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Clifton 4th Beach, South Africa

Stay in Cape Town: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of Cape Town

All 56 on Cape Town's map

Watch this spot We email you when Clifton 4th Beach is worth the trip.

Windy Wave
Near Clifton 4th Beach, 1 km away. Photo: Rad Dougall, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Clifton 4th Beach

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

The spot faces W (285°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (105°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 19). 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 Cape Town, 4.1 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 17 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.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 26 h 30 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

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

    See flights MDW → CPT · Skyscanner from about £765 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 40 min from the airport to Clifton 4th Beach.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Cape TownAd

    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 Cape Town · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in Cape Town · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Clifton 4th Beach on Google Maps · Directions

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Forecast

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

DayScoreSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct09 ft10 scrumbling1,407kJ15°C
Mon 19Oct06 ft9 scrumbling583kJ17°C
Tue 20Oct215 ft8 smushy265kJ16°C
Wed 21Oct010 ft8 smushy1,164kJ18°C
Thu 22Oct08 ft8 smushy704kJ18°C
Fri 23Oct07 ft8 scrumbling529kJ22°C
Sat 24Oct444 ft8 smushy194kJ21°C
Sun 25Oct172 ft7 shollow40kJ23°C
Mon 26Oct614 ft9 shollow184kJ29°C
Tue 27Oct283 ft5 smushy49kJ22°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 intermediate surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Fly MDW to CPT, changing at ATL, then 40 min by road. About 26h 30 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Glen Beach

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 5 ft at 8 s, wind 3 kn (5 km/h).

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 0 of 80.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 0 of 80.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 0 of 80.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Glen Beach

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 4 ft at 8 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly MDW to CPT, changing at ATL, then 40 min by road. About 26h 30 door to door

The plan picks the best of 25 spots near Cape Town each day: 1st Bank, Bakoven, Bali Bay, Camps Bay shorey, Cannonball Reef, Cherry Rock, Clifton 3rd Beach, Clifton 4th Beach, Dolose point, Dumps, Gasworks, Glen Beach, Glen Reef, Gunties, Lagoon Mouth, Milton Pool left, Off The Wall, Queens, Railways, Rocklands, Sewers, Solly's, The Wedge, Thermopylae, Tidals.

The trip from Cape Town, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £1,125–£2,210 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 CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag£765–£1,585
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£1,125–£2,210

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

Places to eat near Cape Town

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.