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Cape St Francis, South Africa

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

Also within 20 km of Cape St. Francis

All 19 on Cape St. Francis's map

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Cape St Francis-001
Cape St. Francis, the nearest town. Photo: NJR ZA, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Cape St Francis

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

The spot faces SE (120°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (300°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 5–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves gently: 10 m deep about 500 m out (1 in 50). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 18°C in August, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 21°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). The town to stay in is Cape St. Francis, 0.1 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 11 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 32 h 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. 2 h 05 from the airport to Cape St Francis, 124 km.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Cape St. FrancisAd

    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 St. Francis · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in Cape St. Francis · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Cape St Francis 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

Cape St Francis does not suit intermediates. 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 18Oct439 ft9 ssoft1,320kJ18°C
Mon 19Oct357 ft9 ssoft628kJ17°C
Tue 20Oct286 ft7 smushy404kJ18°C
Wed 21Oct5211 ft9 ssoft2,010kJ20°C
Thu 22Oct588 ft9 ssoft983kJ17°C
Fri 23Oct378 ft9 ssoft849kJ18°C
Sat 24Oct184 ft8 ssoft176kJ19°C
Sun 25Oct133 ft8 smushy92kJ19°C
Mon 26Oct63 ft7 smushy67kJ20°C
Tue 27Oct63 ft6 smushy59kJ20°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 2h 05 by road. About 32h door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Mosterhoek Point

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 6 ft at 7 s, wind 3 kn (5 km/h).

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Ducks

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 8 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Cape St Francis

    Best 17:00 to 20:00 local time: 8 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Cape Saint Francis

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 10 ft at 8 s, offshore wind.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Mosterhoek Point

    Best 08:00 to 11:00 local time: 6 ft at 8 s, wind 11 kn (20 km/h).

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly MDW to PLZ, changing at ATL and CPT, then 2h 05 by road. About 32h door to door

The plan picks the best of 4 spots near Cape St. Francis each day: Cape Saint Francis, Cape St Francis, Ducks, Mosterhoek Point.

The trip from Cape St. Francis, 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 Cape St. Francis

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.