Playa de Gaztetape Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' at ya live from the Basque Coast.

Right now, we're in a bit of a flat spell. The first few days are pretty much a write-off for any decent surf. We’ve got tiny, weak waves and mixed-up winds making things messy from Monday the 24th right through to Wednesday morning the 26th. You're looking at a couple of days of nothing really worth paddling out for.

We finally get a little sign of life on Wednesday morning the 26th over at Playa de Gaztetape. It’s not a classic by any stretch – we’re only talking about a 2 ft swell from the west-northwest with a short, snappy 7-second period. The combined energy is still pretty weak (82), but the wind goes glassy. For a beginner spot that’s consistent, those clean, tiny conditions might just be enough to get the longboard out and have a little cruise. The water is feeling much warmer than normal for this time of year at 76°.

Thursday the 27th morning sees a jump in size. The swell comes up to 4 ft from the northwest, and with that clean, light offshore wind, it might be surfable but it’s pretty ordinary. The energy picks up a bit to 151 (moderate), but it’s nothing to write home about.

The first real standout, the one you should be circling on the calendar, is Saturday morning the 29th of August. We get that magic combination: a clean 5 ft northwest swell coming in with a 9-second period. The wind is totally calm, making for a glassy morning. The combined energy is solid at 313 (moderate), and the forecast points to good surf conditions. For a beginner-friendly, consistent beach break like Gaztetape, this is your cleanest, most user-friendly window of the whole outlook. Crowds are a possibility there, as always, so get in early.

After that, we drift back into a few days of average conditions through the end of August and into the first couple of days of September – messy winds, onshore slop, or just tiny waves. There's a big gap in the quality.

Now, looking further ahead, there's a more powerful, but trickier setup brewing for the first week of September. The swell starts to really push up. Friday morning the 4th of September brings a solid 8 ft northwest swell. This one is getting into the size where beginners should be cautious – it's starting to push beyond friendly territory. The period is a clean 9 seconds, but there’s a light cross-shore wind putting a little bump on it. Then it really pumps on Saturday the 5th with a 10 ft northwest groundswell. That’s expert-only territory. The combined energy is massive (1433), meaning there’s a serious amount of power in the water. That big of a swell is going to be heavy, and the cross-shore winds will make it lumpy.

If you’re an experienced surfer, the absolute best of the entire outlook looks to be Sunday morning the 6th of September. The swell drops a touch to 7 ft from the northwest, still plenty of size, but the wind is dead calm. Glassy. The energy is still extremely high (945). This is the one with the most potential for big, clean waves at Gaztetape when it’s handled by someone who knows what they’re doing.

The very last tease comes on Monday morning the 7th of September. A smaller 4 ft swell, but check this out: a 16-second period. That’s a very long period groundswell. When that kind of energy hits a beach break like this, it can turn it into a close-out festival, but if it lines up, the shape can be incredible. The glassy conditions early and a high-energy reading of 932 make this a wildcard. It’s a promising but less certain long-range call.

So to wrap it up: for the beginners, Saturday the 29th of August morning is your window. For the experienced crew looking for power, Sunday the 6th of September morning is the one to wait for.

Stay stoked,
Rusty.

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