Four poles
Surf spot · South Africa
Is it worth the trip?
44Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 6 s
Mon 2 · 28 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 61kJ
- Wind
- S 8 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Tue 3 · 55 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 85kJ
- Wind
- ENE 3 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Wed 4 · 50 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 74kJ
- Wind
- SSW 5 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Thu 5 · 34 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 116kJ
- Wind
- NNE 6 kn
- Temp
- 34°C
Fri 6 · 50 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 98kJ
- Wind
- ESE 4 kn
- Temp
- 25°C
Sat 7 · 37 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 71kJ
- Wind
- SSE 2 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Sun 8 · 21 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 48kJ
- Wind
- SSW 8 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 128, poor
- Mon 228, too small
- Tue 355, fair
- Wed 450, fair
- Thu 534, poor
- Fri 650, fair
- Sat 737, too small
- Sun 821, too small
- Mon 90, too big
- Tue 1036, poor
The spot in six facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 2–8 ftof swell
- Water 23 °C2 mm shorty
- Best in Jun2 good days in 7
Full forecast
every day, every number
Four poles does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 28, poor | 4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 86kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 12 knots | 26°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 28, too small | 3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 61kJ | wind from the south, 8 knots | 23°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 55, fair | 4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 85kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 3 knots | 24°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 50, fair | 4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 74kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 5 knots | 25°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 34, poor | 4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 116kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 6 knots | 34°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 50, fair | 4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 98kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 4 knots | 25°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 37, too small | 3 ft8 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 71kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 2 knots | 23°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 21, too small | 2 ft9 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.) | 48kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 8 knots | 22°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, too big | 6 ft6 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 256kJ | wind from the south-west, 9 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 36, poor | 6 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.) | 290kJ | wind from the east, 3 knots | 25°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 01:13 −0.5 mHigh 07:44 +0.5 mLow 13:55 −0.3 mHigh 20:08 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:32 −0.4 mHigh 09:30 +0.4 mLow 15:58 −0.2 mHigh 22:12 +0.2 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:28 −0.3 mHigh 11:24 +0.5 mLow 17:59 −0.3 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.
Best time to go
best in 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
- Feb1of 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
- Jun2of 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
Four poles 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
- Salt Rock 0.3 km away
- Tiffanys 0.6 km away
- Christmas Bay 2.9 km away
- Ballito 5.7 km away
- Salmon Bay 6.2 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Four poles
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (123°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (303°). 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 gently: 10 m deep about 450 m out (1 in 45). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 26°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually June, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ballito, 6.2 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots.
Water about 23°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$1,300–US$2,570 each
about US$1,300–US$2,570 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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 ORD to DUR, estimated from distance and season, changing at IST, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$898–US$1,870 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$27–US$47 |
| 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$1,300–US$2,570 |
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
2 min by car · 61 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Salt Rock its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Ballito on Booking.com
11 min by car · 108 places to stay
- Beds in KwaDukuza on Booking.com
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: about 30h
About 30h door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → DUR, changing at İstanbul Airport (IST), then 30 min by road
Flights ORD → DUR on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.