Cape Death
Surf spot · South Africa
Is it worth the trip?
42Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 3 ft swell at 10 s
Tue 3 · 54 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 179kJ
- Wind
- N 2 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Wed 4 · 50 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 231kJ
- Wind
- E 4 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Thu 5 · 29 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 362kJ
- Wind
- WNW 10 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Fri 6 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 600kJ
- Wind
- WNW 9 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Sat 7 · 45 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 114kJ
- Wind
- SSW 5 kn
- Temp
- 15°C
Sun 8 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 849kJ
- Wind
- ENE 15 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Mon 9 · 52 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 203kJ
- Wind
- NE 6 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 218, poor
- Tue 354, fair
- Wed 450, fair
- Thu 529, poor
- Fri 60, too big
- Sat 745, fair
- Sun 80, too big
- Mon 952, fair
- Tue 1027, poor
- Wed 110, too big
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 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
- Best Apr–Jun1 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
Cape Death does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 18, poor | 4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 90kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 13 knots | 15°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 54, fair | 3 ft10 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 179kJ | wind from the north, 2 knots | 14°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 50, fair | 4 ft9 shollow6 ft at break (est.) | 231kJ | offshorewind from the east, 4 knots, offshore | 17°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 29, poor | 5 ft10 shollow7 ft at break (est.) | 362kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 10 knots | 16°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft8 smushy9 ft at break (est.) | 600kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 9 knots | 15°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 45, fair | 4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 114kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 5 knots | 15°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 0, too big | 8 ft9 scrumbling9 ft at break (est.) | 849kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 15 knots | 17°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 52, fair | 4 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 203kJ | offshorewind from the north-east, 6 knots, offshore | 23°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 27, poor | 3 ft14 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 305kJ | wind from the south-west, 10 knots | 16°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft11 shollow9 ft at break (est.) | 975kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 4 knots | 16°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
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:42 −0.4 mHigh 09:13 +0.5 mLow 15:58 −0.4 mHigh 22:05 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:21 −0.4 mHigh 10:39 +0.5 mLow 17:22 −0.5 mHigh 23:27 +0.4 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 05:37 −0.4 mHigh 11:46 +0.6 mLow 18:22 −0.6 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–Jun
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
- Jul0of 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 Tue 3 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
Cape Death on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
4 places
- Olifants Rivermouth 6.6 km away
- Strandfontein beachbreak 14.1 km away
- Doring Bay 21.2 km away
- Donkin Bay 34.1 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Cape Death
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SW (241°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (61°). 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 steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 17). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 13°C in June, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 17°C in January, its warmest (3/2 wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually April, May and June, with about 1 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Strandfontein.
Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. 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).
Where to stay: Strandfontein
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about 30 min by car · 3 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Strandfontein its beds, food and every spot near it
Nearest beds: Strandfontein, 15 km (about 30 min by car)
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
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An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.