Surf Forecasts:
Thompsons Bay surf forecast from 29 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 30 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 9s period, S swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 2 Aug, 8AM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 12s period, SE swell with 1,913 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 30 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 7ft (2.1m), 9s period with S swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Thompsons Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Jul 30) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 2.1m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 1.9m and 9s. Another secondary swell of 0.7m and 9s is also forecast. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Thompsons Bay in the next 16 days are 2.5m 12s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Aug 02) at 8AM. Winds are predicted to be offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.5m 3s period and expected on Monday (Aug 03) at 11AM.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Thu 30th Jul) | 7ft (2.1m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Thu 30th Jul) | 7ft (2.1m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 8AM (Sun 2nd Aug) | 8ft (2.5m) 12s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, folks. Rusty again, with the same look in feet and inches.
The outlook is a rough one for the first week. We’ve got a long stretch of onshore winds and choppy, messy surf. The good news is there’s a real standout morning, but you’ll need to wait for it.
Things start Wednesday, July 29th, with an 8ft SSE swell at 9 seconds, but a moderate cross-shore breeze makes it marginal. Water temp is about 73°, normal for the season. The combined energy is moderate (1273), but wind-battered. Thursday and Friday are worse—stronger winds, lumpy cross-chop, and poor surf. This run of almost no surfable waves goes through Saturday, August 1st, where the swell drops to 5ft from the ESE, but the wind is still cross-on. It’s a real lull.
Now, the one morning that stands out is Friday, August 7th. That’s over a week away, but it’s the only real standout. We’ve got a solid 12ft SSW swell at 9 seconds, and the wind is dead calm. Glassy conditions. That’s huge. The combined energy is strong (1700), so there’s real power. That size is definitely for experts only—over 8ft is expert territory. The break is sheltered, so it should hold the swell well, but that 9-second period might make it a bit walled up at a beach break. Still, glassy conditions with that much swell? That’s the pick of the 16 days.
Later that afternoon, the wind swings back cross-shore, and the swell holds, but it’s not as clean. The rest of the second week is a mix of onshore winds and smaller, weaker swells. Nothing else comes close to that Friday morning. If you’re a paddle surfer, August 7th is your day. If you’re a kite surfer, some of the windier days might work, but for a paddle, it’s that one glassy morning or nothing.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 19mm), heaviest on Wed night. Very mild (max 19°C on Fri afternoon, min 14°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (strong winds from the SSW on Thu afternoon, light winds from the WSW by Fri night). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Mon afternoon, min 14°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 29 | Thursday 30 | Friday 31 | Saturday 1 | Sunday 2 | Monday 3 | Tuesday 4 | |||||||||||||||
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) | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 8 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | SE 11 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SE 10 | ENE 6 | NE 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 1021 | 802 | 676 | 876 | 973 | 933 | 1070 | 821 | 341 | 288 | 421 | 828 | 1775 | 1242 | 694 | 522 | 495 | 301 | 220 | 232 | 585 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | on | off | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 4:07PM1.69m | 4:13AM1.74m | 4:35PM1.78m | 4:41AM1.78m | 5:03PM1.83m | 5:09AM1.80m | 5:32PM1.85m | 5:38AM1.77m | 6:01PM1.84m | 6:08AM1.71m | 6:32PM1.78m | 6:40AM1.62m | 7:07PM1.69m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:54AM0.19m | 10:07PM0.25m | 10:22AM0.11m | 10:36PM0.20m | 10:49AM0.07m | 11:06PM0.17m | 11:17AM0.05m | 11:35PM0.18m | 11:45AM0.07m | 00:07AM0.21m | 12:15PM0.13m | 00:40AM0.27m | 12:48PM0.22m | 1:19AM0.37m | |||||||
 |  |  |  | | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | | | | | | |
 | 6:41 | — | — | 6:41 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:39 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — | 6:37 | — | — |
 | — | 5:21 | — | — | 5:21 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:22 | — | — | 5:23 | — | — | 5:23 | — |
mm | 2 | 3 | 12 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 21 |
Feels °C | 14 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSE 9 | E 9 | SSE 9 | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 14 | SSW 13 | SSE 8 | ESE 9 | SE 9 | SE 11 | SE 12 | SE 11 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 | SE 10 | ESE 10 | ENE 8 |
| kJ | 1021 | 136 | 547 | 231 | 207 | 156 | 145 | 66 | 341 | 288 | 421 | 828 | 1775 | 1242 | 694 | 522 | 495 | 301 | 220 | 216 | 319 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | SSW 14 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | E 10 | SSW 14 | SSW 16 | ESE 9 | SSE 8 | SSW 14 | SE 13 | SSW 11 | S 11 | S 10 | S 10 | S 10 | SSW 15 | E 11 | SSW 12 | ESE 10 |
| kJ | 87 | 158 | 79 | 61 | 63 | 49 | 347 | 89 | 311 | 211 | 20 | 257 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 32 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 15 | 125 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 14 | — | SSW 15 | — | — | — | — | — | SW 13 | SSW 12 | — | SSW 13 | S 18 | S 14 | S 13 | SSW 16 | SSW 16 | S 10 | SSW 13 | S 12 | SSW 12 |
| kJ | 165 | — | 181 | — | — | — | — | — | 42 | 14 | — | 16 | 6 | 14 | 28 | 24 | 25 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 14 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SSE 9 | S 9 | S 9 | S 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | SSE 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | NE 3 | ENE 4 | ENE 5 | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | NE 7 |
| kJ | — | 802 | 676 | 876 | 973 | 933 | 1070 | 821 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 31 | 49 | 80 | 232 | 585 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 37 | 39 | 0 | 368 | 443 | 39 | 922 | 941 | 0 | 19 | 118 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Thompsons Bay 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 Thompsons Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Thompsons Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Thompsons Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Thompsons Bay 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 (Thompsons Bay) 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 Thompsons Bay 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.
Thompsons Bay is 3 km (2 miles) from the city of Ballitoville. If you plan a holiday in KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, look for hotels and other accommodation in Ballitoville. Ballitoville has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest