Cape St Francis
Surf spot · South Africa
Is it worth the trip?
38Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Fri 6: 8 ft swell at 8 s, onshore wind, 18 kn (33 km/h), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Mon 2 · 47 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 652kJ
- Wind
- W 8 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Tue 3 · 34 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 377kJ
- Wind
- NW 2 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Wed 4 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 486kJ
- Wind
- NE 8 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Thu 5 · 32 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 313kJ
- Wind
- WSW 20 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Fri 6 · 51 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft8 ssoft
- Energy
- 841kJ
- Wind
- W 18 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Sat 7 · 32 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 341kJ
- Wind
- W 19 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Sun 8 · 30 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft9 smushy
- Energy
- 871kJ
- Wind
- ENE 8 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 140, poor
- Mon 247, fair
- Tue 334, poor
- Wed 418, poor
- Thu 532, too small
- Fri 651, fair
- Sat 732, poor
- Sun 830, poor
- Mon 910, too small
- Tue 1039, poor
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 5–20 ftof swell
- Water 19 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
Cape St Francis does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for experts, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Expert | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 40, poor | 7 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 606kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 9 knots | 20°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 47, fair | 7 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 652kJ | offshorewind from the west, 8 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 34, poor | 6 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 377kJ | offshorewind from the north-west, 2 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 18, poor | 6 ft9 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 486kJ | wind from the north-east, 8 knots | 21°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 32, too small | 5 ft9 ssoft3 ft at break (est.) | 313kJ | offshorewind from the west-south-west, 20 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 51, fair | 8 ft8 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 841kJ | offshorewind from the west, 18 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 32, poor | 6 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 341kJ | offshorewind from the west, 19 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 30, poor | 8 ft9 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 871kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 8 knots | 19°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 10, too small | 4 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 219kJ | wind from the east, 10 knots | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 39, poor | 6 ft6 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 268kJ | offshorewind from the west, 25 knots, offshore | 19°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 01:26 −0.5 mHigh 07:59 +0.4 mLow 14:15 −0.3 mHigh 20:29 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:53 −0.3 mHigh 09:43 +0.4 mLow 16:16 −0.3 mHigh 22:26 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:41 −0.3 mHigh 11:21 +0.5 mLow 17:55 −0.4 mHigh 23:58 +0.3 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.
Map
the spot and its town
Cape St Francis 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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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
More surf near here
5 places
- Ducks 2.3 km away
- Phantoms 3.2 km away
- Sixty Nines 3.3 km away
- Boulders 3.4 km away
- Cape Saint Francis 3.4 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Cape St Francis
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (120°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (300°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 500 m out (1 in 50). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 18°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 21°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Cape St. Francis, 0.1 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 11 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.
Water about 19°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$1,330–US$2,610 each
about US$1,330–US$2,610 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 PLZ, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL and CPT, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$884–US$1,840 |
| 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$1,330–US$2,610 |
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
1 min by car · 9 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Cape St. Francis its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in St. Francis Bay on Booking.com
7 min by car · 20 places to stay
- Beds in Oyster Bay on Booking.com
30 min by car · 8 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 32h
About 32h door to door from Chicago
Fly MDW → PLZ, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), then 2h 05m by road
Flights MDW → PLZ on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.