Cabarete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. I’ve looked at the whole 16-day window for Cabarete, and honestly, it’s a tough run. The swell is on the small side, the wind is almost always blowing cross-onshore, and the wave quality is just not there for a proper paddle session. We’re talking about a reef break that’s consistently exposed to the swell, but the conditions are working against it.

The water temperature is sitting at 84°, which is about 0.5° above the norm for this time of year, so it’s pretty average—warm and pleasant, but that’s where the good news ends.

From the 31st of July right through to the 15th of August, it’s a long stretch of poor surf. The wind is relentless from the east and east-northeast, blowing at 12 to 22 mph, keeping the surface lumpy and choppy. The swell is small, mostly between 2 ft and 5 ft, coming from the east, with a short period of 5 to 8 seconds. That means weak, disorganized waves that don’t have much push. The combined energy of all swells is mostly in the double digits, hitting the low hundreds at times, but it’s never enough to clean up. For example, on the 31st of July afternoon, the energy is 223, but it’s a mess. On the 12th of August, the energy jumps to 361, but the wind is still cross-onshore at 19-22 mph, so it’s just a lumpy, frustrating session.

There are no standouts here. Every single day is a “poor surf conditions” call. The wind is never offshore or glassy, the swell direction is wrong for the optimum (NE), and the period is too short to build any real shape. The surf is just too small and too wind-affected. If you’re a kite surfer, this setup might look interesting, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a blank run. That’s not unusual for this area when the trade winds lock in like this.

The whole 16-day window is a gap. Nothing to recommend. But don’t lose hope—forecasts can change, and it never stays poor forever.

Rusty.

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