Costa Banderas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright mates, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on what Costa Banderas is serving up for the next couple of weeks.

Truth is, the forecast for Costa Banderas starts out pretty flat and ordinary. The swell energy is mostly weak to moderate for the first week and a half, with the combined energy numbers mostly in the low to mid hundreds, and plenty of those days are marked "poor surf conditions." The wind is shifting around a lot, and the wave heights are small. There are some pockets of clean surf, but you gotta hunt for 'em.

Starting Monday the 17th of August, it’s messy. Morning has a risk of thunderstorms with a light onshore breath, 0.7m swell from the SW, but the conditions are poor. By the afternoon, the wind clocks onshore at 18 mph, making it lumpy and unattractive. Not our Monday. Tuesday is much the same with tiny 0.6m swell and cross-shore winds, still poor.

We finally get a clean window on Wednesday the 19th afternoon. The wind goes light cross-offshore from the WNW, cleaning everything up. Swell is only 0.6m from the SSW with a 14-second period, and the combined energy is a weak 148. It’s "surfable but very ordinary." Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st are the same story: clean, small, not much push. Swell drops to 0.4m by Friday with energy down to 77. You could float around on a foamie, but you won't be getting any real rides.

Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd are iffy. Saturday morning is clean and tiny, then the wind turns cross-onshore in the afternoon. Sunday brings a long period of 18 seconds—a proper groundswell—but the height is stuck at 0.4m, and the wind shifts onshore again in the afternoon. That long period at such a small size means long lulls between sets for weak, slow rollers.

Now here’s where it gets a bit exciting. The true standout is shaping up for Saturday the 29th of August. This is the day the swell energy gets real. Combined energy jumps to a moderate 387, and the swell height hits 0.9m from the SW with a solid 16-second period. The wind is light and cross-offshore in the morning, nearly glassy. The forecast says expect good surf conditions. That’s the one to circle on the calendar. The water is going to be notably warm—about 32°C (much warmer than average for this time of year)—so a pair of boardies is all you need.

Sunday the 30th also has some juice. The morning is a bit messy with a cross-on wind, but the afternoon cleans up with a light cross-offshore breeze and 0.8m SSW swell. Energy is still strong at 310. That afternoon session on the 30th is a good backup.

The first couple days of September stay small and clean but ordinary. Nothing else really grabs your attention.

Bottom line for Costa Banderas: this reef break needs a bit more size to really go off. The best session by far is Saturday the 29th of August, with the morning offering the cleanest conditions and the most energy. Sunday afternoon the 30th is a close second. If you're a learner, the small clean days later in the run are fine to splash around, but with waves barely over 0.5m, there's no power to play with. A lot of waiting for the good stuff, but when it shows late in the month, it’s a beauty.

Keep your eyes on the sea,
Rusty

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