Thompsons Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, South Africa)

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Thompsons Bay Surf Guide

Thompsons Bay in Kwazulu-Natal is a sheltered beach break that has fairly consistent surf The best wind direction is from the northwest. Tends to receive a mix of groundswells and windswells and the ideal swell angle is from the southeast. The beach breaks offer lefts and rights. Best around low tide. It's sometimes crowded here. Watch out for sharks.

Thompsons Bay Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	2	fairly consistent	25.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Thompsons Bay:

The best conditions reported for surf at Thompsons Bay occur when a Southeast swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northwest.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

aprilBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Thompsons Bay with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of April. Clean surfable waves are typically found 6% of the time in April while 26% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 68% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

26%

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

too small

68%

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

Explore Thompsons Bay Location Map

Interactive Thompsons Bay 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 closest passenger airport to Thompsons Bay is Virginia (Durban) Airport (VIR) in South Africa, 31 km (19 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Thompsons Bay is Durban International Airport (DUR), also in South Africa, 55 km (34 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.

Thompsons Bay Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Wednesday, 6 May 2026, 08:16 Local Time

m, °C	Wednesday 06
ft, °F	5AM	8AM	11AM	2PM
Wave (m)	S	S	S	SSW
Period (s)	12	11	11	11
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	off	cross- off	cross- off	off

Tides at Thompsons Bay

Current tide and informaton

For Ballitoville, 3 km from Thompsons Bay.

Next High Water: 06:02pm | 1.47m

Next Low Water: 11:52am | 0.34m

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

Thompsons Bay Sea Temperature

Very warm in and out of the water temperature at Thompsons Bay today, but forecast to be overcast. With sea temperatures of 25.7 °C and a wind chill of 24.0 °C, most surfers will choose a shorty, boardshorts or a summer suit.

Today, many surfers would wear a shorty.

Current Temp*: 25.7°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite