Staying Home Sucks, home
Raphia Palms, Mtunzini
Mtunzini, the nearest town. Photo: Johsny, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Mtunzini

Surf spot · South Africa

Is it worth the trip?

47Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Wed 4: 4 ft swell at 5 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 38 out of 100

Swell
3 ft7 smushy
Energy
72kJ
Wind
SW 7 kn
Temp
25°C

Tue 3 · 51 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 smushy
Energy
46kJ
Wind
SSW 5 kn
Temp
26°C

Wed 4 · 56 out of 100

Swell
4 ft5 smushy
Energy
64kJ
Wind
N 9 kn
Temp
30°C

Thu 5 · 22 out of 100

Swell
2 ft10 ssoft
Energy
84kJ
Wind
NNE 13 kn
Temp
36°C

Fri 6 · 48 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
93kJ
Wind
SE 6 kn
Temp
26°C

Sat 7 · 52 out of 100

Swell
3 ft7 smushy
Energy
81kJ
Wind
SSW 3 kn
Temp
24°C

Sun 8 · 26 out of 100

Swell
2 ft8 ssoft
Energy
70kJ
Wind
SW 10 kn
Temp
23°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 132, poor
  2. Mon 238, poor
  3. Tue 351, fair
  4. Wed 456, fair
  5. Thu 522, too small
  6. Fri 648, fair
  7. Sat 752, fair
  8. Sun 826, too small
  9. Mon 90, too big
  10. Tue 1013, 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 May–Jul2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Mtunzini, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov32, poor3 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)49kJwind from the west-south-west, 5 knots27°C
Mon 2Nov38, poor3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.)72kJwind from the south-west, 7 knots25°C
Tue 3Nov51, fair3 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.)46kJwind from the south-south-west, 5 knots26°C
Wed 4Nov56, fair4 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.)64kJwind from the north, 9 knots, offshore30°C
Thu 5Nov22, too small2 ft10 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)84kJwind from the north-north-east, 13 knots36°C
Fri 6Nov48, fair4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)93kJwind from the south-east, 6 knots26°C
Sat 7Nov52, fair3 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.)81kJwind from the south-south-west, 3 knots24°C
Sun 8Nov26, too small2 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)70kJwind from the south-west, 10 knots23°C
Mon 9Nov0, too big7 ft7 smushy7 ft at break (est.)423kJwind from the south-west, 9 knots20°C
Tue 10Nov13, poor6 ft8 smushy7 ft at break (est.)340kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots28°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 −0.6 mHigh 07:40 +0.5 mLow 13:50 −0.4 mHigh 20:03 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:29 −0.4 mHigh 09:23 +0.4 mLow 15:49 −0.3 mHigh 22:04 +0.2 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:24 −0.4 mHigh 11:22 +0.5 mLow 17:54 −0.3 mHigh 23:55 +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

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.

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Mtunzini

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

The spot faces SE (145°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (325°). 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 very gently: 10 m deep about 3.7 km out (1 in 370). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 21°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 26°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually May, June and July, with about 2 good days in 7; in October, November and December, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Mtunzini, 0.2 km away (about 5 min by car).

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$1,340–US$2,630 each

about US$1,340–US$2,630 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 ORD to DUR, estimated from distance and season, changing at IST, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$898–US$1,870
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$1,340–US$2,630

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Mtunzini

Closest

Mtunzini

1 min by car · 19 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 19 places to stay in Mtunzini · Booking.com

About Mtunzini 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 31h 25m

About 31h 25m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → DUR, changing at İstanbul Airport (IST), then 2h by road

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