Vacancy Reef, South Africa

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Scottburgh, 20 km away, is the nearest town we list.

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

About Vacancy Reef

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details 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). No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Scottburgh, 20 km away, is the nearest town we list. Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

Water about 22°C: 2 mm shorty. 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.

Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to King Shaka International Airport (DUR), changing at İstanbul Airport (IST).
See flights ORD → DUR · Skyscanner from about £800 returnAd
Getting there. 2 h 05 from the airport to Vacancy Reef.
Car hire · Discover CarsAd
Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Scottburgh, 20 km away, is the nearest town we list.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Vacancy Reef · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Vacancy Reef · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Vacancy Reef on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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.

Forecast

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

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Vacancy Reef, each day
Day	Scorefor Intermediate	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	44, fair	5 ft7 smushy	188kJ	wind from the east-north-east, 3 knots	24°C
Mon 19Oct	26, poor	4 ft8 ssoft	224kJ	wind from the south-west, 13 knots	23°C
Tue 20Oct	0, too big	8 ft8 smushy	710kJ	wind from the south-west, 11 knots	21°C
Wed 21Oct	50, good	4 ft8 ssoft	152kJ	wind from the south-south-east, 5 knots	24°C
Thu 22Oct	31, poor	4 ft9 ssoft	314kJ	wind from the south-west, 9 knots	23°C
Fri 23Oct	13, poor	5 ft8 smushy	275kJ	wind from the south-west, 13 knots	22°C
Sat 24Oct	26, poor	5 ft9 ssoft	423kJ	wind from the north-east, 12 knots	23°C
Sun 25Oct	34, poor	3 ft7 smushy	111kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 4 knots	24°C
Mon 26Oct	28, poor	3 ft6 smushy	70kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 12 knots	22°C
Tue 27Oct	21, poor	4 ft6 smushy	131kJ	wind from the north-east, 10 knots	23°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

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly ORD to DUR, changing at IST, then 2h 05 by road. About 31h 30 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 0 of 80.
Wed 21 Oct
Surf Vacancy Reef
Best 17:00 to 20:00 local time: 4 ft at 8 s, wind 5 kn (9 km/h).
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Vacancy Reef
Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 4 ft at 9 s, wind 9 kn (16 km/h).
Fri 23 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 30 of 80.
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 33 of 80.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly ORD to DUR, changing at IST, then 2h 05 by road. About 31h 30 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,050–£2,105 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
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	£800–£1,665
To the UK airport	parking or the train, there and back	£35–£65
Hire car	6 days, shared	£50–£85
Food	7 days eating out	£115–£210
Board and wetsuit	5 days, or about £85 to fly your own	£50–£80
Total		£1,050–£2,105

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

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

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.