Staying Home Sucks, home
Southbroom beach, KZN
Southbroom, the nearest town, 6 km away. Photo: Pitipaci, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Trafalgar

Surf spot · South Africa

Is it worth the trip?

49Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Sat 7: 3 ft swell at 8 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 50 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
72kJ
Wind
E 6 kn
Temp
21°C

Tue 3 · 42 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 smushy
Energy
220kJ
Wind
ENE 8 kn
Temp
22°C

Wed 4 · 49 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 smushy
Energy
101kJ
Wind
SW 7 kn
Temp
26°C

Thu 5 · 48 out of 100

Swell
3 ft10 scrumbling
Energy
148kJ
Wind
NNW 9 kn
Temp
32°C

Fri 6 · 46 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 smushy
Energy
86kJ
Wind
SW 6 kn
Temp
24°C

Sat 7 · 57 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 ssoft
Energy
132kJ
Wind
SSW 5 kn
Temp
22°C

Sun 8 · 37 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 ssoft
Energy
163kJ
Wind
S 5 kn
Temp
21°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 141, poor
  2. Mon 250, fair
  3. Tue 342, poor
  4. Wed 449, fair
  5. Thu 548, fair
  6. Fri 646, fair
  7. Sat 757, fair
  8. Sun 837, poor
  9. Mon 90, too big
  10. Tue 1014, too small

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
  • Offshore: NWwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 24 °Cno wetsuit

Full forecast

every day, every number

Trafalgar does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Trafalgar, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov41, poor4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.)78kJwind from the south-south-west, 5 knots25°C
Mon 2Nov50, fair4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)72kJwind from the east, 6 knots21°C
Tue 3Nov42, poor4 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.)220kJwind from the east-north-east, 8 knots22°C
Wed 4Nov49, fair4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.)101kJwind from the south-west, 7 knots26°C
Thu 5Nov48, fair3 ft10 scrumbling3 ft at break (est.)148kJwind from the north-north-west, 9 knots, offshore32°C
Fri 6Nov46, fair3 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.)86kJwind from the south-west, 6 knots24°C
Sat 7Nov57, fair3 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)132kJwind from the south-south-west, 5 knots22°C
Sun 8Nov37, poor4 ft8 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)163kJwind from the south, 5 knots21°C
Mon 9Nov0, too big6 ft6 smushy7 ft at break (est.)238kJwind from the south-west, 3 knots19°C
Tue 10Nov14, too small3 ft9 scrumbling4 ft at break (est.)118kJwind from the north-east, 7 knots23°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 01:19 −0.5 mHigh 07:51 +0.4 mLow 14:03 −0.3 mHigh 20:18 +0.3 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 02:41 −0.4 mHigh 09:41 +0.3 mLow 16:08 −0.2 mHigh 22:21 +0.2 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 04:35 −0.3 mHigh 11:30 +0.4 mLow 18:01 −0.3 mHigh 23:59 +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 beginners: 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 Trafalgar

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 500 m out (1 in 48). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 22°C in July, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Southbroom, 5.7 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.

Water about 24°C: no wetsuit. 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$1,290–US$2,550 each

about US$1,290–US$2,550 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 MGH, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL and JNB, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$898–US$1,870
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$1,290–US$2,550

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

Southbroom

10 min by car · 25 places to stay

about US$60/nightcountry average

See 25 places to stay in Southbroom · Booking.com

About Southbroom 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 55m

About 30h 55m door to door from Chicago

Fly MDW → MGH, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB), then 25 min by road

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