Surf Forecasts:
Rainbow Bay surf forecast from 27 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 31 Jul, 10AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.3m), 10s period, S swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Saturday 1 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 10s period, SE swell with 486 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 27 Jul, 4PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 9s period with S 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 Monday (Jul 27) at 4PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.0m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.3m and 12s. Another secondary swell of 0.2m and 7s 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 1.6m 10s and forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 01) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.6m 5s period and expected on Friday (Jul 31) at 4PM.
| Wave Type | Time (AEST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 4PM (Mon 27th Jul) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 10AM (Fri 31st Jul) | 4.5ft (1.3m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 7PM (Sat 1st Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 10s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Rainbow Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s on the cards for Rainbow Bay over the next couple of weeks.
We’ve got a slow start, but the ocean starts to wake up towards the weekend. The big one to mark on your calendar is Sunday the 9th of August – that’s the session to aim for.
Water temp is right around 69°, which is spot on average for this time of year, nothing weird going on there.
Monday the 27th of July kicks off with a 3ft southerly swell, 10-second period, and a light cross-off breeze. It’s surfable but pretty average. The energy is moderate (217). Tuesday the 28th is a bit cleaner in the morning with a light offshore wind, but the swell drops to 3ft. Wednesday the 29th is glassy but tiny, only 2ft – not worth paddling out.
Thursday the 30th throws a 5ft southerly at us in the afternoon, but the period is a short 6 seconds and the wind is cross-off, so it’s messy. The energy is moderate (234).
Then Friday the 31st of July – that’s when things get interesting. The morning brings a solid 4ft south swell with a proper 10-second period and a clean offshore wind from the south. The energy hits 425 (moderate-strong). That’s the first fun session. Saturday the 1st of August is similar: 5ft southerly swell in the afternoon with a gentle offshore breeze and energy of 447. Good stuff.
Sunday the 2nd holds steady with 4ft southerly swell and offshore winds in the morning, energy at 350. Still clean.
Now, the real standout. Sunday the 9th of August – morning. We’ve got a 8ft southerly groundswell, 11-second period, and the wind is dead calm, glassy. The combined energy is a massive 2059 – that’s very strong. This is a serious swell, only for experienced surfers. The swell direction is from the SSE, which is near the optimum for Rainbow Bay’s sheltered SE exposure, so it should wrap in nicely. The long period will give clean, peeling lines at this point break. Get in early that morning, because the afternoon wind swings onshore.
The rest of the second week is a bit messy. Monday the 10th is onshore and choppy, Tuesday the 11th is cross-shore and short period. Saturday the 8th of August is a decent runner-up though: 5ft southerly swell, 11-second period, with a gentle offshore breeze in the morning (energy 652). A solid session, but the 9th is the absolute winner.
No inside info on crowds, but Rainbow Bay can get packed, so plan for that on the good days.
To wrap it up: a slow start, but the end of the first week and the start of the second week have some real juice. The 9th of August is the one to chase. Glassy, strong, and clean.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 5mm), mostly falling on Mon afternoon. Warm (max 20°C on Wed morning, min 15°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Sat afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu morning, min 13°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | |||||||||||||||
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) | S 10 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 7 | S 6 | S 7 | S 10 | E 6 | SSE 7 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 6 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 184 | 180 | 138 | 143 | 77 | 50 | 28 | 26 | 31 | 22 | 188 | 107 | 313 | 21 | 220 | 128 | 430 | 244 | 235 | 201 | 173 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | cross-on | glassy | cross | off | off | cross-off | off | off | off | off | off | off | cross-off | off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 7:02PM1.75m | 7:15AM1.15m | 7:40PM1.80m | 7:57AM1.19m | 8:16PM1.82m | 8:35AM1.24m | 8:49PM1.82m | 9:10AM1.27m | 9:22PM1.78m | 9:45AM1.30m | 9:55PM1.72m | 10:22AM1.33m | 10:29PM1.64m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 12:06PM0.43m | 1:46AM0.49m | 12:51PM0.41m | 2:22AM0.43m | 1:33PM0.39m | 2:54AM0.38m | 2:11PM0.38m | 3:26AM0.35m | 2:48PM0.38m | 3:56AM0.33m | 3:26PM0.39m | 4:26AM0.32m | 4:07PM0.41m | ||||||||
 |  |  |  | |  | | | | | | | | |  | | | | | | | |
 | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — |
 | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:14 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:15 | — |
mm | — | 2 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 |
Feels °C | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 16 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 10 | ESE 12 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | E 6 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 7 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | E 6 | E 6 | SSE 10 | SSE 10 | SE 14 | SSE 14 | E 6 | SSE 10 | E 7 |
| kJ | 184 | 29 | 138 | 143 | 77 | 50 | 24 | 26 | 31 | 22 | 33 | 41 | 39 | 21 | 104 | 128 | 8 | 21 | 95 | 201 | 121 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 12 | E 7 | ESE 11 | ESE 12 | E 4 | E 6 | S 7 | S 7 | S 7 | E 7 | E 13 | SSE 11 | SE 14 | NE 8 | ENE 7 | E 7 | NE 9 | E 17 | SSE 10 | SE 15 | SSE 10 |
| kJ | 29 | 4 | 25 | 26 | 3 | 24 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 13 | 103 | 66 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 3 | 6 | 235 | 8 | 173 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 7 | NE 6 | E 7 | E 7 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | SE 7 | SSE 7 | E 13 | — | SE 14 | SE 13 | E 13 | NE 8 | NE 8 | E 18 | SE 12 | SSE 14 | E 15 | SE 14 |
| kJ | 4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 13 | — | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 5 | 31 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 3 | S 9 | — | SW 3 | — | — | WNW 2 | — | — | S 4 | S 6 | S 7 | S 10 | SSE 5 | SSE 7 | SSE 6 | SSE 10 | SE 6 | — | E 7 | — |
| kJ | 5 | 180 | — | 4 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 23 | 188 | 107 | 313 | 133 | 220 | 110 | 430 | 244 | — | 127 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 204 | 157 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Gold Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
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.
Nearest