Viana do Castelo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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Hey, it's Rusty here. Let's talk about Viana do Castelo for the next couple of weeks. The river break is usually pretty consistent, but this forecast is a mixed bag. The first few days – Thursday 23rd through Saturday 24th – are tiny and choppy, with onshore winds and poor surf. Not worth paddling out. Saturday 25th has a glassy start in the morning with a tiny 2ft swell, but it's still poor. The afternoon picks up to 5ft from the NW with a cross-off breeze and clean conditions, but the period is short (7 seconds) and the energy is moderate (230), yet the surf quality is rated poor – so don't get your hopes up.

Sunday 26th stays clean but small, with a morning 4ft NW swell that has weak energy (114). Still nothing to write home about.

Now, the real standout comes on Monday 27th. Both morning and afternoon serve up the best of the forecast. The swell builds to 4–5ft from the NNW with a 10-second period, giving moderate energy (339 in the morning, 363 in the afternoon). The wind is cross-off from the north, keeping the waves clean. It's a river break, so expect waves to be a bit more lined up than a beach. Height is around chest to head high – fine for beginners since it's under 5ft. The only downside is the swell direction is not quite the optimum W, but it's still a good session. The crowd factor is "often" so you'll have company. This is the one day to mark in your calendar.

After Monday, things go downhill. Tuesday 28th is cross-on and small. Wednesday 29th morning is glassy with a 4ft NW swell, but the period is short (8 seconds) and energy moderate (186) – surfable but ordinary. The rest of the week stays small and messy, with a few clean moments on 31 July morning (2ft, clean but tiny) and 1 August (4–5ft, but cross-on winds and marginal tide). The second week from 2 August onward sees mostly poor conditions, with onshore winds and choppy surf. A few clean days on 3–4 August have small waves (3–4ft) but not enough energy to get excited about. By 5 August the wind picks up, and the last few days are a washout.

So overall, the only true standout is Monday 27th. The rest of the 16-day window is mostly small, ordinary, or just plain poor. If you're keen, go for that Monday – otherwise, wait for the next forecast to change. Rusty.

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