The Heads 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

Lat Long: 34.07° S 23.06° E

Issued: 1 pm 23 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in hr min

Today's The Heads sea temperature is

17.5° C

The Heads surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.

Surf Forecasts:

How big are the waves at The Heads today (23 Jul):

Morning surf: Morning surf (23 Jul, local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 12s period with SW swell.
Afternoon surf: Afternoon surf (23 Jul, local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 11s period with SW swell.
Evening surf: Evening surf (23 Jul, local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 11s period with SW swell.

The current surf forecast for The Heads at 7PM is: 3.0m 11s primary swell from a Southwest direction and 0.6m 12s secondary swell from a East-southeast direction, 0.3m 20s secondary swell from a South-southwest direction (forecast issued at 01:00pm July 23). The wind direction is predicted to be cross-onshore.

Time (SAST) & Date	Wave Height	Wave Period
Morning (23 Jul)	7ft (2.1m)	12s
Afternoon (23 Jul)	10ft (3.0m)	11s
Evening (23 Jul)	10ft (3.0m)	11s

Table - waves today at The Heads. (Swell directed towards the surf break)

	Short Range Forecast Moderate rain (total 11mm), heaviest on Thu night. Warm (max 21°C on Sun morning, min 12°C on Fri morning). Wind will be generally light.
	Thu 23					Friday 24								Saturday 25
	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM	2 AM	5 AM	8 AM	11 AM	2 PM	5 PM	8 PM	11 PM
Rating (10 max)	3	0	2	0	2	4	!	!	!	!	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	2	3	4	4
Swell Height Map See all maps
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 11	SW 12	SW 11	SW 11	SW 12	SSW 17	SSW 16	SSW 16	SSW 16	SSW 15	SSW 15	SSW 14	SW 14	SW 14	SW 14	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 12
Wave Graph
kJ	1325	1776	2301	2069	2169	3099	8161	8111	6656	5032	4217	3714	3009	2633	2050	1736	1838	2005	1975	1915	1652
Wind (km/h)	W	WSW	W	SW	W	WSW	WNW	NW	NE	SE	ESE	NNE	N	NNW	NNW	N	ESE	SE	E	ENE	NE
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy	cross	cross-on	cross	cross-on	cross	cross	cross-off	cross-off	glassy	cross-on	cross	cross-off	off	off	glassy	off	glassy	cross-on	cross	cross-off	cross-off
High Tide	10:58AM1.05m					11:34PM1.19m				12:41PM1.10m				00:56AM1.24m				1:43PM1.21m
Low Tide			4:43PM0.75m					6:22AM0.67m				6:36PM0.72m				7:32AM0.58m				7:43PM0.63m


	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:26	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7:26	—	—	—	—	—	—
	—	—	5:40	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:42	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5:42	—	—
mm	—	—	2	6	1	1	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Temp °C	19	15	13	14	14	13	13	12	15	17	15	13	14	13	13	13	16	18	16	14	15
Feels °C	16	10	9	9	11	11	11	10	14	15	13	12	13	12	12	11	14	15	14	12	13
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	SW 11	ESE 12	ESE 12	ESE 12	SW 12	SW 12	SSW 16	SSW 16	SSW 16	SSW 15	SSW 15	SSW 14	SW 14	SW 14	SW 14	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 13	SW 12
kJ	1325	125	94	94	2169	2388	8161	8111	6656	5032	4217	3714	3009	2633	2050	1736	1838	2005	1975	1915	1652
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	ESE 12	—	S 22	S 20	SSW 18	SSW 17	ESE 12	SE 12	ESE 11	ESE 11	SE 11	SE 11	SE 7	SE 7	SE 7	SE 7	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10	SE 10
kJ	127	—	9	198	900	3099	54	65	49	49	31	31	59	77	65	60	110	100	80	104	80
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	—	SSW 22	E 8	ESE 12	SE 12	—	SE 12	ESE 11	ESE 11	—	—	SE 11	—	—	SE 10	SE 10	—	—	—	—
kJ	—	—	45	1	93	68	—	65	50	49	—	—	57	—	—	23	46	—	—	—	—
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s)	—	SW 12	SW 11	SW 11	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	E 3	E 4	ESE 4
kJ	—	1776	2301	2069	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5	14	14
Nearest Offshore or Glassy	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Brak River Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Ding Dangs Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Murphys (Buffalo Bay Beach) Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Buffalo Bay Wildside Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route	The Heads Garden Route
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	5	6	9	9	7	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Distance (km)	7	85	8	88	8	7	8	8	8	26	26	0	0	0	0	0	0	26	8	0	0
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route	Brak River	Brak River	Buffalo Bay	Santos Reef	Dias Beach	Herolds Bay	Herolds Bay	Fish Boma	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Goukamma River Mouth	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point	Gerickes Point
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	5	7	9	9	7	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Best forecast wave conditions in South Africa	Magna Tubes Eastern Cape (S)	Kanon Overberg	Yzerfontein West Coast	Paranoia Overberg	Paranoia Overberg	Dolphin Point Overberg	Dolphin Point Overberg	Fish Boma Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Whispering Waves Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Yellow sands Point Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Periwinkles Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Periwinkles Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Periwinkles Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Periwinkles Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Gerickes Point Garden Route	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast	Haga-Haga Eastern Cape - Wild Coast
Rating (10 max)	4	4	4	4	5	9	9	9	7	7	6	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Header Global	Point Roadnight Australia	Benkunqut Indonesia	Benkunqut Indonesia	Point Roadnight Australia	Point Roadnight Australia	Dolphin Point South Africa	Dolphin Point South Africa	Bruces Beauties South Africa	Boneyards South Africa	Sea Vista South Africa	Cathedral Rock Australia	Cathedral Rock Australia	Papatowai New Zealand	Spooky's New Zealand	Nine Mile New Zealand	Papatowai New Zealand	Bancoora Australia	Bell Block Reef New Zealand	Bell Block Reef New Zealand	Raglan-Indicators New Zealand	Anawhata Road (Oaonui) New Zealand
Rating (10 max)	8	4	4	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	9	8	6	6	7	5	5	6	5	6	5

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

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The Heads 48 hour detailed Surf Forecast

How big are the waves at The Heads today (23 Jul):

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