Surf Forecasts:
Hout Bay surf forecast from 11 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 15 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 15s period, WSW swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Tuesday 15 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 15s period, WSW swell with 4,986 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 13 Sep, 11PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 13s period with SW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Hout Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Hout Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 13) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 13s period with a secondary swell of 1.0m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Hout Bay in the next 16 days are 3.5m 15s and forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Sep 15) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 2.0m 6s period and expected on Monday (Sep 14) at 2PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Sun 13th Sep) | 5ft (1.6m) 13s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Tue 15th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Tue 15th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Hout Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Right, let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Hout Bay over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. The breakwater is a sheltered, beginner-friendly spot, but it’s inconsistent and picks up swell best from the southwest. We’ve got a decent run of south-west swell lined up, but the wind is going to be a real pest for most of it.
The water’s sitting at 58°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year – you’ll want the thick rubber.
The first real chance to get wet without getting blown off your board looks like Saturday the 19th of September. The morning is the standout here – glassy conditions with a 7ft SW groundswell (period 13 seconds) and combined energy of 1514 (moderate to strong). That’s clean, good-sized, and with that long period, it’ll have some punch. It could be a little straight for a beach setup, but at the breakwater it should offer some fun, shapely ones. It might get a little busy as crowds are sometimes an issue here.
Sunday the 21st of September morning is another one to circle. Again, glassy conditions with a solid 7ft WSW groundswell (period 15 seconds) and combined energy of 1691. That’s proper groundswell, very long period, so expect some lulls between sets but quality waves when they come. Another clean morning for the early birds.
After that, the wind patterns get messy again with onshore and cross-onshore winds through the rest of the period. The 26th of September Saturday morning shows a glimmer of hope with light winds and a 5ft SW swell, but it’s not the same quality as those two mornings before.
So, to keep it simple: Saturday 19th and Sunday 21st of September mornings are your best bets. Get on it early for glassy conditions and some decent SW swell.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Mon morning. Warm (max 20°C on Sun afternoon, min 15°C on Fri night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SE on Sat afternoon, light winds from the SE by Sun night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 29mm), heaviest during Tue night. Very mild (max 16°C on Tue afternoon, min 12°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (light winds from the WNW on Tue night, strong winds from the SSE by Thu afternoon). | ||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 7 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | NW 7 | NW 7 | SW 15 | SW 16 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | SW 13 | SSW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 485 | 1776 | 3233 | 2482 | 1550 | 1029 | 663 | 374 | 453 | 268 | 183 | 1474 | 4658 | 2546 | 1021 | 1333 | 792 | 711 | 1209 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | on | on | on | on | on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | off | cross-on | on | on | on | on | on | on |
High Tide | 3:44AM1.55m | 3:58PM1.68m | 4:16AM1.51m | 4:29PM1.62m | 4:48AM1.44m | 4:59PM1.52m | 5:18AM1.35m | 5:29PM1.40m | 5:49AM1.24m | 6:00PM1.27m | 6:23AM1.12m | 6:35PM1.13m | |||||||
Low Tide | 9:42PM-0.01m | 9:48AM0.03m | 10:15PM0.01m | 10:19AM0.08m | 10:45PM0.08m | 10:49AM0.16m | 11:15PM0.17m | 11:18AM0.26m | 11:44PM0.28m | 11:47AM0.38m | 00:14AM0.41m | 12:19PM0.51m | 00:53AM0.53m | ||||||
 |  |  | |  | |  |  |  | | | |  | | |  | | | | |
 | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:46 | — | — | 6:45 | — | — | 6:43 | — | — |
 | 6:34 | — | 6:35 | — | — | 6:36 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:38 | — |
mm | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 26 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 14 |
Feels °C | 9 | 11 | 10 | 14 | 16 | 19 | 18 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 11 | SW 15 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 11 | SW 16 | WSW 14 | WSW 14 | SW 13 | SSW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 |
| kJ | 386 | 1776 | 3233 | 2482 | 1550 | 1029 | 663 | 374 | 309 | 245 | 183 | 1474 | 4658 | 2546 | 1021 | 1333 | 792 | 711 | 1209 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | — | — | — | SSE 8 | — | SSE 8 | SE 9 | SSE 9 | SW 17 | SW 15 | WSW 8 | — | SW 13 | W 13 | WSW 13 | W 12 | W 12 | W 11 |
| kJ | 248 | — | — | — | 172 | — | 64 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 139 | 172 | — | 637 | 919 | 581 | 353 | 224 | 63 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ESE 13 | SE 13 | ESE 9 | SW 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 7 | 8 | 166 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 7 | SSE 8 | SE 8 | SSE 8 | NNW 4 | NNW 6 | NW 7 | NW 7 | NW 6 | NW 7 | — | — | S 7 | SE 5 | SSE 5 | SSE 6 | SE 6 |
| kJ | 485 | 301 | 559 | 302 | 545 | 199 | 19 | 178 | 453 | 268 | 252 | 275 | — | — | 248 | 76 | 77 | 208 | 105 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 408 | 14 | 14 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 153 | 20 | 178 | 277 | 0 | 234 | 234 | 3 | 48 | 48 | 14 | 14 | 942 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cape Town | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Hout Bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Hout Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Hout Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Hout Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Hout Bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Hout Bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Hout Bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Cape Town? If you are looking for accommodation near Hout Bay, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Cape Town, consider staying in Cape Town which is 16 km (10 miles) away. Other places in and around Cape Town where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Robben Island which is 27 km (17 miles) away, Bellville, Kayamnandi and Stellenbosch.
Nearest