The Heads Surf Break

Lat Long: 34.07° S 23.06° E

The Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 1 am 13 Jul 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's The Heads sea temperature is
16.6° C
0.8° 

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


The Heads surf forecast from 13 Jul 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Wednesday 15 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 16s period, SW swell with offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Thursday 16 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 15s period, SW swell with 3,241 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 13 Jul, 8AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 10s period with SSW 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 Monday (Jul 13) at 8AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.2m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 1.4m and 8s. The wind is predicted to be offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at The Heads in the next 16 days are 3.0m 15s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 16) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives.

Wave TypeTime (SAST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 8AM (Mon 13th Jul)4ft (1.2m) 10s
Best Surf 8PM (Wed 15th Jul)5ft (1.5m) 16s
Most Powerful 2AM (Thu 16th Jul)10ft (3.0m) 15s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Heads over the next 16 days.


Alright, grab your wettie and listen up. Rusty here, and I've been staring at the charts for The Heads. Monday morning is already looking glassy with a clean 4ft SSW groundswell churning a solid 508 of energy. Water's sitting at about 62°, which is pretty average for this time of year, so nothing weird going on there.

Monday kicks it off real sweet. Dead calm winds, that 4ft swell from the SSW wrapping in with a 10-second period – that's proper groundswell, not some windswell slop. Sets will have some push and the lineups will breathe between them, making the paddle out easier. It's a "fairly consistent" sandbar break here, so you can expect waves to keep coming. If you're out there early, you'll have a real good chance at snagging clean ones before it gets "sometimes" busy.

Tuesday turns a bit average with light cross-onshore breezes, so the surface gets those first wrinkles.

Then Wednesday morning is back to glassy with a clean 3ft wave. Nice little lull in the size, but perfect for a longer board or a cruisy session.

But check this – Thursday morning is a standout. We’re looking at a solid 8ft SW groundswell, a 14-second period, and zero wind. That’s huge, high-quality energy hitting the bank with 2699 of energy behind it. The water will be clean as a mirror. This one is not for groms or beginners; that size over 8ft means you need respect and experience. For the crew who know what they’re doing, this is the pick of the week.

Friday and Saturday stay solid – Friday sees some funky cross-winds putting a chop on the face, but Saturday morning cleans right up with a light offshore breeze from the ENE and a 5ft S swell hanging around.

Sunday and Monday drop off again – wind picks up, waves get messy. That’s normal.

Now, for the second week, things get big but tricky. On Tuesday, the 21st of July, an offshore NW wind of 15 mph hits a chunky 8ft SSW groundswell with a 16-second period – that's very long period and will jack up. But by Tuesday afternoon, the swell pumps up to 12ft from the SW with over 5300 energy. That's monstrous for a sandbar. Too big for this break for most paddlers. That setup looks way more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, if you ask me.

Wednesday the 22nd stays big, 10-13ft from the SW, but the wind comes onshore from the ESE. It's messy and too big for a good time on a normal board. Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th both offer 10-12ft swells with cleaner winds again, but again, only for the absolute experts. The swell directions (SW) are a bit off The Heads’ preferred SSE, but it’s still hitting the bank.

Over that last weekend into Monday the 28th, we finally see the size drop back under 7ft with more glassy mornings – much more manageable.

Overall, your best windows are Thursday the 16th for experienced surfers, and maybe Tuesday the 21st morning for the brave. For the rest, wait for the cleaner but smaller days at the start.

Rusty.

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 19°C on Mon afternoon, min 13°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Mostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sat afternoon, min 13°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light.

Monday
13
Tuesday
14
Wednesday
15
Thursday
16
Friday
17
Saturday
18
Sunday
19
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
2
4
4
4
4
2
3
1
3
1
2
0
2
2
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
1.2
SSW
10
1.1
SSW
10
1.5
ESE
9
1.4
ESE
8
1.4
ESE
9
1.2
ESE
9
1
E
9
1.1
SW
17
3
SW
15
2.5
SW
14
2.3
SW
13
2
SW
13
2.5
SW
12
2.4
SSW
11
1.4
S
10
1.5
S
12
1.1
S
11
1
S
11
1.1
SW
13
1.4
SW
12
1.4
SW
11
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
279
260
328
275
287
254
168
679
3241
2633
1803
1279
1791
1333
377
594
297
235
374
551
431
Wind (km/h)
0
W
5
ESE
5
NNW
5
WSW
10
SW
5
NW
5
WSW
5
SSW
5
N
0
SSW
5
WSW
10
NW
15
W
5
SW
15
E
10
ENE
10
E
10
NW
15
W
10
WSW
5
NE
Wind State
glassy
glassy
cross-off
cross-on
cross-on
cross-off
glassy
cross-on
glassy
glassy
glassy
cross-off
cross
cross-on
cross
cross-off
cross
cross-off
cross
cross-on
cross-off
High Tide
3:08PM1.65m
3:23AM1.77m
3:53PM1.76m
4:08AM1.79m
4:37PM1.83m
4:50AM1.77m
5:18PM1.85m
5:30AM1.70m
5:58PM1.81m
6:09AM1.60m
6:37PM1.73m
6:47AM1.48m
7:15PM1.61m
Low Tide
8:57AM0.13m
9:15PM0.19m
9:43AM0.05m
10:03PM0.12m
10:24AM0.00m
10:48PM0.10m
11:03AM0.00m
11:31PM0.12m
11:41AM0.05m
00:12AM0.20m
12:17PM0.14m
00:52AM0.30m
12:52PM0.26m
1:32AM0.42m
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
cloud
part cloud
clear
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
7:31
7:31
7:31
7:30
7:30
7:30
7:28
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
5:35
5:35
5:36
5:36
5:37
5:37
5:37
 mm
Temp °C
18
19
16
18
18
14
17
18
15
18
19
16
17
15
14
17
20
17
17
17
14
Feels °C
17
17
15
16
16
13
17
16
13
17
18
14
14
14
14
15
19
16
14
15
14
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for The Heads:

join our community of surf reporters

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 locationNearest