Staying Home Sucks, home
Cape Town, South Africa (Unsplash xcxlpH8gv4s)
Scarborough Western Cape, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Thomas PETRACCO tompec, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Crayfish Factory

Surf spot · South Africa

Is it worth the trip?

27Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: 4 ft swell at 8 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 7 out of 100

Swell
6 ft8 scrumbling
Energy
381kJ
Wind
SE 17 kn
Temp
20°C

Tue 3 · 52 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 shollow
Energy
401kJ
Wind
SE 6 kn
Temp
24°C

Wed 4 · 66 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 shollow
Energy
250kJ
Wind
E 4 kn
Temp
26°C

Thu 5 · 10 out of 100

Swell
4 ft11 smushy
Energy
388kJ
Wind
NW 19 kn
Temp
20°C

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Swell
8 ft8 smushy
Energy
693kJ
Wind
WNW 13 kn
Temp
19°C

Sat 7 · 0 out of 100

Swell
6 ft8 smushy
Energy
366kJ
Wind
SSE 8 kn
Temp
18°C

Sun 8 · 7 out of 100

Swell
6 ft8 scrumbling
Energy
400kJ
Wind
SE 22 kn
Temp
19°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, too big
  2. Mon 27, poor
  3. Tue 352, fair
  4. Wed 466, good
  5. Thu 510, poor
  6. Fri 60, too big
  7. Sat 70, too big
  8. Sun 87, poor
  9. Mon 934, poor
  10. Tue 1020, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 17 °C3/2 wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Crayfish Factory, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov0, too big8 ft9 smushy11 ft at break (est.)1,141kJwind from the south-south-east, 11 knots21°C
Mon 2Nov7, poor6 ft8 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.)381kJwind from the south-east, 17 knots20°C
Tue 3Nov52, fair5 ft9 shollow7 ft at break (est.)401kJwind from the south-east, 6 knots24°C
Wed 4Nov66, good4 ft8 shollow6 ft at break (est.)250kJwind from the east, 4 knots, offshore26°C
Thu 5Nov10, poor4 ft11 smushy6 ft at break (est.)388kJwind from the north-west, 19 knots20°C
Fri 6Nov0, too big8 ft8 smushy9 ft at break (est.)693kJwind from the west-north-west, 13 knots19°C
Sat 7Nov0, too big6 ft8 smushy6 ft at break (est.)366kJwind from the south-south-east, 8 knots18°C
Sun 8Nov7, poor6 ft8 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.)400kJwind from the south-east, 22 knots19°C
Mon 9Nov34, poor4 ft6 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)100kJwind from the south-west, 6 knots25°C
Tue 10Nov20, too small3 ft12 smushy5 ft at break (est.)228kJwind from the north-west, 12 knots21°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 01:16 −0.4 mHigh 07:45 +0.4 mLow 14:12 −0.3 mHigh 20:24 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:48 −0.3 mHigh 09:15 +0.4 mLow 15:59 −0.4 mHigh 22:04 +0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:26 −0.3 mHigh 10:42 +0.5 mLow 17:23 −0.5 mHigh 23:28 +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.

Map

the spot and its town

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.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

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

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Crayfish Factory

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 15°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 18°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Scarborough Western Cape, 3.5 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 17 surf spots.

Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. 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$1,300–US$2,540 each

about US$1,300–US$2,540 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 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$858–US$1,780
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$67–US$114
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$161–US$275
Food7 days eating outabout US$147–US$268
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$67–US$107
Totalabout US$1,300–US$2,540

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

Closest

Scarborough Western Cape

6 min by car · 19 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 19 places to stay in Scarborough Western Cape · Booking.com

About Scarborough Western Cape its beds, food and every spot near it

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 26h 40m

About 26h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 55 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.