
Surf Forecasts:
Cintsa West surf forecast from 7 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 13s period, SSW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 10 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 15s period, S swell with 3,406 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 7 Jul, 5AM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 10s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Cintsa West this week:
The surf forecast for Cintsa West over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Jul 07) at 5AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Cintsa West in the next 16 days are 3.0m 15s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 10) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 4s period and expected on Monday (Jul 13) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 5AM (Tue 7th Jul) | 2ft (0.6m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Thu 9th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Fri 10th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Cintsa West over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s brewing for the next couple of weeks at Cintsa West.
Right off the bat, it’s a slow start. The first few days are a bit of a write-off with messy, cross-shore wind and weak little waves. You’re looking at small 2.3 ft swell from the SSW with a period of 14 seconds on Tuesday morning, but it’s bumpy and poor. The water is sitting at 64.9 °F, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want a decent wetsuit. Honestly, not much reason to paddle out until we get past the midweek.
Things start to wake up on Thursday the 9th. Swell builds to 6.9 ft from the S (period 13 seconds) by morning, and the energy is climbing (1525). But that cross-shore wind from the SW keeps it lumpy. By Thursday afternoon, it’s pushing 9.8 ft (4161 energy), but still cross-shore – more of a messy, powerful ocean than clean surf.
Friday the 10th morning is the first real glimmer: 9.8 ft from the S with a period of 15 seconds – that’s proper groundswell. The wind goes very light, nearly glassy (3.1 mph from the SSW), so it might be clean but it’s still cross-shore, so expect some wonkiness. That long 15-second period means it’ll be powerful and might throw some bigger sets. This is still a big swell (over 8.2 ft), so really just for experienced surfers.
The big standout, and the one to circle on your calendar, is Saturday the 11th of July. The morning brings 6.9 ft of S swell (period 13 seconds) with the wind going glassy – that’s a 3.1 mph breeze from the NNE. That’s clean as a whistle, no chop. The afternoon holds up with 5.2 ft and glassy conditions. That’s proper fun-size swell, long-period ground energy, and silky conditions. This is your best bet for the whole outlook. It’s a point break here at Cintsa West, so that long-period S swell will wrap in nicely, and you won’t get the drain-pipe closeouts you’d see at a beach. Crowds can pop up here sometimes, but on a Saturday with that quality, expect some company.
Sunday the 12th drops off a bit quality-wise. Swell drops to 8.2 ft but period crashes to 8 seconds – that’s short-period wind swell, and with a cross-shore wind it’ll be lumpy. The afternoon cleans up a touch with a cross-off shore breeze, but the energy (1107) is still weak-ish for the size.
Monday the 13th stays similar: 6.6 ft from the ESE (period 10 seconds) but a moderate cross-offshore wind keeps it clean-ish. Not a stunner.
Tuesday the 14th morning is another gem. Glassy conditions – winds calm, zero mph – and 7.9 ft of SSW swell (period 9 seconds). That’s a bit of a shorter period, but it’s powerful enough (1142 energy) and with flat-calm glass, you’ll be surfing silky lines. This is another standout for experienced surfers, given the size.
Wednesday the 15th sees a nice offshore wind from the NW (12.4 mph) with 4.9 ft from the ESE (10 seconds). Clean conditions and a manageable size – this one opens up for intermediates too. The afternoon holds clean with a cross-off breeze.
From there, the second week gets a bit more of a mixed bag. Friday the 17th brings 7.5 ft from the SW (period 13 seconds) with light cross-shore winds – not clean but promising energy (2587). Saturday the 18th morning is glassy again with 3.6 ft from the S (period 12 seconds) – smaller but clean. The afternoon goes glassy again with 6.2 ft from the SSE (7 seconds – short period, dumpy).
Then Sunday the 19th afternoon: look out. 11.5 ft from the SE (period 10 seconds) with glassy conditions – dead calm wind. That’s a serious amount of water (2938 energy) and absolutely clean. This is for experts only, no question. That’s the biggest clean swell of the whole run.
Monday the 20th stays heavy: 13.1 ft from the SE (10 seconds) but with a cross-offshore breeze, still clean but monstrous. The energy is off the charts (3051).
