Witsands Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Cape Town, South Africa)

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Witsands Surf Guide

Witsands in Cape Peninsula is an exposed beach break that has quite consistent surf. Winter is the optimum time of year for surfing here. Works best in offshore winds from the northeast. Clean groundswells prevail and the ideal swell direction is from the southwest. Waves at the beach break both left and right. Unlikely to be too crowded, even when the surf is up. Be wary of rips - they make surfing here dangerous.

Witsands Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Reef	2	fairly consistent	18.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Witsands:

The best conditions reported for surf at Witsands occur when a Southwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the Northeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

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

mayBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Witsands with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of May. Clean surfable waves are typically found 22% of the time in May while 76% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 2% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

22%

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

blown out

76%

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

too small

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

Explore Witsands Location Map

Interactive Witsands 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 nearest passenger airport to Witsands is Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in South Africa, which is 32 km (20 miles) away (directly). The second closest airport to Witsands is Oudtshoorn Airport (DUH), also in South Africa, 359 km (223 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.

Witsands Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 05:57 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05
ft, °F	5AM	8AM	11AM	2PM
Wave (m)	WSW	WSW	WSW	SSW
Period (s)	12	12	12	11
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	cross- off	cross- off	cross- off	on

What does Witsands look like?

Latest photos from Witsands. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Jaap Kriele Credit: Jaap Kriele Credit: Jaap Kriele Credit: Jaap Kriele Credit: Jaap Kriele

Tides at Witsands

Current tide and informaton

For Boneyards, 6 km from Witsands.

Next High Water: 05:17pm | 1.26m

Next Low Water: 11:04am | 0.29m

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

Witsands Sea Temperature

The water temperature (18.3 °C) at Witsands is relatively warm. If the sun does come out as forecast, it should feel warm enough to surf in a summer wetsuit. Effective air temperature of 14.0 °C.

Today, many surfers would wear a summer wetsuit.

Current Temp*: 18.3°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

View Sea Temp Map

Swell History at Witsands

Surf stats for Witsands, see the swell variation by month or season on the history page here.

Average Swell

View Swell Statistics

Wind History at Witsands

Wind stats for Witsands, see the variation in direction and stength by month or season on the history page here.

Average Wind

View Wind Statistics

Witsands Reviews:

Interactive Porthcawl Point location map. View nearby buoy information, live wind conditions and surrounding roads, paths and locations to help find new breaks. Click the buoys or wind icon to view more information.

Ratings

Based on 4 votes.

Overall:2.0
Quality on a good day:2.8
Consistency of Surf:2.7
Difficulty Level:2.3
Wind and Kite Surfing:4.0
Crowds:3.7
...

See all 18 ratings

Review

Impartial reviews submitted by Surf-Forecast users.

Hugo from South Africa

“Witsand is one of my favourite spots in Cape Town. It works in west-NE winds. It is normally very quiet in the lineup but some days where it is flat in mos tether spots you will have company. It works best at lower tides and the further you move south (left when you are facing the ocean) the bigger it gets. It is a good option when all other sports nearby e.g Long Beach are flat because Witsand picks up a lot of a swell.

The locals are all very outgoing and friendly towards everyone just as long as s you don’t do anything stupid. The water is cold but not very clean.

However, there are no restaurants next to Witsand so you can drive to Kometje or to Misty Cliffs village for a bite or a drink.”

Other Nearby Breaks Closest To:

Discover surf breaks near Witsands. Click below to view there surf guides.