Surf Forecasts:
Thompsons Bay surf forecast from 7 Jul 2026:
- Best quality surf: Thursday 9 Jul, 8PM (local time) - 6ft (1.8m), 13s period, S swell with glassy winds.
- Most powerful swell: Friday 10 Jul, 2PM (local time) - 8ft (2.5m), 15s period, S swell with 2,872 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Wednesday 8 Jul, 2AM (local time) - 3ft (0.9m), 6s period with ENE 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 Wednesday (Jul 08) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.9m and 6s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 10s. Another secondary swell of 0.4m and 3s 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 15s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Jul 10) at 2PM. Winds are predicted to be onshore at the time the swell arrives.
| Wave Type | Time (SAST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Wed 8th Jul) | 3ft (0.9m) 6s |
| Best Surf | 8PM (Thu 9th Jul) | 6ft (1.8m) 13s |
| Most Powerful | 2PM (Fri 10th Jul) | 8ft (2.5m) 15s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Thompsons Bay over the next 16 days.
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break it down for the Bay.
Right off the bat, it’s a slow start. The swell is tiny and the conditions are messy. Water temp is pretty normal for this time of year.
Thompsons Bay: Wednesday the 8th and Thursday the 9th are a total loss – tiny waves, poor conditions, nothing doing. Friday the 10th brings a jump to 8ft to 8ft of south swell, but the onshore wind has it all chopped up. That’s big enough for experts only, and the wind makes it a grind. The combined swell energy is strong (2507 on Friday morning) but it’s not your friend.
Saturday the 11th drops to 6ft, still messy. Sunday the 12th afternoon is your first real chance – the wind goes glassy, and we get a clean 4ft south swell with moderate energy (511). It’s small but clean, with a 12-second period for decent shape. Crowds might be around.
Monday and Tuesday the 13th and 14th are back to choppy, windy conditions.
The standout: Wednesday the 15th afternoon. Glassy conditions again with a 6ft south-east swell, 10-second period. Moderate energy (553), clean faces. That’s a solid session for an intermediate surfer.
Second week: Friday the 17th brings a bigger 8ft SSW swell with a long 14-second period and strong energy (2985), but light rain and cross-shore wind will mess it up. Monday the 20th morning has a 5ft south swell with a super long 18-second period and clean offshore wind – that could be a dream for a point break, but it’s a long way off, so don’t count on it yet.
First week: Sunday the 12th afternoon and Wednesday the 15th afternoon are your cleanest bets. Second week has some promise but it’s a gamble. The Bay can be quiet, but it always swings back.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Tue night, min 17°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 8mm), mostly falling on Sat night. Warm (max 21°C on Mon afternoon, min 16°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 8 | Thursday 9 | Friday 10 | Saturday 11 | Sunday 12 | Monday 13 | Tue 14 | |||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 6 | SSW 14 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 15 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | SSW 13 | S 12 | S 12 | SSW 11 | ESE 8 | S 13 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 66 | 41 | 53 | 84 | 184 | 1113 | 971 | 2469 | 2612 | 1576 | 1121 | 851 | 339 | 496 | 403 | 173 | 353 | 345 | 426 | 497 | 653 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | glassy | off | cross | cross | off | cross-on | cross-on |
High Tide | 8:37PM1.52m | 8:56AM1.32m | 9:44PM1.46m | 10:18AM1.25m | 11:09PM1.43m | 11:55AM1.27m | 00:36AM1.48m | 1:17PM1.37m | 1:46AM1.58m | 2:20PM1.52m | 2:42AM1.69m | 3:11PM1.66m | 3:30AM1.78m | 3:57PM1.79m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:56AM0.55m | 3:07PM0.50m | 4:12AM0.59m | 4:26PM0.56m | 5:42AM0.57m | 5:58PM0.54m | 7:03AM0.48m | 7:19PM0.45m | 8:06AM0.35m | 8:23PM0.33m | 8:58AM0.22m | 9:16PM0.21m | 9:42AM0.11m | ||||||||
 |  | |  | | | | | |  |  |  |  |  | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:50 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — | — | 6:48 | — |
 | 5:08 | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:09 | — | — | 5:10 | — | — | 5:10 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:12 | — | — | 5:13 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 22 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 20 |
Feels °C | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ENE 6 | ENE 6 | SE 9 | ENE 6 | S 6 | S 14 | S 13 | S 15 | S 15 | S 14 | S 13 | S 13 | SSE 7 | S 12 | S 12 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 9 | ESE 9 | SE 10 |
| kJ | 66 | 13 | 31 | 35 | 62 | 1113 | 971 | 2469 | 2612 | 1576 | 1121 | 851 | 180 | 496 | 403 | 135 | 353 | 326 | 426 | 497 | 653 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 10 | SE 9 | SW 14 | SSW 15 | SSW 15 | E 9 | E 8 | E 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 8 | ENE 9 | ENE 8 | SSW 13 | ESE 6 | ESE 7 | SSW 11 | S 11 | S 13 | S 11 | S 11 | S 10 |
| kJ | 32 | 31 | 53 | 84 | 184 | 40 | 36 | 31 | 19 | 19 | 25 | 24 | 339 | 75 | 77 | 173 | 198 | 345 | 209 | 146 | 100 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 15 | SSW 14 | E 10 | SE 9 | ENE 8 | ESE 9 | SE 15 | SE 14 | SE 13 | SE 13 | — | — | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | S 14 | SSE 8 | SSE 9 | — | — |
| kJ | 42 | 41 | 17 | 13 | 35 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 6 | — | — | 19 | 30 | 31 | 22 | 194 | 44 | 127 | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SSW 3 | — | ENE 6 | SSW 4 | SSW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SE 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | S 5 |
| kJ | 3 | — | 29 | 29 | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 188 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 48 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 0 | 116 | 37 | 25 | 7 | 39 | 0 | 39 | 39 | 7 | 6 | 40 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 42 | 0 | 93 | 39 |
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