Expert-verified surf spot database with detailed swell/wind parameters, hazards, and travel information
Jeffreys Bay is surfing's ultimate right-hand point break—a legendary sand-bottomed wave that spirals down a long bay on South Africa's Eastern Cape. The wave connects multiple sections: Boneyards, Supertubes, Impossibles, Tubes, The Point, and Albatross, with rides of 300+ meters on perfect days. Supertubes is the crown jewel—a flawless barrel machine that has hosted elite competition since the 1970s. Winter brings consistent Antarctic groundswells and offshore "Berg" winds that groom the wave to perfection. The water is cold, the locals are proud, and the potential for unforgettable tubes is unmatched.
🇿🇦 World's best right • Supertubes to Impossibles • Berg wind perfection
Works best with swells from 200° (SSW). Workable range: 180°-225°.
Ideal size: 2.6m. Too small below 1.2m, too big (closeout) above 4m.
Needs at least 12s period. Ideal: 16s+ (long-period groundswell).
Offshore wind from 290° (WNW). Offshore range: 250°-330°. Best window: morning.
Winter swells from Antarctic. Berg winds offshore.
🦈 Sharks, 🪸 Sharp reef, 👊 Localism, 👥 Crowded
Cold water. Known shark activity. Heavy localism at Supers.
Swell direction must be within the workable range AND within the spot's coastal orientation. A south-facing beach cannot receive north swells, no matter the size or period.
Offshore wind (blowing from land toward ocean) grooms the wave face. Onshore wind (blowing from ocean toward land) destroys wave quality. Wind tolerance varies by wave type.
Dungeons is South Africa's premier big wave spot—a powerful right-hand reef break near Hout Bay that hosts the Red Bull Big Wave Africa event. The wave produces double-up drops that funnel into fast, walling faces, testing even the best big wave surfers. Located in cold, shark-rich waters off Cape Town, Dungeons breaks infrequently but delivers serious size when SW winter swells hit the coast. The dramatic Table Mountain backdrop and the quality of the wave make it Africa's most respected big wave venue.
🇿🇦 Africa's big wave throne • Red Bull venue • Cold water power
This is a big wave break, breaking right.
Works best with swells from 225° (SW). Workable range: 190°-260°.
Ideal size: 7.0m. Too small below 4m, too big (closeout) above 10m.
Needs at least 14s period. Ideal: 18s+ (long-period groundswell).
Offshore wind from 315° (NW). Offshore range: 270°-360°. Best window: morning.
Winter swells. Infrequent but powerful when it breaks.
Great white sharks common in area. Heavy hold-downs.
30 minutes drive from CPT airport. Requires boat access ($200/day).
Cave Rock is Durban's heaviest wave—a powerful right-hander that breaks in two distinct sections: The Pool and The Rock. When solid Indian Ocean swells hit this stretch of coast, Cave Rock produces thick, hollow barrels that rival anything in South Africa. The wave has a dedicated local crew and a history of heavy sessions. Named for the famous rock formation and sea cave that marks the takeoff zone, this is Durban surfing at its most intense.
🇿🇦 Durban's heaviest • The Pool and The Rock • Indian Ocean power
Works best with swells from 202° (SSW). Workable range: 180°-225°.
Ideal size: 2.8m. Too small below 1.8m, too big (closeout) above 3.7m.
Needs at least 12s period. Ideal: 14s+ (long-period groundswell).
Offshore wind from 292° (WNW). Offshore range: 247°-337°. Best window: morning.
⚠️ Shallow, 😮‍💨 Hold-downs, 🪨 Rocks, 🪸 Sharp reef
Seal Point is where modern surf travel began—the wave that captivated the world in Bruce Brown's Endless Summer (1966). This long right-hand point break in Cape St. Francis once offered 150+ meter rides of pristine perfection. Unfortunately, harbour construction and sand dynamics have reportedly diminished its quality over the decades. But on rare days when everything aligns, you can still glimpse the magic that launched a thousand surf trips. A pilgrimage site for surf history buffs.
🎬 Endless Summer fame • Surf history icon • 150m legendary rights
Works best with swells from 160° (SSE). Workable range: 130°-200°.
Ideal size: 1.9m. Too small below 0.9m, too big (closeout) above 3m.
Elands Bay is the jewel of South Africa's remote West Coast—a long, barreling left-hand point break that fires when big SW swells wrap around the Cape. The drive from Cape Town is long (3+ hours), and the conditions need to be just right, but when it's on, Elands offers 150+ meter rides through hollow, sand-bottomed perfection. The setting is stark and beautiful: dry West Coast fynbos, cold Atlantic water, and not a soul around. Classic South African adventure surfing.
💎 West Coast jewel • 150m barrels • Remote South Africa
Works best with swells from 225° (SW). Workable range: 200°-260°.
Ideal size: 3.7m. Too small below 2.4m, too big (closeout) above 4.9m.
Needs at least 14s period. Ideal: 15s+ (long-period groundswell).
Offshore wind from 90° (E). Offshore range: 45°-135°. Best window: morning.
Bruce's Beauties is the legendary wave from The Endless Summer—a perfect right-hand point break in St Francis Bay that captivated the surfing world in 1966. The wave is extremely inconsistent, requiring large East swells to wrap into the bay, which only happens a handful of times per year. But when it does, the result is mechanical, ruler-edged perfection. Chasing this wave is a game of patience and timing. Surfing's original pilgrimage destination.
🎬 Endless Summer legend • Rarely perfect • Original pilgrimage
Works best with swells from 125° (SE). Workable range: 100°-160°.
Ideal size: 2.5m. Too small below 1m, too big (closeout) above 4m.
Offshore wind from 225° (SW). Offshore range: 180°-270°. Best window: morning.
Extremely inconsistent. Needs large East swells to wrap into the bay.
Sharp rocks. Shark activity in the region. Locals can be protective.
Drive to St Francis Bay, walk down the rocks.
Cape St Francis is where the endless summer dream began—the right-hand point break immortalized by Bruce Brown's iconic 1966 film that launched the global surf travel movement. While the wave rarely reaches the perfection of those legendary frames, when conditions align, it still delivers long, reeling walls along the rocky point with the same magic that captivated audiences worldwide. The Bruce's Beauties section on bigger swells offers the most defined waves, and the surrounding coastline is dotted with additional breaks worth exploring. This is hallowed ground for surf history.
🎬 Endless Summer legend • Film that changed surfing • Pilgrimage point
Works best with swells from 180° (S). Workable range: 150°-210°.
Ideal size: 1.6m. Too small below 0.8m, too big (closeout) above 2.5m.
Needs at least 10s period. Ideal: 14s+ (long-period groundswell).
Offshore wind from 300° (WNW). Offshore range: 260°-340°. Best window: morning.
Supertubes is the beating heart of Jeffreys Bay—arguably the fastest rideable wave on the planet. This section of the legendary J-Bay point complex produces immaculate, high-speed barrels that have cemented its reputation as one of surfing's most perfect waves. When winter groundswells from the Roaring Forties light up the South African coast, Supertubes delivers extended tube rides at warp speed, with the famous end section providing one last chance at glory. The WSL Championship Tour event here consistently produces the most spectacular rides of the season.
⚡ Earth's fastest wave • J-Bay's main event • WSL perfection
Ideal size: 2.3m. Too small below 1m, too big (closeout) above 3.5m.
May-September peak. SW groundswells from Roaring 40s.
Shark activity. Very crowded when good. Heavy local crew.
Bay of Plenty is Durban's friendly surf cornerstone—a reliable beach break on the famous Golden Mile where generations of South African surfers have learned their craft. Protected by shark nets and patrolled by lifeguards, this is one of Africa's most accessible surf spots, producing consistent peaks that work for all skill levels. The warm Agulhas Current keeps water temperatures pleasant year-round, while the Durban beachfront culture adds energy to every session. This is where South African surf heritage meets modern beach culture.
🇿🇦 Durban's Golden Mile • Warm Indian Ocean • South African heritage
Works best with swells from 130° (SE). Workable range: 90°-145°.
Ideal size: 1.6m. Too small below 0.6m, too big (closeout) above 2.5m.
