Surf Forecasts:
Rainbow Bay surf forecast from 2 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 8 Jul, 1PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 11s period, SSE swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 8 Jul, 7AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 11s period, SSE swell with 2,169 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 3 Jul, 10PM (local time) - 2ft (0.6m), 10s period with ESE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Rainbow Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 03) at 10PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.6m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.8m and 7s. Another secondary swell of 0.2m and 3s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Rainbow Bay in the next 16 days are 3.0m 11s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 08) at 7AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.4m 5s period and expected on Sunday (Jul 05) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 10PM (Fri 3rd Jul) | 2ft (0.6m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 1PM (Wed 8th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 11s |
| Most Powerful | 7AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 10ft (3.0m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 16 days.
Updates in hr min s Forecast update imminent
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's get the lowdown on what's brewing.
Straight up, Friday is a write-off. The swell is tiny and cross-onshore winds have it all chopped up. The energy is weak and it's just not worth the effort. We've got a couple of days of slow build-up ahead.
Saturday morning at Rainbow Bay (point) looks a bit better. The swell drops to 2ft from the ESE, but a moderate offshore wind from the SSE cleans the surface. The energy is still low, so it's a learner's special, not a burner.
Now, Sunday the 5th of July is when things start to get interesting. The morning brings a clean 4ft S swell with a solid 20 km/h offshore wind, pushing the energy up nicely. By the afternoon, the swell hits 7ft, but it's got a short 6-second period from the S, making it a bit of a bumpy, difficult wave.
Monday the 6th is serious. We're looking at a 10ft SSE swell. That's big, expert-only territory. The wind is fresh and offshore, keeping it clean, but the energy is enormous at 1386. This is for the brave.
The real standout is Wednesday the 8th of July. It might not be the absolute biggest day, but everything clicks. You've got a 10ft SSE swell running on a long 11-second period – that's proper, powerful groundswell. The energy reading is a massive 4071. The wind is a gentle offshore from the SSW, which should make the point absolutely glassy. This is the session for the experienced crew.
After that, it backs off. Thursday and Friday are still fun with clean 7ft to 5ft waves. Saturday the 11th gets glassy with 4ft, a good mellow day.
There's a long quiet gap from the 12th, with nothing but small waves and poor wind until the 16th. Then on Saturday the 18th of July, the models hint at a new pulse: a 6ft S swell with clean offshore conditions and strong energy. That's a long way off, so keep an eye on it.
Water temp is about what you'd expect for this time of year.
Signing off,
Rusty
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Sun afternoon. Warm (max 23°C on Fri morning, min 15°C on Fri night). Mainly fresh winds. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Mon morning. Very mild (max 18°C on Tue morning, min 14°C on Tue night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Friday 3 | Saturday 4 | Sunday 5 | Monday 6 | Tuesday 7 | Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 7 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SSE 8 | E 11 | S 10 | SSE 6 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 11 | SSE 11 | SE 11 | SSE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 102 | 104 | 108 | 86 | 195 | 265 | 240 | 320 | 1266 | 1220 | 1141 | 1080 | 1079 | 1310 | 1931 | 2005 | 1316 | 1521 | 836 | 680 | 459 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 10:14AM1.20m | 10:23PM1.77m | 10:54AM1.22m | 10:59PM1.71m | 11:38AM1.24m | 11:38PM1.62m | 12:28PM1.28m | 00:24AM1.53m | 1:25PM1.33m | 1:18AM1.42m | 2:28PM1.41m | 2:21AM1.31m | 3:36PM1.51m | 3:33AM1.23m | |||||||
Low Tide | 3:42PM0.52m | 5:08AM0.44m | 4:23PM0.54m | 5:43AM0.43m | 5:10PM0.57m | 6:21AM0.41m | 6:07PM0.60m | 7:05AM0.39m | 7:15PM0.62m | 7:54AM0.36m | 8:35PM0.62m | 8:50AM0.33m | 9:58PM0.57m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | |  |  | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — |
 | — | 5:00 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | 5:01 | — | — | 5:02 | — | — | 5:02 | — | — | 5:04 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | 2 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 2 |
Temp °C | 23 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
Feels °C | 21 | 23 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NE 7 | NE 7 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 12 | E 11 | E 11 | E 11 | ESE 14 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | E 11 | ESE 12 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 |
| kJ | 102 | 89 | 108 | 86 | 195 | 265 | 231 | 184 | 63 | 178 | 173 | 121 | 111 | 64 | 27 | 1523 | 1316 | 1211 | 836 | 680 | 459 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | ESE 10 | NE 7 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | NE 7 | NE 9 | NE 9 | — | NE 9 | NE 9 | NE 9 | NE 9 | ESE 11 | — | — | — | — | — | S 23 | — |
| kJ | 87 | 104 | 45 | 19 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 3 | — | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | ESE 12 | ESE 15 | ESE 13 | NE 6 | SSE 13 | NE 9 | S 18 | — | NE 7 | NE 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 28 | 21 | 58 | 6 | 17 | 3 | 6 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNW 5 | NW 3 | SSW 3 | SSE 6 | SSE 8 | S 8 | S 10 | SSE 6 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 11 | SSE 11 | — | SSE 11 | — | — | — |
| kJ | 23 | 6 | 4 | 69 | 176 | 82 | 240 | 320 | 1266 | 1220 | 1141 | 1080 | 1079 | 1310 | 1931 | 2005 | — | 1521 | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 918 | 2 | 776 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Rainbow Bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Rainbow Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Rainbow Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Rainbow Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Rainbow Bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Rainbow Bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Rainbow Bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Rainbow Bay is 6 km (4 miles) from Banora Point. If you plan a holiday in Gold Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Banora Point. Banora Point has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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