Buffels Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Cape Town, South Africa)

Forecast
- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
Maps
Live
- Live Weather
- Surf Webcam
Weather State
Spot Information

Buffels Bay Surf Guide

Buffels Bay in Cape Peninsula is a sheltered point break that has unreliable waves. Winter is the favoured time of year for surfing here. The best wind direction is from the west northwest. Tends to receive distant groundswells and the ideal swell direction is from the southeast. It very rarely gets crowded here. Submerged rocks are a hazard.

Buffels Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Point	2	inconsistent	17.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Buffels Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Buffels Bay occur when a South-southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West-northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Buffels Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 9% of the time in May while 11% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 80% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

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

blown out

11%

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

too small

80%

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

Explore Buffels Bay Location Map

Interactive Buffels 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 Buffels Bay is Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in South Africa, which is 41 km (25 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Buffels Bay is Oudtshoorn Airport (DUH), also in South Africa, 352 km (219 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.

Buffels Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 05:01 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	5AM	8AM	11AM	2PM
Wave (m)	S	SSE	SSE	SSE
Period (s)	11	11	11	11
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on	cross- on

What does Buffels Bay look like?

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

Credit: Howard Oblowitz Credit: Nicolas

Tides at Buffels Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Black Rocks, 3 km from Buffels Bay.

Next High Water: 05:23am | 1.24m

Next Low Water: 11:38am | 0.36m

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

Buffels Bay Sea Temperature

The Buffels Bay water temperature is reasonably warm (17.8 °C) and the air temperature will similar (windchill forecast 15.0 °C). A good quality summer wetsuit would be ideal.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 17.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite