El Zonte Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s coming up for the next couple of weeks.

The first real action kicks off on Monday the 6th of July, but it’s a bit of a tease. The afternoon shows a 3ft SSW swell, but the wind is a light cross-onshore and the conditions are just “marginal”. The water is sitting at 86°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The real standout window is going to be Tuesday morning the 7th of July through to Thursday morning the 9th of July.

Tuesday the 7th is your best bet of the whole run. El Zonte gets a clean 4ft SSW groundswell with a period of 18 seconds – proper long-period energy. The wind is glassy from the NNE, which is offshore for this spot, and it’s going to be absolutely clean. The combined swell energy is strong at (1505), so there’s plenty of push behind it. This is not for beginners at that size and power, but for an advanced surfer on a reef or point break, this is a dream. This swell direction is exactly what El Zonte wants. It’s going to be consistent and shaped up, and because it’s a longer period, the set gaps will let you paddle out without too much hassle. There might be crowds about sometimes, but for quality like this, you get what you pay for.

Wednesday morning the 8th is another gem. The swell drops a little to 5ft, still a nice 16-second period from the SSW, and it’s dead calm – absolute glass. It’s a classic morning session before the wind swings onshore in the afternoon. Thursday morning the 9th holds similar conditions: 4ft, 15-second swell, glassy from the NW, and the water will be clean as a whistle.

There is a noticeable drop in energy and swell size after that. By Friday the 10th, the morning remains glassy but the swell is down to 3ft, and the combined energy weakens to (578). The following days stay small, with waves around 3-4ft and a mix of light winds, but nothing really grabs you like those first few days.

From around the 13th of July onwards, the swell gets smaller and the wind patterns become more inconsistent. There’s a brief window on the morning of the 17th of July with a glassy 3ft, 15-second SSW swell that could offer a clean little session, but it’s definitely not the star of the show. The 19th of July sees a long-period 19-second swell but at only 2ft, it’s small and the direction is cross or onshore.

Overall, if you’re chasing the best, you want to be in the water on Tuesday the 7th of July morning or Wednesday the 8th of July morning at El Zonte. That’s the real juice. After that, it’s a slow decline into smaller, less exciting conditions.

Rusty.

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