Staying Home Sucks, home
City Hall Port Elizabeth-003
Gqeberha, the nearest town, 9 km away. Photo: Leo za1, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Rocky"s

Surf spot · South Africa

Is it worth the trip?

25Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: 4 ft swell at 8 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 0 out of 100

Swell
6 ft9 ssoft
Energy
503kJ
Wind
WSW 10 kn
Temp
19°C

Tue 3 · 60 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 ssoft
Energy
206kJ
Wind
SSW 5 kn
Temp
20°C

Wed 4 · 27 out of 100

Swell
6 ft9 ssoft
Energy
449kJ
Wind
NE 8 kn
Temp
21°C

Thu 5 · 36 out of 100

Swell
4 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
299kJ
Wind
WSW 21 kn
Temp
21°C

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Swell
8 ft8 ssoft
Energy
741kJ
Wind
W 14 kn
Temp
20°C

Sat 7 · 7 out of 100

Swell
3 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
174kJ
Wind
WSW 20 kn
Temp
19°C

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

Swell
8 ft9 smushy
Energy
868kJ
Wind
ESE 12 kn
Temp
17°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 130, poor
  2. Mon 20, too big
  3. Tue 360, good
  4. Wed 427, poor
  5. Thu 536, poor
  6. Fri 60, too big
  7. Sat 77, poor
  8. Sun 80, too big
  9. Mon 931, poor
  10. Tue 1023, 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 18 °C2 mm shorty
  • Best May–Jun1 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Rocky"s, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov30, poor4 ft9 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)264kJwind from the west-south-west, 12 knots19°C
Mon 2Nov0, too big6 ft9 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)503kJwind from the west-south-west, 10 knots19°C
Tue 3Nov60, good4 ft8 ssoft5 ft at break (est.)206kJwind from the south-south-west, 5 knots20°C
Wed 4Nov27, poor6 ft9 ssoft7 ft at break (est.)449kJwind from the north-east, 8 knots21°C
Thu 5Nov36, poor4 ft10 scrumbling5 ft at break (est.)299kJwind from the west-south-west, 21 knots21°C
Fri 6Nov0, too big8 ft8 ssoft7 ft at break (est.)741kJwind from the west, 14 knots20°C
Sat 7Nov7, poor3 ft10 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)174kJwind from the west-south-west, 20 knots19°C
Sun 8Nov0, too big8 ft9 smushy7 ft at break (est.)868kJwind from the east-south-east, 12 knots17°C
Mon 9Nov31, poor5 ft8 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)266kJwind from the east-north-east, 11 knots20°C
Tue 10Nov23, poor6 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.)227kJwind from the west, 11 knots20°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 01:25 −0.5 mHigh 07:58 +0.4 mLow 14:10 −0.3 mHigh 20:28 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:52 −0.3 mHigh 09:41 +0.4 mLow 16:14 −0.3 mHigh 22:22 +0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:41 −0.3 mHigh 11:20 +0.4 mLow 17:55 −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.

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Rocky"s

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

The spot faces SE (156°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (336°). 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 moderately: 10 m deep about 400 m out (1 in 38). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. The sea is about 17°C in August, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 20°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually May and June, with about 1 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Gqeberha, 9 km away (about 20 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 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$1,280–US$2,530 each

about US$1,280–US$2,530 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 PLZ, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL and CPT, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$884–US$1,840
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$1,280–US$2,530

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

Noordhoek Eastern Cape

1 min by car · 1 place to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 1 place to stay in Noordhoek Eastern Cape · Booking.com

About Noordhoek Eastern 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 30h 20m

About 30h 20m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → PLZ, 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.