Buenaventura Bay tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 17:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Bogota local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Last spring tide on Wed 06 May (range 2.1m). Next spring tide on Tue 12 May (range 2.3m). Next neap on Sat 09 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Buenaventura Bay is Colombia's main Pacific port city and the country's busiest port by cargo volume — roughly 60% of Colombia's Pacific trade moves through Buenaventura. The city occupies Cascajal Island at the inner end of the bay; the bay stretches approximately 30 km from the port to the open Pacific, funnelling through a narrows that creates the most significant tidal current on the Colombian Pacific coast. The tidal regime at Buenaventura is macrotidal mixed semidiurnal. Spring range at Buenaventura Port is approximately 4.0–5.0 m above Chart Datum — one of the largest ranges in South America north of Patagonia. DIMAR (Dirección General Marítima) operates the official tide gauge at Buenaventura Port and publishes Colombian Pacific tide tables; Buenaventura is the primary reference station for the Colombian Pacific coast. Two highs and two lows occur per day with significant diurnal inequality; the larger daily high can exceed the smaller by 1.0–1.5 m on certain lunar phases. The narrows between the outer and inner sections of Buenaventura Bay concentrates the tidal prism as the bay narrows from approximately 5 km width at the outer entrance to 1–2 km at the main channel through Cascajal Island. Tidal current through the narrows runs 2.0–3.0 knots at springs; commercial vessels navigate the narrows under pilotage on the most favourable tide phase. The current reversal at slack water (within 20–30 minutes of the predicted high or low) is the preferred transit window for small vessels. The inner bay around Cascajal Island has an active mangrove fringe; the mangrove channels behind the city are a productive ecosystem for juvenile fish and a feeding area for herons, egrets, and occasional caimans. Kayaking in the inner mangrove channels is possible from Playa Piñal (the closest beach to the city centre) at high water when the channels are full; at low water the inner mangrove channels become too shallow for paddling. The Playa Piñal itself is on the bay side of Cascajal Island; the water is turbid from the river discharge and the port traffic. Buenaventura is the departure point for the lanchas to Juanchaco and Ladrilleros on the open Pacific coast. The bay crossing from the city dock to the open coast takes 2–2.5 hours; departures are in the morning and conditions are calmer at that time. DIMAR publishes official Colombian Pacific tide tables and maritime safety information for the bay and coast. Predictions here: Open-Meteo Marine, ±45 min / ±0.2–0.3 m. Buenaventura's city centre on Cascajal Island has been subject to significant urban renewal investment over the past decade; the Malecón del Pacífico boardwalk runs along the bay-facing north side of the island and is the primary public waterfront space. The view from the Malecón takes in the inner bay and the mangrove channels to the east; at low water the inner bay shallows and the mangrove prop-root systems are exposed. At high water the mangroves are flooded to canopy level and the tide-dependent birdlife — herons, egrets — moves from the prop roots to the higher branches. Buenaventura's social and economic context is an important part of understanding the city's coastal character. The city has historically had high rates of violence and displacement; significant improvements in security since the mid-2010s have allowed the waterfront development and tourism infrastructure investment that has changed the Malecón and the port area. The Afro-Colombian community that makes up the majority of Buenaventura's population has deep roots in the Chocó Pacific coast; the traditional fishing and coastal livelihood practices of this community remain active alongside the modern port economy. The Pacific mangrove ecosystem around Buenaventura Bay represents one of the most extensive intact mangrove forests on the Pacific coast of South America; the tidal exchange that sustains it makes it one of the most productive nursery habitats in the Colombian Pacific.