Puerto Vallarta Rivermouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee and settle in, ‘cause we’re doing a deep dive on the 16-day outlook for Puerto Vallarta Rivermouth. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but I’ll walk you through the whole thing.

The window kicks off now, but honestly, the first few days are a write-off. We’re looking at a gap of nearly a week before anything really worth paddling out for shows up. The early part of the run is just tiny, weak pulses.

Let’s start with the first sliver of hope. Thursday morning, August 6th at the Rivermouth. We’ve got a 2ft bump from the SW, with a long 13-second period. The wind is glassy from the north at 3 mph, which is a major positive for clean faces. The combined energy is weak though, at just 103. It’s surfable, but it’s very ordinary. The water temp is about normal for this time of year, so no wetsuit dramas.

The following days just keep churning out the same story: tiny, gutless swell. Thursday afternoon, Friday, Saturday, Sunday – all look poor. The wind stays light or glassy in the mornings, but the swell is barely a ripple. The energy drops right off into the single digits and low twenties.

Then we get a little flicker of life. Tuesday morning, August 11th – the swell holds at 2ft from the SW, but the period jumps to 18 seconds, which is a proper long-period groundswell. The energy kicks up to 271 (moderate), and the wind is a light cross-off from the NE at 3 mph. The water is clean. This is the first real standout in the run.

Wednesday morning, August 12th, is another one to circle. The swell bumps up a touch to 2ft, still SW, with a solid 16-second period. The wind goes glassy from the NNE at 3 mph, and the combined energy is 260. The conditions are clean, and the wave comment says “surfable”. For this spot, that’s a win.

The best of the run, though, might be Friday morning, August 14th. The swell is 2ft from the SW, 18 seconds, and the energy is 268. The wind is light from the ESE at 3 mph, making for glassy, clean conditions. The afternoon gets a bit bigger, hitting 3ft from the SW at 17 seconds, with a big energy jump to 611, but the wind switches onshore from the WNW, so the morning is the pick.

Saturday morning, August 15th is also worth a mention. 3ft from the SW, 16-second period, glassy wind from the NNE at 3 mph, and energy of 372. It’s clean and surfable.

After that, the run fades again. The swell drops to tiny amounts for the last week of the window. The 2ft on Monday morning, August 17th is the last gasp of anything rideable, with glassy conditions from the NNE at 3 mph, and 179 energy. The rest of the week is all 1.0ft and 1ft waves with terrible period. It’s a dead run.

So, to sum it up: the best windows are the mornings of August 11th, 12th, 14th, and 15th. The 14th morning is the standout for the cleanest, most consistent conditions. The 14th afternoon has more size but the wind ruins it. The 11th and 15th are close runners-up. This spot is inconsistent, so you’ve got to pick your moments. The early gap is a pain, but the second week has a few real gems if you’re patient.

Rusty.

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