Staying Home Sucks, home
Whale Rock Beach, Plettenberg Bay
Near Hobie Beach. Photo: Jürgen Kehrberger, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Hobie Beach

Surf spot · South Africa

Is it worth the trip?

45Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

2 days tie for best

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 46 out of 100

Swell
6 ft8 ssoft
Energy
454kJ
Wind
W 5 kn
Temp
19°C

Tue 3 · 23 out of 100

Swell
6 ft9 smushy
Energy
405kJ
Wind
ESE 9 kn
Temp
19°C

Wed 4 · 35 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 ssoft
Energy
390kJ
Wind
N 1 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 29 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 ssoft
Energy
292kJ
Wind
W 11 kn
Temp
21°C

Fri 6 · 58 out of 100

Swell
7 ft8 smushy
Energy
589kJ
Wind
W 8 kn
Temp
20°C

Sat 7 · 58 out of 100

Swell
7 ft8 smushy
Energy
544kJ
Wind
SSW 8 kn
Temp
18°C

Sun 8 · 33 out of 100

Swell
8 ft8 smushy
Energy
775kJ
Wind
SE 7 kn
Temp
17°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 149, fair
  2. Mon 246, fair
  3. Tue 323, too small
  4. Wed 435, too small
  5. Thu 529, too small
  6. Fri 658, fair
  7. Sat 758, fair
  8. Sun 833, poor
  9. Mon 99, too small
  10. Tue 1034, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Etakes swell from the E
  • Offshore: Wwind from the land
  • Beginner +who it suits
  • Works 4–16 ftof swell
  • Water 18 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Hobie Beach, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov49, fair6 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)424kJwind from the west-south-west, 7 knots, offshore19°C
Mon 2Nov46, fair6 ft8 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)454kJwind from the west, 5 knots, offshore19°C
Tue 3Nov23, too small6 ft9 smushy1 ft at break (est.)405kJwind from the east-south-east, 9 knots19°C
Wed 4Nov35, too small5 ft9 ssoft1 ft at break (est.)390kJwind from the north, 1 knot20°C
Thu 5Nov29, too small5 ft9 ssoftunder 1 ft at break (est.)292kJwind from the west, 11 knots, offshore21°C
Fri 6Nov58, fair7 ft8 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)589kJwind from the west, 8 knots, offshore20°C
Sat 7Nov58, fair7 ft8 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)544kJwind from the south-south-west, 8 knots18°C
Sun 8Nov33, poor8 ft8 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.)775kJwind from the south-east, 7 knots17°C
Mon 9Nov9, too small5 ft9 smushy2 ft at break (est.)310kJwind from the east-south-east, 11 knots18°C
Tue 10Nov34, too small4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.)142kJwind from the west-south-west, 6 knots, offshore21°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 08:01 +0.5 mLow 14:17 −0.3 mHigh 20:38 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:57 −0.3 mHigh 09:44 +0.4 mLow 16:19 −0.3 mHigh 22:29 +0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:46 −0.4 mHigh 11:19 +0.5 mLow 17:55 −0.4 mHigh 23:55 +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, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: 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.

Photos of Hobie Beach

Plettenberg Bay Dolphins 04
Near Hobie Beach, 1 km away. Photo: Ad Meskens You are free to use this picture for any purpose as long as you…, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
View from Signal Hill View Point
Near Hobie Beach. Photo: Ossewa, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Hobie Beach

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces E (109°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (289°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits beginners and up. It works in 4–16 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 350 m out (1 in 37). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 17°C in May, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 21°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Plettenberg Bay, 1.4 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 7 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$1,270–US$2,510 each

about US$1,270–US$2,510 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 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to PBZ, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL and CPT, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$878–US$1,820
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$20–US$33
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$1,270–US$2,510

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

Plettenberg Bay

2 min by car · 118 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 118 places to stay in Plettenberg Bay · Booking.com

About Plettenberg Bay 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 30h 05m

About 30h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PBZ, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Cape Town International Airport (CPT), then 25 min by road

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