Is it worth the trip?
42Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Sat 7: 3 ft swell at 8 s
Mon 2 · 34 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 57kJ
- Wind
- ESE 7 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Tue 3 · 32 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 130kJ
- Wind
- E 10 kn
- Temp
- 23°C
Wed 4 · 46 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft10 ssoft
- Energy
- 175kJ
- Wind
- SSW 6 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Thu 5 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 smushy
- Energy
- 126kJ
- Wind
- NE 17 kn
- Temp
- 27°C
Fri 6 · 48 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft5 smushy
- Energy
- 90kJ
- Wind
- SSE 7 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Sat 7 · 52 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 smushy
- Energy
- 90kJ
- Wind
- NNE 3 kn
- Temp
- 24°C
Sun 8 · 35 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 ssoft
- Energy
- 234kJ
- Wind
- SSW 11 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 137, poor
- Mon 234, poor
- Tue 332, poor
- Wed 446, fair
- Thu 520, poor
- Fri 648, fair
- Sat 752, fair
- Sun 835, poor
- Mon 90, too big
- Tue 1035, poor
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 23 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for intermediates | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 37, poor | 4 ft5 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 102kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 8 knots | 25°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 34, poor | 3 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 57kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 7 knots | 22°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 32, poor | 4 ft8 smushy5 ft at break (est.) | 130kJ | wind from the east, 10 knots | 23°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 46, fair | 3 ft10 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 175kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 6 knots | 24°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 20, poor | 4 ft6 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 126kJ | wind from the north-east, 17 knots | 27°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 48, fair | 4 ft5 smushy3 ft at break (est.) | 90kJ | wind from the south-south-east, 7 knots | 24°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 52, fair | 3 ft8 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 90kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 3 knots | 24°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 35, poor | 4 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.) | 234kJ | wind from the south-south-west, 11 knots | 20°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, too big | 6 ft6 smushy6 ft at break (est.) | 240kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 9 knots | 22°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 35, poor | 3 ft9 ssoft5 ft at break (est.) | 161kJ | wind from the south-west, 6 knots | 24°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 01:16 −0.5 mHigh 07:51 +0.4 mLow 13:59 −0.3 mHigh 20:19 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 02:37 −0.3 mHigh 09:38 +0.3 mLow 16:05 −0.2 mHigh 22:21 +0.2 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 04:36 −0.3 mHigh 11:27 +0.4 mLow 18:03 −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
Vacancy Reef on Google Maps · Directions
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.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Ifafa Pipes 2.7 km away
- Mtwalume Crest 5.3 km away
- Pennington 9.6 km away
- Mfazazana Point 10.7 km away
- Vulamanzi Point 11.3 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Vacancy Reef
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (118°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (298°). 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 700 m out (1 in 72). 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 27°C in February, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Mtwalume, 5.7 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.
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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to DUR, estimated from distance and season, changing at IST, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$898–US$1,870 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$67–US$114 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$161–US$275 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$147–US$268 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$67–US$107 |
| Total | about 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: 3 towns
10 min by car · 15 places to stay
about US$60/nightcountry average
About Mtwalume its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Pennington on Booking.com
17 min by car · 22 places to stay
- Beds in Hibberdene on Booking.com
29 min by car · 14 places to stay
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 35m
About 31h 35m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → DUR, changing at İstanbul Airport (IST), then 2h 10m by road
Flights ORD → DUR on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.