Surf Forecasts:
Long Beach surf forecast from 20 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 24 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 13ft (4.0m), 15s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 23 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 15ft (4.5m), 16s period, SW swell with 10,356 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 20 Jul, 11PM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 16s period with SSW swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Long Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Long Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Jul 20) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.8m and 16s period with a secondary swell of 1.1m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Long Beach in the next 16 days are 4.5m 16s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 23) at 11PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.4m 5s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 25) at 5PM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Mon 20th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 16s |
| Best Surf | 8AM (Fri 24th Jul) | 13ft (4.0m) 15s |
| Most Powerful | 11PM (Thu 23rd Jul) | 15ft (4.5m) 16s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Long Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, let’s talk about Long Beach in feet and miles per hour.
We’ve got a slow start. That Monday afternoon (20 July) is a waste – rain, light cross-shore, and the swell is a weak 4ft at 8 seconds. The combined energy is a paltry 448. Not worth your time.
Tuesday morning (21 July) is where it kicks off. Water temp is 60°, which is about half a degree cooler than usual – pretty average. The swell is a clean 8ft SW groundswell, with a 14-second period, and the wind is glassy from the SSE. Combined energy is 2807 – moderate to strong. This is a standout. It’s over 8ft, so experienced surfers only. The afternoon stays clean with a 10ft SW swell, offshore SSE breeze at 6 mph, and 2816 energy. That’s a serious session.
Wednesday (22 July) is a dud – cross-on wind and choppy. Thursday (23 July) is messy, but the afternoon has a light cross-shore and 8ft SW swell at 13 seconds – still marginal.
Friday (24 July) is another standout. Morning: clear, light cross-offshore wind, a 13ft SW groundswell with a 15-second period. Combined energy is a massive 5889 – strong. This is big and powerful. For a beach break, that long period can make the waves a bit closey, but the offshore wind will help. Expert only. The afternoon is just as good: 12ft SW swell, 14 seconds, clean offshore wind.
The weekend (25-26 July) settles. Saturday has 7ft SW swell, clean but with a moderate breeze. Sunday afternoon turns clean offshore again, 7ft SW swell at 12 seconds – a very good, more manageable option.
The following week, Monday (27 July) morning has a smaller 5ft WSW swell, clean. Monday afternoon turns on again with a 10ft SW swell and offshore wind at 16 mph – big and clean, but the wind is getting fresh. Tuesday (28 July) is bumpy.
Another big standout is Wednesday (29 July). Morning glassy, light cross-offshore, 10ft SW groundswell at 14 seconds. Excellent for experienced surfers. The afternoon is just as good with 8ft SW swell and gentle offshore wind.
Thursday (30 July) is mediocre, but then Friday (31 July) is the biggest of the run. Morning: 15ft SW groundswell at 16 seconds, combined energy of 10113 – very strong. Afternoon: 16ft SW at 15 seconds, energy of 11140. This is exceptional, but only for elite experts. Light cross-offshore wind keeps it clean, but that size at a beach break is a monster.
The first days of August keep the size – 15ft SSW swells on Saturday (1 August) and 10ft on Sunday (2 August), both clean. Then it fades. Monday (3 August) and Tuesday (4 August) are blown out with onshore winds and tiny, weak swell.
So, the best bets? Tuesday (21 July) morning for that glassy, powerful groundswell, and Friday (24 July) for the massive, clean, offshore gems. In the second week, Wednesday (29 July) is the real clean winner. The big swell on 31 July is a long-range one to watch – promising, but not locked in.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Mon afternoon. Very mild (max 15°C on Mon afternoon, min 12°C on Wed night). Winds increasing (calm on Tue morning, fresh winds from the N by Wed night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 19°C on Sat night, min 12°C on Thu afternoon). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Mon 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | ||||||||||||||
PM | 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) | SW 8 | SSW 16 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 176 | 382 | 2725 | 2802 | 1908 | 1381 | 1189 | 967 | 1128 | 2056 | 9617 | 5889 | 4509 | 1447 | 1346 | 908 | 1042 | 1291 | 1180 | 1281 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | glassy | glassy | off | off | cross-on | cross-on | on | on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | off | off |
High Tide | 7:44PM1.31m | 8:13AM1.07m | 8:36PM1.19m | 9:20AM1.00m | 9:43PM1.11m | 10:47AM0.97m | 11:05PM1.08m | 12:11PM1.01m | 00:19AM1.11m | 1:10PM1.09m | 1:14AM1.17m | 1:54PM1.18m | 1:57AM1.25m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:13AM0.43m | 2:08PM0.51m | 3:14AM0.51m | 3:12PM0.60m | 4:33AM0.55m | 4:46PM0.64m | 5:57AM0.53m | 6:15PM0.61m | 6:59AM0.47m | 7:15PM0.54m | 7:44AM0.39m | 7:59PM0.46m | ||||||||
 |  |  | |  | |  | |  |  | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:47 | — | — | 7:46 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:45 | — | — | 7:43 | — | — |
 | 5:58 | — | — | 5:58 | — | — | 5:59 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — |
mm | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 |
Feels °C | 11 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 8 | SSW 7 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 11 | SW 13 | SW 16 | SW 15 | SW 14 | SSW 14 | SW 13 | SSW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 12 |
| kJ | 176 | 93 | 2725 | 2802 | 1908 | 1381 | 1189 | 967 | 1128 | 2056 | 9617 | 5889 | 4509 | 1447 | 1346 | 908 | 1042 | 1291 | 1180 | 1281 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 10 | SSW 16 | W 9 | SE 11 | SE 11 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 12 | WSW 12 | SW 19 | SE 12 | ESE 12 | SSW 18 | WSW 13 | SSW 13 | WSW 12 | SSW 12 | SE 5 | SW 15 | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 125 | 382 | 39 | 32 | 30 | 72 | 204 | 355 | 196 | 1044 | 37 | 55 | 251 | 1169 | 816 | 746 | 333 | 7 | 217 | 147 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 11 | SW 12 | SE 11 | W 9 | — | ESE 11 | ESE 11 | ESE 13 | ESE 13 | WSW 13 | — | — | SE 12 | SSW 16 | — | — | SE 11 | — | SE 10 | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 147 | 244 | 43 | 14 | — | 12 | 12 | 17 | 17 | 154 | — | — | 5 | 363 | — | — | 4 | — | 4 | 171 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | — | — | — | WNW 3 | NNW 4 | N 5 | — | — | — | — | SE 4 | SE 5 | SE 5 | SE 6 | — | SE 4 | — |
| kJ | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 20 | 45 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 66 | 106 | 52 | — | 5 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 32 | 32 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Long Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Long Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Long Beach 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 (Long Beach) 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 Long Beach 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 Long Beach, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Cape Town, consider staying in Cape Town which is 26 km (16 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 37 km (23 miles) away, Bellville, Stellenbosch and Kayamnandi.
Nearest