning is where it’s at. We’ve got a solid 12ft swell from the SSW, but here’s the thing – it’s a very long-period groundswell at 16 seconds. That’s a lot of energy – the combined energy is up at 6184 – and it’s going to be too big for most people. This is a spot that can handle it, but with that size, it’s strictly for the experienced crew. The wind is light and offshore from the ENE at just 3 mph, so the conditions will be clean. That’s the big one for the big boys.
Saturday the 25th morning is still a good shout for the strong intermediate and above. The swell drops to a still sizable 8ft from the SSW, period drops to 13 seconds, and the wind stays light offshore from the ESE at 6 mph. It’s clean, powerful, and the energy is still strong at 2028. This is your best bet for a quality session without the absolute max size.
After that, the swell slowly fades and the winds get a bit more tricky with some cross-on and onshore days. Sunday the 26th morning is clean with a 6ft SW swell and light north wind, but the energy is dropping to 1031. You’ll get some fun ones, but it’s not the standout.
There’s a big gap from the 28th to the 30th where the swell jumps back up over 8ft, often with onshore winds, making it a messy, expert-only zone. Then we get into the first week of August. The first few days of August are smaller, but the winds are clean. The morning of August 2nd is glassy with a 4ft SW swell – not much size, but it could be a fun, uncrowded session if you’re on a longboard or a fish.
Then, a final pulse shows up for August 6th. Thursday morning the 6th of August is glassy, with a 10ft SW groundswell at 14 seconds, and the energy is a massive 3389. Again, that’s too big for this break for most, but if you’re an expert and you’ve got the gear, that’s a session to keep an eye on.
Overall, the best bet for the average surfer is the Saturday the 25th morning. The real standout for the big-wave hellmen is Friday the 24th morning. The rest of the run is a mix of fading swell and onshore winds, or just too big and wild.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Fri afternoon, min 12°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 26°C on Sun afternoon, min 14°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | |||||||||||||||
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 12 | SW 12 | SSW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SSW 17 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SSE 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
1240 | 1200 | 519 | 1121 | 1938 | 2755 | 6132 | 4117 | 2727 | 1838 | 1756 | 1315 | 928 | 812 | 1302 | 1112 | 1712 | 865 | 2042 | 2697 | 2243 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | off | cross-off | glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | glassy |
High Tide | 9:14AM1.10m | 9:54PM1.22m | 10:58AM1.05m | 11:34PM1.19m | 12:41PM1.10m | 00:56AM1.24m | 1:43PM1.21m | 1:50AM1.33m | 2:24PM1.32m | 2:30AM1.44m | 2:59PM1.44m | 3:04AM1.53m | 3:30PM1.55m | 3:35AM1.61m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:07PM0.67m | 4:36AM0.69m | 4:43PM0.75m | 6:22AM0.67m | 6:36PM0.72m | 7:32AM0.58m | 7:43PM0.63m | 8:16AM0.47m | 8:26PM0.52m | 8:50AM0.36m | 9:01PM0.42m | 9:20AM0.26m | 9:32PM0.33m | ||||||||
7:28 | — | — | 7:26 | — | — | 7:26 | — | — | 7:26 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | 7:24 | — | — | |
— | 5:40 | — | — | 5:40 | — | — | 5:42 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:43 | — | — | 5:44 | — | — | 5:45 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | 3 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 16 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 17 | 23 | 26 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 19 |
Feels °C | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 20 | 24 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 12 | SW 12 | SSW 12 | SW 12 | ESE 12 | SW 12 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SSE 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 |
1240 | 1200 | 519 | 1121 | 125 | 1829 | 6132 | 4117 | 2727 | 1838 | 1756 | 1315 | 928 | 812 | 1302 | 1112 | 1712 | 839 | 2042 | 2697 | 2243 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | SW 12 | ESE 12 | S 21 | SSW 17 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 10 | ESE 4 | SSW 16 | SSW 14 | E 7 | SSW 15 | E 9 | SW 13 | — | — | — |
186 | 190 | 486 | 127 | 9 | 2755 | 52 | 49 | 30 | 56 | 52 | 18 | 263 | 394 | 24 | 439 | 26 | 865 | — | — | — | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | S 15 | ESE 12 | SE 8 | S 22 | ESE 12 | — | — | — | SE 11 | ESE 10 | — | ESE 5 | ESE 5 | — | E 8 | — | SSW 16 | — | — | — |
— | 110 | 196 | 17 | 9 | 91 | — | — | — | 29 | 60 | — | 14 | 11 | — | 22 | — | 575 | — | — | — | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WSW 3 | — | — | SW 11 | — | — | — | — | — | E 3 | E 5 | — | — | W 4 | — | — | E 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 |
— | 4 | — | — | 1938 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 27 | — | — | 6 | — | — | 6 | 1310 | 917 | 751 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 492 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Information about the Buffalo Bay Wildside Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Buffalo Bay Wildside provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Buffalo Bay Wildside can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Buffalo Bay Wildside 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 (Buffalo Bay Wildside) 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 Buffalo Bay Wildside 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.
Are you planning a holiday in Garden Route? If you are looking for accommodation near Buffalo Bay Wildside, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Garden Route, consider staying in Knysna which is 8 km (5 miles) away. Other places in and around Garden Route where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Plettenberg Bay which is 36 km (22 miles) away, George, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn.










