Surfing and Travel Tips for South Africa

Respect our locals

While our local surfers (kitesurfers, windsurfers and bodyboarders) have patience most of the time, you gotta have some respect for the local line-up. Give them their space and you might just get the bomb you came all the way to surf. Also understand that these guys probably grew up living close to their spot, just like you probably also have your local spot where you 'rule'.

Respect your landlord's rules

Now and then they need to lay down the rules. Make sure you check in and out at reasonable times and get their business cards, so that you have their details with you if (or when) you get lost. More than often they'll help you out of a tight spot.

The slang

Watch your belongings

Like any seasoned traveller knows, don't leave your stuff lying on the beach, it will get nicked. Most beaches are pretty safe, but we want you to have the best surfing experience you can have so you can tell every one about Beachbum.co.za.

South African currency

South Africa's currency is the Rand. Your average cost for accommodation should be around R80-R150 a night per person for backpackers and around R200 to R350 per person per night for your richer beach bums.

Check out the UCC for the latest conversions.

Seasons and where the surf is cooking when

Ok, this is totally variable information, but the Beachbum will share what he knows.

The summer (September - March) brings predominantly South Easterly wind conditions in the Cape Town area. This is great for kitesurfing, windsurfing and any other wind related water sports. J-Bay (Jeffreys Bay) and surrounds are usually quite around this time with regards to waves. Elands Bay (J-Bay of the West Coast) might have some bombs after a good cold front during summer when it's turned light South East again.

The winter (May - August) sees J-Bay and surrounds often cooking up some 6-8ft perfection (like in the Endless Summer movies) and every Joe and his mate Blog arrive in droves with their fleetlines and roof racks heaving under surf board pressure. Yes, it gets quite crowded during winter, but if you do it properly and stay at least a month or two you'll be sick of the world's best wave before you know it (not!). You'd have to make your accommodation bookings at least 4-6 months in advance to find a spot here and remember that winter is high season for J-Bay, but low season for Cape and surrounds. Around this time Jeffreys Bay also plays host to the Billabong Pro which sees all the world's best surfers in action on Supertubes.

Cape Town sees big swells during winter and those early morning berg wind offshores come to mind at Derde Steen, near Blouberg Strand. The Beachbum's had some amazing barrels there...

We'll try and update the wave information to reflect the best time of the year to visit...

Also check out WaveScape, South Africa's premier surf report website, who also supplied our wave database information.

If you have some more info about your area (locals only mate) and the best conditions there, drop us a line...

Kitesurfing and Windsurfing

The west coast in spring offers a phenomenal range of kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfskiing options.

Langebaan gets more wind in spring/early summer than CTN. If the wind is light, the lagoon is perfect(typically if light and tide coming in Pearlys or if a bit stronger and the tide flushing, then shark bay). We also have waves just down from the town on the new sandbar and Mykonos.

If the wind is stronger and waves medium to small, swartriet and paternoster are good. If the waves are big and swell west, Ebay, particularly on 1st day of SE cycle fires, just respect surfers at the point, if more than 5 guys out, sail the bomber wave on the outside or the beach in front of the hotel.

Normally the wind swings a day early in Ebay and half a day early in Langebaan, also CTn can be light SW and Langebaan is perfect with the local S wind prevailing.

The lagoon also offers unmatched Hobie cat sailing and surfski paddling, every day is perfect for something!!

For accommodation in the area, check out Friday Island!

Going on an African Safari

There are many options for deviating from your surfing tour or ending it off with a great African Safari. Check this page for more information soon. So here in South Africa you can do your Surfari and Safari :-)

Car Hire in South Africa

There are so many options, but you can usually get a car at the airport. Tarifs go from around R99 a day and up. I've seen some travellers renting old beetles and mercedes' (Rent A Mercedes, Boland Beatles ), which is a comfy ride. Just remember older bigger cars use more juice...

Take into consideration that you're going to get a budget car for R99 a day and that most of the time the fineprint gets you to pay more than that anyway. There are restrictions on the amount of distance you can cover etc. If you're travelling up the coast it's also important to select a rental car company that operates nationally so that you can drop the car in another major city when done with your tour.

If you have any additional questions, fire away...

If you find that something's not working like it should or you're not finding the waves correctly, please send us a shout at info@beachbum.co.za or fill out the feedback form and we'll try and sort it out ASAP.