Glencairn Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Cape Town, South Africa)

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Glencairn Surf Guide

Glencairn in Cape Peninsula is a fairly exposed beach and reef break that has fairly consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. The best wind direction is from the west northwest. Groundswells more frequent than windswells and the ideal swell direction is from the southeast. Waves at the beach break both left and right as well as a left hand reef break.. Best around low tide. Likely to be crowded if working. Take care of the strong rips here.

Glencairn Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach and reef	3	fairly consistent	17.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Glencairn:

The best conditions reported for surf at Glencairn occur when a 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 Glencairn (for consistent clean waves)?

juneBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Glencairn with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of June. Clean surfable waves are typically found 3% of the time in June while 6% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 91% 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

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

too small

91%

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

Explore Glencairn Location Map

Interactive Glencairn 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 Glencairn is Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in South Africa, which is 27 km (17 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Glencairn 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.

Glencairn Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 10:54 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 13
ft, °F	11AM	2PM	5PM	8PM
Wave (m)	SW	SW	SW	SW
Period (s)	12	12	12	12
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off

What does Glencairn look like?

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

Credit: Safwaan Credit: Ryan Kemp Credit: Gabriel Kayser Credit: Gabriel Kayser Credit: Gabriel Kayser

Tides at Glencairn

Current tide and informaton

For Baileys Cottage Reef, 6 km from Glencairn.

Next High Water: 12:45pm | 1.29m

Next Low Water: 06:43pm | 0.3m

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

Glencairn Sea Temperature

The Glencairn water temperature is reasonably warm (17.3 °C) but the air temperature will feel a few degrees cooler (13.0 °C). A good quality spring wetsuit would be ideal.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 17.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Glencairn

Surf stats for Glencairn, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Glencairn

Wind stats for Glencairn, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Glencairn Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 5 votes.

Overall:3.0
Quality on a good day:3.4
Consistency of Surf:3.2
Difficulty Level:2.8
Wind and Kite Surfing:5.0
Crowds:3.0
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Stefan from South Africa

“This is not Glencairn but actually Clovelly that is described as well as the location. Glencairn is Past Fish Hoek”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

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