Needs at least 9s period. Ideal: 14s+ (long-period groundswell).
Best autumn-winter. SSE groundswell season.
20min from King Shaka International. Golden Mile beachfront.
Durban North Beach is one of South Africa's classic urban beach breaks, a warm-water setup shaped by piers, sand movement and the constant energy of the Golden Mile. It is far more accessible than the country's remote points, but it still has power, sweep and crowd pressure when the banks are good. Best sessions come with clean morning land breezes and organized E-SE swell.
Durban city surf • Warm water peaks • Morning land-breeze window
Works best with swells from 110° (ESE). Workable range: 80°-130°.
Ideal size: 1.6m. Too small below 0.9m, too big (closeout) above 2.4m.
Needs at least 8s period. Ideal: 12s+ (long-period groundswell).
Offshore wind from 240° (WSW). Offshore range: 210°-270°. Best window: morning.
Best months: Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
Shark nets in place. Warm water year-round.
Plettenberg Wedge is a bodyboard-friendly wedge setup near Plettenberg Bay, known for short, explosive peaks when swell rebounds off structure and sand. It is not a mellow family beach wave: the takeoff can be abrupt, the sand bottom shifts, and the best days suit confident surfers and bodyboarders who understand shorebreak dynamics.
Plett wedge • Bodyboard-friendly peaks • Shifting sand setup
Works best with swells from 170° (S). Workable range: 150°-190°.
Offshore wind from 270° (W). Offshore range: 250°-290°. Best window: morning.
Best months: Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
Victoria Bay is the flagship wave of the Garden Route: a right-hand point that rolls over small boulder-like rocks for around 200 meters down a narrow, cliff-lined cove between George and Wilderness. Locals call it Vic Bay, and it has hosted contests since the Vic Bay Quad launched in 1976, returning to the WSL Africa qualifying series in 2019. Olympic surfer Bianca Buitendag credits her foundation to growing up on this wave. It is very consistent, holds from waist-high to well overhead, and the inside beach break turns on when the point is small, but the takeoff zone is tight and the crowd knows it.
👑 Southern Cape's premier right point • 200m boulder-bottom walls • Contest pedigree since 1976
Works best with swells from 180° (S). Workable range: 155°-210°.
Ideal size: 2.4m. Too small below 0.8m, too big (closeout) above 4m.
Offshore wind from 338° (NNW). Offshore range: 300°-15°. Best window: morning.
Winter groundswells peak around June; rideable most of March through December.
🪨 Rocks, 🌀 Strong rips, 🦈 Sharks, 👊 Localism, 👥 Crowded
Boulder rocks under the takeoff, tight lineup that packs out fast. Locals are friendly if you wait your turn.
surf-forecast.com + Wannasurf (Jul 2026)
Herolds Bay is a small resort cove tucked between George and Mossel Bay, where peaky sand-and-rock banks throw up hollow, punchy lefts and rights when an easterly swell lines up with a light morning berg wind. The setting is classic Garden Route: a 1935 tidal pool, ancient rock formations framing the beach, and a village that stays sleepy outside holiday season. It rarely gets crowded, but respect the water here, as the rips on both sides of the cove are genuinely treacherous.
🌊 Cove peaks near George • Hollow on its day • Ten minutes from the airport
Works best with swells from 135° (SE). Workable range: 90°-180°.
Offshore wind from 340° (NNW). Offshore range: 315°-20°. Best window: morning.
Winter is most consistent, June especially, though clean days are not frequent.
Currents on both sides of the bay are extremely treacherous; several bathers have drowned here. Rocks flank the peaks.
Public access, short walk from the village parking.
Outer Pool is the outside peak of Mossel Bay's double point setup at the Point, a fast, hollow right-hander that barrels over a sharp rock ledge for rides of 150 to 300 meters. Rated world class and very consistent, it works from about a meter and holds solid four-meter winter swell. It wants a south to southeast groundswell, a westerly offshore and the lower half of a rising tide, and it demands experience: urchins, rocks and a proud local crew all come with the package.
⚡ Mossel Bay's premier right • Barreling point ledge • Low-tide winter machine
Works best with swells from 157° (SSE). Workable range: 135°-225°.
