Sunset Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Cape Town, South Africa)

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Sunset Beach Surf Guide

Sunset Beach in Western Cape is a fairly exposed beach break that does not work very often. Winter is the best time of year for surfing here. Offshore winds are from the northeast. Most of the surf here comes from groundswells and the optimum swell angle is from the southwest. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. The quality of the surf isn't affected by the tide. When it's working here, it can get crowded. Take care of locals and sharks.

Sunset Beach Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	inconsistent	15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Sunset Beach:

The best conditions reported for surf at Sunset Beach occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Sunset Beach 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 23% of the time in May while 75% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 2% 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

75%

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

too small

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

Explore Sunset Beach Location Map

Interactive Sunset Beach 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 Sunset Beach is Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in South Africa, which is 20 km (12 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Sunset Beach is Oudtshoorn Airport (DUH), also in South Africa, 344 km (214 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.

Sunset Beach Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 09:44 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	5AM	8AM	11AM	2PM
Wave (m)	S	S	S	S
Period (s)	11	11	11	10
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross	glass	cross- on	cross

What does Sunset Beach look like?

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

Credit: John Rattey

Tides at Sunset Beach

Current tide and informaton

For Cape Town, South Africa, 10 km from Sunset Beach.

Next High Water: 05:59pm | 1.46m

Next Low Water: 11:35am | 0.57m

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

Sunset Beach Sea Temperature

The water temperature (15.8 °C) at Sunset Beach is quite cool. If the sun shines as we have forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a good spring wetsuit. Effective windchill factor of (16.0 °C) will make the air and water feel about the same temperature.

Today, many surfers would wear a spring wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 15.8°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite