Staying Home Sucks, home
Lion's Head from Oudekraal Beach
The Bluff left. Photo: Fin.Seaman, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Bluff left

Surf spot · South Africa

Is it worth the trip?

36Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Sun 8: 6 ft swell at 8 s, 4 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 38 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 shollow
Energy
354kJ
Wind
SSE 18 kn
Temp
18°C

Tue 3 · 28 out of 100

Swell
5 ft9 shollow
Energy
340kJ
Wind
S 12 kn
Temp
20°C

Wed 4 · 4 out of 100

Swell
under 1 ft15 s
Energy
8kJ
Wind
W 3 kn
Temp
18°C

Thu 5 · 16 out of 100

Swell
8 ft9 smushy
Energy
951kJ
Wind
NW 14 kn
Temp
17°C

Fri 6 · 25 out of 100

Swell
8 ft8 smushy
Energy
623kJ
Wind
WNW 14 kn
Temp
17°C

Sat 7 · 45 out of 100

Swell
6 ft7 smushy
Energy
294kJ
Wind
SE 8 kn
Temp
17°C

Sun 8 · 58 out of 100

Swell
6 ft8 scrumbling
Energy
519kJ
Wind
SE 19 kn
Temp
20°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 154, fair
  2. Mon 238, too small
  3. Tue 328, too small
  4. Wed 44, too small
  5. Thu 516, poor
  6. Fri 625, poor
  7. Sat 745, fair
  8. Sun 858, fair
  9. Mon 914, too small
  10. Tue 1010, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
  • Offshore: SEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 3–10 ftof swell
  • Water 15 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at The Bluff left, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov54, fair8 ft9 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.)965kJwind from the south-south-east, 11 knots19°C
Mon 2Nov38, too small5 ft9 shollow5 ft at break (est.)354kJwind from the south-south-east, 18 knots, offshore18°C
Tue 3Nov28, too small5 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.)340kJwind from the south, 12 knots20°C
Wed 4Nov4, too smallunder 1 ft15 s1 ft at break (est.)8kJwind from the west, 3 knots18°C
Thu 5Nov16, poor8 ft9 smushy9 ft at break (est.)951kJwind from the north-west, 14 knots17°C
Fri 6Nov25, poor8 ft8 smushy8 ft at break (est.)623kJwind from the west-north-west, 14 knots17°C
Sat 7Nov45, fair6 ft7 smushy3 ft at break (est.)294kJwind from the south-east, 8 knots, offshore17°C
Sun 8Nov58, fair6 ft8 scrumbling2 ft at break (est.)519kJwind from the south-east, 19 knots, offshore20°C
Mon 9Nov14, too small3 ft8 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)108kJwind from the south-west, 2 knots17°C
Tue 10Nov10, too small2 ft12 shollow4 ft at break (est.)176kJwind from the west-north-west, 7 knots17°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 01:18 −0.4 mHigh 07:46 +0.4 mLow 14:13 −0.3 mHigh 20:25 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:49 −0.3 mHigh 09:16 +0.4 mLow 15:59 −0.4 mHigh 22:06 +0.3 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:26 −0.3 mHigh 10:44 +0.5 mLow 17:24 −0.5 mHigh 23:29 +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 The Bluff left

Atlantic coast of Cape Town
Near The Bluff left. Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Cape Town
Photo: warrenski from Cape Town, South Africa, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About The Bluff left

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

The spot faces NW (297°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (117°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 15). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 14°C in May, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 16°C in January, its warmest (3/2 wetsuit). The town to stay in is Camps Bay, 5 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 12 surf spots and 2 dive sites.

Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. 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

Llandudno

5 min by car · 44 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 44 places to stay in Llandudno · Booking.com

About Llandudno 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 30m

About 26h 30m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → CPT, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), then 45 min by road

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