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Boulders, South Africa

Stay in St. Francis Bay: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of St. Francis Bay

All 27 on St. Francis Bay's map

Watch this spot We email you when Boulders is worth the trip.

Luchtfoto St Francisbaai
St. Francis Bay, the nearest town, 2 km away. Photo: Servien at Dutch Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

About Boulders

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces E (82°), so it takes swell from the E. The wind blows offshore from the W (262°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 7–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 800 m out (1 in 80). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 17°C in August, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 20°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is St. Francis Bay, 1.6 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 13 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 17°C: 3/2 wetsuit. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

Save this trip A link to come back to, or to send to the group.

Book the trip

From Chicago: about 31 h 30 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) to PLZ, changing at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Cape Town International Airport (CPT).

    See flights MDW → PLZ · Skyscanner from about £790 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 1 h 35 from the airport to Boulders.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in St. Francis BayAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire and lessons.

    Surf lessons in St. Francis Bay · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in St. Francis Bay · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Boulders on Google Maps · Directions

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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Forecast

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

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

DayScoreExpertSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct459 ft9 ssoft1,074kJ18°C
Mon 19Oct346 ft9 ssoft599kJ17°C
Tue 20Oct196 ft7 smushy324kJ18°C
Wed 21Oct5610 ft9 ssoft1,431kJ20°C
Thu 22Oct509 ft8 ssoft1,014kJ17°C
Fri 23Oct4210 ft8 smushy1,086kJ18°C
Sat 24Oct123 ft8 ssoft146kJ19°C
Sun 25Oct113 ft8 smushy72kJ19°C
Mon 26Oct43 ft7 smushy60kJ20°C
Tue 27Oct43 ft6 smushy46kJ20°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Fly MDW to PLZ, changing at ATL and CPT, then 1h 35 by road. About 31h 30 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Kromme Rivermouth

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 6 ft at 7 s, offshore wind.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Boulders

    Best 14:00 to 17:00 local time: 10 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Kromme Rivermouth

    Best 14:00 to 17:00 local time: 8 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Nik's Secret

    Best 11:00 to 14:00 local time: 8 ft at 8 s, offshore wind.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 23 of 80.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly MDW to PLZ, changing at ATL and CPT, then 1h 35 by road. About 31h 30 door to door

The plan picks the best of 11 spots near St. Francis Bay each day: Anne Avenue (St Francis Bay), Boulders, Bruce's Beauties, El Dumpo, Hullets Reef, Killers, Kromme Rivermouth, Leftovers, Nik's Secret, Phantoms, Sixty Nines.

The trip from St. Francis Bay, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £1,150–£2,270 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

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 bag£790–£1,645
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£50–£85
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£110–£185
Food7 days eating out£115–£210
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£50–£80
Total£1,150–£2,270

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near St. Francis Bay

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

Where to stayAd

Places to stay · Booking.com

In the waterAd

Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

Links marked Ad may pay us a small commission if you book. You pay the same price, and it never changes a score.