Cintsa East Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Eastern Cape – Wild Coast, South Africa)

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Cintsa East Surf Guide

Cintsa East in East London is an exposed beach break that has inconsistent surf. Winter is the optimum time of year for surfing here. Works best in offshore winds from the west. Light onshore winds ruin the qulaity Groundswells are more common than windswells and the best swell direction is from the southeast. Waves at the beach break both left and right. Sometimes crowded. Beware of rocks and sharks.

Cintsa East Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	5	inconsistent	18.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Cintsa East:

The best conditions reported for surf at Cintsa East occur when a Southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the West.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

mayBest Season: autumn

The best time of year for surfing Cintsa East with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Autumn and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 23% of the time in May while 26% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 51% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

23%

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

blown out

26%

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

too small

51%

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

Explore Cintsa East Location Map

Interactive Cintsa East 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 closest passenger airport to Cintsa East is East London Airport (ELS) in South Africa, 36 km (22 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Cintsa East is Bisho Airport (VIY), also in South Africa, 79 km (49 miles) away.

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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.

Cintsa East Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 20:39 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05			Wed
ft, °F	5PM	8PM	11PM	2AM
Wave (m)	S	SE	ESE	E
Period (s)	11	6	6	7
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	glass	cross	cross- on	cross- on

Tides at Cintsa East

Current tide and informaton

For Cintsa East, 0 km from Cintsa East.

Next High Water: 05:40am | 1.35m

Next Low Water: 11:32pm | 0.36m

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

Cintsa East Sea Temperature

The Cintsa East water temperature is reasonably warm (18.7 °C) and the air temperature will similar (windchill forecast 19.0 °C). A good quality summer wetsuit would be ideal.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 18.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite