Big Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Cape Town, South Africa)

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Big Bay Surf Guide

Big Bay in Western Cape is an exposed beach break that has reasonably consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Offshore winds are from the east southeast. Clean groundswells prevail and the ideal swell direction is from the southwest. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Good surf at all stages of the tide. Often Crowded. Beware of rips and rocks.

Big Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	3	fairly consistent	15.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Big Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Big Bay occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the East-southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Big Bay (for consistent clean waves)?

marchBest Season: summer

The best time of year for surfing Big Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Summer and most often the month of March. Clean surfable waves are typically found 61% of the time in March while 33% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 6% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

61%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

33%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Big Bay Location Map

Interactive Big Bay surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The nearest passenger airport to Big Bay is Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in South Africa, which is 23 km (14 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Big Bay is Oudtshoorn Airport (DUH), also in South Africa, 346 km (215 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Big Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 20:38 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05			Wed
ft, °F	5PM	8PM	11PM	2AM
Wave (m)	SSW	SSW	S	S
Period (s)	11	11	11	11
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	glass	glass	cross- off

What does Big Bay look like?

Latest photos from Big Bay. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: noah Credit: Tashbash Credit: Owen Credit: Owen Credit: Owen

Tides at Big Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Beach Road, 7 km from Big Bay.

Next High Water: 05:24am | 1.24m

Next Low Water: 11:18pm | 0.41m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Big Bay Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.5 °C) at Big Bay is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (16.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.5°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite