Puerto Viejo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next couple of weeks here at Puerto Viejo. To be honest, it’s a slow start, but there’s a serious pulse of energy coming through that’s worth waiting for.

Right now, we’re in a flat spell. Friday the 21st of August and Saturday the 22nd have tiny, weak swell with very ordinary conditions. The waves are small and gutless, so don’t get your hopes up. Sunday the 23rd stays pretty average, with a bit of a bump from the south but nothing to write home about. Monday the 24th has a little more shape early with a light offshore, but the swell is still small – under 2 ft – and the energy is weak. Basically, we’re in a lull for the first week.

The real story starts to build later. Thursday the 27th of August morning sees a jump in quality with a 2 ft, 19-second period groundswell from the SW, and the energy is picking up. Light offshore wind should keep it clean. Still, it’s only the beginning.

Then, Friday the 28th of August is the standout. We get a solid pulse of SW swell hitting 5 ft to 6 ft with a period of 16-18 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell packing serious punch – the combined energy is huge. This is excellent surf, but it’s for experienced surfers only. The waves will have real power, and with that long period, expect clean lines and good shape at this beach and point setup. Light cross-offshore winds will keep the faces smooth. Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th hold onto that energy, with wave heights around 5 ft to 6 ft. The wind stays light, so the quality remains high. This is the window to be in the water.

After that, the swell slowly backs off into the first few days of September. Monday the 31st of August and Tuesday the 1st of September get messy with cross-shore and cross-onshore winds, so conditions drop off. But by Wednesday the 2nd of September, we’re back to cleaner, smaller surf with a 2 ft SW groundswell and light offshore breezes. The following days, Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th of September, see a gradual rebuild with 3 ft to 4 ft SW swell, good period (15-18 seconds), and gentle offshore winds. Saturday the 5th of September keeps it going with a 4 ft south swell, but the period drops to 9 seconds, so it’ll be a shorter, more local windswell.

The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

In short: the first few days are a bust. The week of the 28th of August is the real deal – big, powerful, clean groundswell for experienced surfers. After that, it settles into a consistent, smaller but still fun pattern.

Rusty.

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