Buffalo Bay (Wildside Shorey)
Surf spot · South Africa
Is it worth the trip?
35Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Wed 4: 5 ft swell at 9 s
Mon 2 · 15 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 281kJ
- Wind
- S 4 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tue 3 · 51 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 244kJ
- Wind
- E 3 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Wed 4 · 56 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 390kJ
- Wind
- ESE 1 kn
- Temp
- 26°C
Thu 5 · 55 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 250kJ
- Wind
- W 7 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 534kJ
- Wind
- W 5 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Sat 7 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 446kJ
- Wind
- W 10 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft8 ssoft
- Energy
- 856kJ
- Wind
- ESE 6 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 116, poor
- Mon 215, poor
- Tue 351, fair
- Wed 456, fair
- Thu 555, fair
- Fri 60, too big
- Sat 70, too big
- Sun 80, too big
- Mon 949, fair
- Tue 1040, poor
The spot in six facts
- Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
- Offshore: NEwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 18 °C2 mm shorty
- Best Apr–Jul1 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 16, poor | 6 ft8 ssoft7 ft at break (est.) | 386kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 4 knots | 18°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 15, poor | 5 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 281kJ | wind from the south, 4 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 51, fair | 5 ft8 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 244kJ | wind from the east, 3 knots | 22°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 56, fair | 5 ft9 ssoft7 ft at break (est.) | 390kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 1 knot | 26°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 55, fair | 4 ft9 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 250kJ | wind from the west, 7 knots | 21°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft8 smushy8 ft at break (est.) | 534kJ | wind from the west, 5 knots | 21°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft7 smushy8 ft at break (est.) | 446kJ | wind from the west, 10 knots | 19°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, too big | 8 ft8 ssoft10 ft at break (est.) | 856kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 6 knots | 18°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 49, fair | 4 ft6 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 100kJ | wind from the east, 6 knots | 22°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 40, poor | 4 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 105kJ | wind from the west, 6 knots | 21°C |
Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovLow 01:25 −0.5 mHigh 08:01 +0.5 mLow 14:16 −0.3 mHigh 20:38 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:56 −0.4 mHigh 09:42 +0.4 mLow 16:20 −0.3 mHigh 22:27 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:46 −0.4 mHigh 11:16 +0.5 mLow 17:56 −0.4 mHigh 23:54 +0.4 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
best Apr–Jul
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep0of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov0of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Buffalo Bay (Wildside Shorey) on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Buffalo Bay (Bert rock) 0 km away
- Buffalo Bay (Reef) 0.1 km away
- Fish Boma 0.2 km away
- Wild Side 0.2 km away
- Buffalo Bay (Rock) 0.4 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Buffalo Bay (Wildside Shorey)
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (203°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (23°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 400 m out (1 in 39). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 16°C in July, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 21°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April, May, June and July, with about 1 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Knysna, 10 km away (about 20 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 13 surf spots.
Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,320–US$2,590 each
about US$1,320–US$2,590 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return MDW to PBZ, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL and CPT, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$878–US$1,820 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$67–US$114 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$161–US$275 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$147–US$268 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$67–US$107 |
| Total | about US$1,320–US$2,590 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 3 towns
11 min by car · 25 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Brenton on Sea its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Knysna on Booking.com
18 min by car · 131 places to stay
- Beds in Sedgefield on Booking.com
28 min by car · 40 places to stay
About US$60 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
Getting there: about 30h 25m
About 30h 25m door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → PBZ, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), then 45 min by road
Flights MDW → PBZ on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.