Surf Forecasts:
The Heads surf forecast from 12 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Sunday 13 Sep, 2PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 10s period, ESE swell with cross-shore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 16 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 15s period, SW swell with 3,026 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Sunday 13 Sep, 2PM (local time) - 11ft (3.5m), 10s period with ESE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Heads this week:
The surf forecast for The Heads over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Sunday (Sep 13) at 2PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 3.5m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 1.9m and 14s. The wind is predicted to be cross-shore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at The Heads in the next 16 days are 2.5m 15s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 16) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2PM (Sun 13th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 2PM (Sun 13th Sep) | 11ft (3.5m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Wed 16th Sep) | 8ft (2.5m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Heads over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let's look into the next couple of weeks for The Heads.
Right now, the early part of the outlook is quiet. There's nothing really worth paddling out for until later in the week. It looks like we'll be waiting a few days for anything decent.
Tuesday the 15th is where things start to get interesting. We’ve got a clean 5ft swell rolling in from the east with a period of 11 seconds. The real story here is the morning – glassy conditions with a light WSW breeze. That’s a proper combo for The Heads. The water is sitting around 60°, which is a touch colder than normal for this time of year, so you might want an extra mm of rubber.
Now, the standout moment is Thursday the 24th. This is the one to circle on the calendar. A clean 6ft swell from the south-southwest, but with a 13-second period, giving it some real push. The wind is offshore from the north-northeast, and the conditions are described as excellent for experienced surfers. The combined energy is solid at 2387, so there's plenty of power in the water. This is the pick of the forecast.
Later on, Sunday the 27th is also a damn fine option. We’re looking at a 5ft to 6ft groundswell from the southwest with a very long 18 to 19-second period. The mornings are glassy, with a light northeasterly breeze. For a south-west swell with that sort of period, it’ll be lining up nicely at the point, but keep in mind that long period can sometimes make a beach break a bit straight. The Heads should handle it well.
Otherwise, the rest of the period is a mix of onshore winds, building seas, and marginal conditions. The bigger swells, like the 10ft to 12ft on the 13th, are blown out with strong cross-shore winds and will be messy. That's more of a kite day than a paddle day. Swell energy dips in the second week, and the wind stays unfriendly.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Sat night. Warm (max 20°C on Sun afternoon, min 16°C on Sat morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryHeavy rain (total 46mm), heaviest during Wed night. Warm (max 21°C on Tue afternoon, min 13°C on Wed morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | Monday 14 | Tuesday 15 | Wednesday 16 | Thursday 17 | Friday 18 | |||||||||||||||
AM | 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 14 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | E 11 | E 11 | SW 16 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 13 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 825 | 1845 | 2472 | 1874 | 2085 | 1529 | 1053 | 910 | 721 | 617 | 418 | 1333 | 2562 | 1504 | 1210 | 860 | 792 | 622 | 880 | 1418 | 1498 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | off | glassy | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 4:21PM1.95m | 4:36AM1.75m | 4:50PM1.88m | 5:04AM1.68m | 5:18PM1.77m | 5:32AM1.58m | 5:45PM1.63m | 5:58AM1.45m | 6:11PM1.47m | 6:25AM1.31m | 6:38PM1.31m | 6:56AM1.16m | 7:13PM1.15m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 10:09AM-0.01m | 10:35PM0.01m | 10:38AM0.04m | 11:02PM0.08m | 11:05AM0.12m | 11:29PM0.18m | 11:31AM0.24m | 11:54PM0.31m | 11:57AM0.38m | 00:21AM0.45m | 12:24PM0.53m | 00:52AM0.59m | 12:56PM0.68m | 1:44AM0.74m | |||||||
 |  |  | | |  |  | |  |  | | |  |  | | | | | |  |  | |
 | 6:31 | — | — | 6:30 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:28 | — | — | 6:26 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — |
 | — | 6:15 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:17 | — | — | 6:17 | — | — | 6:19 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — |
mm | 1 | — | 8 | 3 | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | 8 | 17 | 21 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 15 |
Feels °C | 18 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 14 | SW 16 | SSW 16 | SSW 15 | SW 14 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | E 11 | E 11 | SW 10 | SW 14 | SW 14 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 12 | SW 14 | SW 13 |
| kJ | 825 | 1845 | 2472 | 1714 | 1187 | 1529 | 1053 | 910 | 721 | 617 | 418 | 850 | 2562 | 1504 | 1210 | 860 | 792 | 622 | 880 | 1418 | 1498 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 6 | SE 7 | — | — | — | SW 13 | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 12 | SW 11 | SW 10 | SW 16 | E 11 | E 10 | SSW 6 | E 10 | E 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 |
| kJ | 85 | 131 | — | — | — | 780 | 527 | 373 | 298 | 249 | 328 | 1164 | 143 | 131 | 43 | 98 | 355 | 415 | 314 | 222 | 149 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 10 | SSE 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | SW 7 | SW 16 | SSW 18 | E 11 | — | — | — | — | SSE 6 | — | — | — | SSW 16 |
| kJ | 111 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 100 | 65 | 273 | 235 | — | — | — | — | 55 | — | — | — | 100 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | ESE 9 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | — | — | SSW 5 | — | — | — | WSW 10 | — | SE 6 | ESE 7 | ESE 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | 1897 | 1874 | 2085 | — | — | 40 | — | — | — | 1333 | — | 235 | 344 | 458 | — | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 7 | 33 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 26 | 481 | 26 | 0 | 483 | 516 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Garden Route | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 The Heads 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 The Heads Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for The Heads provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Heads can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Heads 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 (The Heads) 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 The Heads 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 Garden Route? If you are looking for accommodation near The Heads, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Garden Route, consider staying in Knysna which is 4 km (2 miles) away. Other places in and around Garden Route where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Plettenberg Bay which is 28 km (17 miles) away, George, Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn.
Nearest