Offshore wind from 270° (W). Offshore range: 225°-300°. Best window: morning.
Winter delivers; June is the standout month. Summer tends to go flat.
🦔 Urchins, 🪨 Rocks, 🦈 Sharks, 👊 Localism
Urchins and sharp rock on the ledge. Great white territory. Established local pecking order.
Instant public access from Point Street.
Inner Pool is the mellower inside peak of the Mossel Bay Point setup, a right-hand reef that breaks off the rocks in a small inlet next to Outer Pool. It tends to be slower and mushier than its big brother, but it walls up nicely on its day and often has rideable waves when Outer Pool is flat. A regional classic, very consistent and open to all surfers, it makes the sensible first paddle-out at the Point.
🌊 Friendly inside right • Works when Outer sleeps • Rock ledge runner
Winter is prime; late winter (August) is the most consistent stretch.
Urchins and rocks on the inside ledge. Great white territory.
Diaz Beach is Mossel Bay's long sandy stretch, breaking directly in front of the old Dias hotel with lefts and rights spread across kilometers of shifting banks. Named for Bartolomeu Dias, who landed in this bay in 1488, it is one of the Southern Cape's best places to learn: sandy bottom, manageable peaks and a town that claims one of the mildest year-round climates anywhere. It needs a decent southeast swell to get going inside the protected bay, and the rips deserve respect when it does.
🌊 Mossel Bay sandbanks • Learner-friendly peaks • Historic 1488 landing
Works best with swells from 135° (SE). Workable range: 100°-180°.
Ideal size: 1.8m. Too small below 1m, too big (closeout) above 2.5m.
Offshore wind from 292° (WNW). Offshore range: 270°-330°. Best window: morning.
Winter is most consistent; the bay blocks a lot of swell, so it is often too small.
Rips can make it dangerous. Great whites live in the bay, though incidents are very rare.
Buffalo Bay, Buffelsbaai to locals, is a protected curve of sand just south of the Knysna Heads, where overlapping reefs inside Walker Point serve up a consistent, slow-breaking right-hander with beach peaks running down the bay. It is considered one of the safest beaches on the Garden Route, sheltered from the rips that plague this coastline, and surf schools have operated here since 2008. The bay borders the Goukamma Marine Protected Area, hosts an annual surf contest, and stays uncrowded outside summer weekends.
🌊 Protected Knysna cove • Slow right off Walker Point • Beginner heaven
Works best with swells from 135° (SE). Workable range: 100°-190°.
Offshore wind from 270° (W). Offshore range: 245°-300°. Best window: morning.
Protected cove with rideable waves most of the year; groundswells outnumber windswells.
One of the safer Garden Route beaches, but sharks (including hammerheads) are seen in the bay.
Side road off the N2, about 15km from Knysna.
Still Bay Point is the main right-hander at Stilbaai, wrapping around the Morris Point headland just east of the harbour on the Southern Cape coast. It is a grinding right point with a classic mid-break section and, on the bigger days, a deep and thick outside section that ledges over the reef. Rides run 50 to 150 meters normally and stretch well past 200 on a proper winter swell. It starts working around a meter and holds four meters and more, but it is powerful and ledgey rather than forgiving, and a strong rip pushes down the rocks when it is big. Weekdays are usually empty; summer weekends are the only time it gets busy.
⚡ Grinding Southern Cape right • Ledgey point reef • High-tide winter groundswell
Works best with swells from 200° (SSW). Workable range: 157°-240°.
Offshore wind from 270° (W). Offshore range: 202°-340°. Best window: morning.
Winter groundswell season, with June the most reliable month for clean surf.
🪨 Rocks, 🦔 Urchins, 🌀 Strong rips, 🦈 Sharks
Sharp reef and urchins under the takeoff. When it is big a strong rip pushes you down the rocks. Great white activity along this stretch of the Southern Cape.
Wannasurf + surf-forecast.com + mystilbaai.co.za, tipped by Llewellyn Whittaker (Jul 2026)
Head towards the harbour and turn right onto the dirt road just before it. Under five minutes on foot from the parking.