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Elands Bay surf forecast
Elands Bay is a long left-hand point on South Africa's West Coast. It breaks over a rocky, kelp-covered shelf and runs toward a small river mouth. It faces north-west and cleans up on a south-east wind, and it works best in the colder months.
Elands Bay surf report, hour by hour
This table gives the forecast hour by hour for Elands Bay Point. It shows swell size, period and direction, wind and tide. The break takes swell from the south round to the north-west.
Updated 09:58next run 14:40Open-Meteo wave and wind models
09:00–10:00 · glassy
Today 3 Nov
Go 06-07, clean chest-shoulder, glassy.
Best window: 06:00–07:00
Tide and daylight
- Low
- 04:08
- High
- 10:25
- Low
- 17:02
- High
- 23:08
- Sunrise
- 05:47
- Sunset
- 19:14
Every hour, 05–21
Tomorrow 4 Nov
Worth it 09-10, clean chest-shoulder, glassy.
Kiwi's best shot: 09:00–10:00
Tide and daylight
- Low
- 05:11
- High
- 11:30
- Low
- 17:58
- Sunrise
- 05:46
- Sunset
- 19:14
Every hour, 05–21
Thursday 5 Nov
Marginal 06-10: the wind spoils it, head-high, onshore NW.
Best window: 06:00–10:00
Tide and daylight
- High
- 00:00
- Low
- 06:02
- High
- 12:12
- Low
- 18:38
- Sunrise
- 05:45
- Sunset
- 19:15
Every 3 hours
Friday 6 Nov
Marginal 13-17: average, overhead, cross-shore WSW.
Best window: 13:00–17:00
Tide and daylight
- High
- 00:45
- Low
- 06:45
- High
- 12:53
- Low
- 19:16
- Sunrise
- 05:44
- Sunset
- 19:16
Every 3 hours
Forecast point: Elands Bay (-32.315, 18.327). Waves = estimated breaking height at the beach. Data: Open-Meteo wave and weather models (CC BY 4.0). Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information. Surf at your own risk.
Watch the wind first. Offshore here is a south-east wind. In one sample forecast week, several days started with light wind and then turned to a stronger south to south-west wind by the afternoon.
Surfing Elands Bay: the point and its neighbours
Elands Bay sits about 220 km north of Cape Town in the Western Cape. It is an exposed spot with reef, point and river-mouth waves. Both the point and the reef break left. A handful of other reefs and points lie within a few kilometres.
Elands Bay Point
Left pointIntermediate+The take-off is hollow, and then a cylindrical wall runs along the rocky shelf. On good days it can barrel and run up to about 300 m before it shuts down on the beach break.
It works from about waist-high up to triple overhead. It is not a wave for beginners. Sources: mondo.surf · yeeew.com
Baboon Point
Reef breakFairly consistentBaboon Point is a reef about 2 km from the main point and is rated fairly consistent. Tide times for Elands Bay are taken from here. Sources: surf-forecast.com
Guyztus Point
Point breakNearbyGuyztus Point is another point break, also about 2 km away. It is rated fairly consistent. Sources: surf-forecast.com
Farmer Burgers
Reef breakRock and sandFarmer Burgers is a reef close to Elands Bay. Its bottom is a mix of rock and sand. Sources: surf-forecast.com · mondo.surf
Lamberts Bay
Sand and rocksLow–mid tideLamberts Bay is about 27 km away. It breaks over sand and rocks and works best from low to mid tide. Sources: windy.app · mondo.surf
What Elands Bay needs to fire
These are the exact rules behind Kiwi's rating for this spot. Every hour of the forecast is scored on all four, then turned into a rating of 1 to 5 stars.
Swell
South to north-west swell
The break is open to swell from the south round to the north-west.
Wind
South-east is offshore
A south-east wind blows offshore here. Last December, 65% of days had offshore wind.
Tide
Works on any tide
Our model rates Elands Bay Point as surfable on any tide.
