Zumaya (Playa de Itxurun) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks for the coast. It’s a mixed bag, to be honest. We’ve got some clean, glassy mornings mixed in with some proper lumpy, wind-blown sessions, and a bit of a size spike in the middle that looks more like a washing machine than a surfable wave. The first real standout for me is the early part of the window, specifically the Sunday morning of September 6th. That’s got a solid 5ft 3in of northwest groundswell rolling in with a 12-second period and glassy conditions. The southwest wind is just a whisper, and the water temp is running about average for this time of year, maybe a touch cooler but nothing crazy. That’s your best bet for a proper session at Zumaya (Playa de Itxurun) – the place will be clean and lined up, though expect some company given how good it looks. The energy’s moderate at 723, so there’s enough push to make it fun.

After that, things drop off pretty quick. Sunday afternoon turns into a cross-onshore mess, and Monday the 7th is a morning glory – 3ft 3in, glassy, with a nice west-northwest wind, but it’s a bit smaller and the energy is down. That’s a good pick for a mellow session, but not a standout. The rest of the week into the 8th and 9th is all over the place. The 9th sees a big jump in swell – 9ft 10in on Wednesday morning – but it’s accompanied by a strong 30 km/h cross-onshore wind, which is just going to tear it apart. That’s not one for the paddle surfer. Honestly, that day looks like it might be more interesting for the kite crowd, with waves and wind to play with.

The middle of the window, from the 10th to the 14th, is a run of small, weak, and often onshore waves. Nothing over 4ft 7in, and most of it is under 3ft 3in. The energy is low to moderate, and the winds are all over the place. There are a few glassy morning windows, like the 11th, the 12th, and the 14th afternoon, but the swells are pretty weak and short-period. It’s surfable but ordinary – you’d be scratching for corners.

Then we get a bit of a pulse starting on September 15th. That Tuesday morning and afternoon has 2ft 4in to 2ft 7in of northwest swell with a nice 13-second period, and the winds are light and glassy. That’s a clean, fun little day, with a moderate energy reading around 240. It’s a promising stretch, but it’s more than a week out, so I’d keep one eye on the forecast. The 16th and 17th see a bit more size and some cross-onshore winds, making things a bit lumpy, but the 18th and 19th come back around with clean mornings and 3ft 3in to 4ft 3in of swell. The 19th is another real highlight – Saturday morning with 4ft 3in of northwest swell, glassy, and a calm wind. That’s about as good as it gets for the second week. The period is 10 seconds, so it’s not a long-wave, but it’s clean and has a bit of push.

A couple of notes: Zumaya is a beach and jetty setup, so when the swell gets over 8ft 2in and it’s lumpy, it’s not your friend. That Wednesday the 9th is expert-only at best, and even then, it’s messy. Also, because this is a beach break, the longer-period swells (like the 13-second ones) can tend to straighten out a bit, so look for the jetty to help shape things up. Crowds are a real thing here, especially on those clean glassy mornings, so get in early.

So, to sum it up: the standout is Sunday morning September 6th – big-ish, clean, and punchy. After that, you’re looking at a few small, clean morning sessions, a rough patch mid-week, and then a promising run of clean days starting the 15th, with the 19th being the pick of the second week. There’s a fair bit of slop in between, but it never looks like it’s going flat for long. Keep it on your radar and check back closer to the day. This is Rusty, signing off.

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