And then Tuesday the 21st afternoon is a shot of pure, raw power: 16.4 ft from the S (11 seconds) with light cross-onshore wind. The combined energy hits 11125 – that’s a massive ocean. That’s only for the bravest, most experienced locals.
So, bottom line: Saturday the 11th of July is your crystal-clear winner for the best all-round session – good size, long-period groundswell, and glassy perfection. Tuesday the 14th morning is a close runner-up for similar conditions. If you’re after big, clean power, Sunday the 19th afternoon is one for the thrill-seekers.
Keep in mind the long-range stuff is always a bit of a tease – forecasts can shift – but
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Tue morning, min 14°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sat morning. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat afternoon, min 14°C on Fri morning). Winds increasing (calm on Fri night, fresh winds from the W by Sun night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 10 | S 13 | SSW 13 | S 14 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 |
Wave Graph | |||||||||||||||||||||
173 | 161 | 140 | 242 | 273 | 696 | 1514 | 2509 | 2570 | 3406 | 2437 | 1667 | 1442 | 851 | 521 | 898 | 902 | 1366 | 732 | 355 | 510 | |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross | off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | glassy | glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:40PM1.35m | 9:02AM1.13m | 9:47PM1.31m | 10:26AM1.08m | 11:11PM1.30m | 12:02PM1.11m | 00:34AM1.34m | 1:20PM1.20m | 1:43AM1.43m | 2:21PM1.33m | 2:40AM1.52m | 3:12PM1.46m | 3:29AM1.59m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 2:08PM0.36m | 3:04AM0.47m | 3:07PM0.44m | 4:22AM0.49m | 4:26PM0.49m | 5:49AM0.46m | 5:57PM0.48m | 7:07AM0.38m | 7:17PM0.40m | 8:09AM0.27m | 8:22PM0.29m | 9:00AM0.16m | 9:16PM0.19m | ||||||||
7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:09 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | |
— | 5:14 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:16 | — | — | 5:16 | — | |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — |
Temp °C | 22 | 21 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 15 |
Feels °C | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 10 | S 13 | SSW 13 | S 14 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | S 13 | SE 7 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SSW 8 | SSW 8 |
173 | 161 | 140 | 242 | 273 | 339 | 1514 | 1641 | 2570 | 3406 | 2437 | 1667 | 1442 | 851 | 521 | 634 | 902 | 1366 | 732 | 355 | 510 | |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 7 | ENE 8 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 | SSW 13 | E 10 | ESE 10 | E 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 9 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | SE 7 | S 12 | S 12 | SSW 11 | SW 16 | SSW 8 | ESE 9 | E 9 |
41 | 35 | 45 | 22 | 23 | 384 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 163 | 353 | 274 | 202 | 10 | 276 | 340 | 246 | |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 10 | SE 10 | ENE 8 | ENE 7 | ENE 7 | ESE 10 | SE 9 | NE 8 | NE 8 | SE 13 | SE 13 | — | ENE 8 | E 8 | — | S 18 | S 13 | — | S 10 | S 10 | S 18 |
50 | 48 | 27 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 | — | 12 | 5 | — | 6 | 3 | — | 167 | 130 | 6 | |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 2 | SSW 5 | — | — | SW 5 | SW 10 | — | SSW 13 | — | — | — | — | E 5 | ESE 6 | — | ESE 8 | — | SSW 7 | SW 7 | W 4 | WNW 4 |
1 | 19 | — | — | 49 | 696 | — | 2509 | — | — | — | — | 70 | 115 | — | 898 | — | 405 | 429 | 7 | 7 | |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 28 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 297 | 1 | 28 | 324 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 105 | 100 | 132 | 28 | 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)
Information about the Cintsa West Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Cintsa West provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Cintsa West can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Cintsa West 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 (Cintsa West) 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 Cintsa West 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 Eastern Cape - Wild Coast? If you are looking for accommodation near Cintsa West, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Eastern Cape - Wild Coast, consider staying in East London which is 28 km (17 miles) away. Other places in and around Eastern Cape - Wild Coast where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Butterworth which is 56 km (35 miles) away, Stutterheim and Bisho.