Size
Best at 1.5–3 m
It is ideal at 1.5 to 3.0 m. Below about 0.8 m it is too small, and above 5.0 m it gets too big.
Shortcut: look for 1.5–3 m of swell with a south-east wind, and you have the classic Elands Bay setup.
The best months to surf Elands Bay
We replayed Kiwi's rating on every day of the last year and counted how often Elands Bay's best window reached 4 or 5 stars.
Jun–SepWinter is prime time
August is the strongest month. 68% of days rate 4+ and 87% rate 3+, and June to September all hold above half good days. Other guides also call winter the best season here.
Apr–MayAutumn builds
Good days rise from 30% in April to 52% in May, and typical size grows to about 2.3 m. One guide counts April as its pick for clean waves.
Oct–NovSpring still delivers
October and November still bring 45–53% good days and 64–70% fair-or-better days.
Dec–MarLeaner summer months
February and March are the quietest. Only 25–29% of days rate 4+, and typical size is about 1.5 m. The water is warmest now, up to about 17°C in March.
Before you go
Hazards
The bottom is mostly rock and covered in kelp. Our setup also flags very cold water and sharks.
Getting in and out over the rocks can be tricky, and it changes with the tide. Booties help. Sources: mondo.surf
Getting there
Elands Bay is about 220 km north of Cape Town. The closest airport is Cape Town International, about 186 km away in a straight line. Sources: mondo.surf · surf-forecast.com
Parking and access
The break is roughly 500 m to the left of the main campsite. There is an informal parking area close by. Sources: mondo.surf
Crowds and etiquette
This is a regional classic, and it gets very crowded when it is on. Weekends are the busiest.
Respect the locals and check the surf etiquette when it is busy. Sources: yeeew.com · mondo.surf
Water temperature and wetsuit
In winter the sea drops to about 13°C in July and August.
In summer it reaches about 15–17°C.
Best time of day
Go early. In one sample forecast week, several mornings had light wind, and a stronger south to south-west wind set in by the afternoon. Sources: swell.co.za
Boards
Take a longboard when it is small, a shortboard as it builds, and a step-up when it gets big. Sources: yeeew.com
In town
Elands Bay is a small town with basic amenities. There is a bar, a liquor store, and a hotel above the campsite. The Verlorenvlei wetland nearby is known for its birdlife. Sources: mondo.surf
Where the numbers come from
The method
Kiwi takes Open-Meteo's wave and wind models (ECMWF WAM, Météo-France, NOAA GFS and Open-Meteo's best-match blend) at a point about 5 km off Elands Bay. There is no buoy correction here yet: these are the models as they come.
Each hour is scored on the four rules above (swell, wind, tide, size). The stars are calibrated on a full year of data for South Africa, so 4 stars at Elands Bay is a genuinely good day by that country's standard.
What we can say
The season chart and the stars use the same rules, replayed on the archive: a month marked good was good by these rules, not by a surf report.
Without a buoy nearby, the size at the beach is our model's estimate, not a measurement.
Elands Bay surf questions
Is Elands Bay good for beginners?
No. Guides rate it for intermediate and advanced surfers. The wave has a hollow take-off, and getting in and out over the rocks can be tricky.
When is the best time to surf Elands Bay?
Winter. August is the top month, with 68% of days rated 4+, and May to September are all strong.
How cold is the water in Elands Bay in December?
About 15.4°C on average in December.
What wind and swell does Elands Bay need?
A south-east wind is offshore, and swell can come from south to north-west. The ideal size is 1.5–3 m.
Does tide matter at Elands Bay?
Our model rates it as surfable on any tide. Some guides prefer mid to high tide, and getting in and out over the rocks changes with the tide.
Is Elands Bay crowded?
Yes, when it is good, and above all on weekends.
Catch the next good Elands Bay swell
Check the hour-by-hour Elands Bay surf forecast above. Look for 1.5–3 m of swell with a south-east wind. Booties are a good idea for the rocky entry.