Playa Pantaleta Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright surf crew, Rusty here, and I’ve got the goods for Playa Pantaleta. Let’s be straight up – it’s a rough start, but there’s a couple of windows coming. The water is sitting at 80° which is pretty much spot on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The combined swell energy is mostly weak to moderate these next few days, bouncing between a meagre 59 and 151 for the first week – just not a lot of punch behind it. The wind is mainly a cross-shore breeze from the east in the 9 to 12 mph range, which is going to mess with the face. Expect some chop, especially in the afternoons when the thunderstorms are a risk, and the comments back it up: “poor surf conditions” day after day.

Come Thursday 3 July morning, though, things shift. The wind drops to a glassy 3 mph from the southeast, and that’s a big deal. You’re looking at a 4 ft swell from the ENE with a short period of 7 seconds, combined energy of 142. It’s not pumping, but the wave comment says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” – that glassy wind will clean it up nicely. This is your pick for the first week. Then on the afternoon of 3 July, the wind goes dead calm, swell drops to 3 ft, energy falls to 96; it’ll be small but clean.

After that, we hit a dry spell through the 4th to the 8th of July. The wind stays cross, the surf quality is poor to ordinary, and the energy mostly sits under 150. There’s nothing worth paddling out for.

Now, from the 9th of July, the swell starts to build. We’re talking 6 ft from the ENE on the Thursday morning with combined energy jumping to 362 – that’s moderate, getting close to strong. But the wind is still a cross 12 mph from the east, so the “poor surf conditions” tag holds. The wave period ticks up to 8 seconds, which is a bit better, but the chop will still be there. This trend of bigger swell and cross wind continues through to the 14th, with energy regularly over 200, peaking at 365 on Friday 10 July morning. Unfortunately, the wind doesn’t cooperate – it’s a moderate to gentle cross breeze almost the whole time, so the surface will be bumpy. These days are better for a strong paddler who doesn’t mind a fight, but not recommended for beginners as the size is over 5 ft and gets close to 6 ft. The comment “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions” on the 10th morning is the only one that’s slightly less grim.

Finally, a real standout appears on Wednesday 16 July. The morning brings a cross-offshore wind from the ESE at only 6 mph, with a 4 ft ENE swell and period of 7 seconds. The combined energy is 142. The wave comment is “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions,” but that cross-off wind makes for a clean, lined-up face. The afternoon wind remains light at 6 mph, though it turns cross-shore. This is the cleanest session of the whole run in the second week, and with the wind behaving, it’s your best bet for a proper surf.

Overall, if you want clean waves, aim for the morning of 3 July or the morning of 16 July. Everything else is either too choppy or just flat.

Rusty, signing off.

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