El Arenal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey, Rusty here. Let’s talk about El Arenal. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for paddle surfing. There’s a big gap at the start – from now through July 25, there’s no decent surf on offer. The wind is cross-onshore most of the time, the swell is small and weak, and the water is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, sitting at 74.1°F with a +2.0°F anomaly. Everything’s been blown out and choppy.

Then around July 26, we finally get a pulse of swell. The morning of the 26th sees 8.2ft from the NNE with a 9-second period and a cross-shore breeze at 16 mph. The combined energy jumps to 1794 – that’s strong energy, but the surf quality is still marginal. The wind is cross, not offshore, so there’s a lumpy cross-chop. That afternoon it’s similar, 8.2ft, energy 1093. July 27 Monday morning pushes up to 9.8ft from the NE, still 9 seconds, cross-shore wind 16 mph, energy 1392. That’s big – only for experienced surfers. The afternoon gets a fresh breeze and lumpy conditions. July 28 Tuesday morning drops to 8.2ft, energy 1151, still cross-shore, but the score is a bit better – still marginal though. After that, the swell fades and the wind turns cross-onshore again, with poor surf conditions lasting through the rest of the period into early August.

Honestly, with that much swell but poor surf quality and strong cross-shore winds, El Arenal looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing during that late July bump. The best you’ll get is a few marginal windows on the 26th, 27th, and 28th mornings, but don’t expect clean waves. The rest of the outlook is flat or blown out. Maybe check

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