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Off The Wall, 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

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Ciudad del Cabo desde Cabeza de León, Sudáfrica, 2018-07-22, DD 34
Cape Town, the nearest town, 4 km away. Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Off The Wall

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

The spot faces NW (304°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (124°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 4–15 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves moderately: 10 m deep about 250 m out (1 in 24). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would crumble. 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, 3.6 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 8 surf spots, 1 wind sports spot and 1 dive site.

Water about 15°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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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 Off The Wall.

  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 in Cape Town (ad) 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.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

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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

Off The Wall 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 Off The Wall, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct0, too big9 ft10 scrumbling1,458kJwind from the south, 10 knots15°C
Mon 19Oct0, too big7 ft9 scrumbling620kJwind from the north-east, 2 knots17°C
Tue 20Oct28, poor5 ft8 smushy279kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots16°C
Wed 21Oct0, too big10 ft8 smushy1,164kJwind from the north-north-west, 15 knots18°C
Thu 22Oct0, too big8 ft8 smushy713kJwind from the west-north-west, 4 knots18°C
Fri 23Oct0, too big7 ft8 scrumbling529kJwind from the south-south-east, 1 knot22°C
Sat 24Oct39, fair4 ft8 smushy197kJwind from the south-south-west, 3 knots21°C
Sun 25Oct18, too small2 ft6 smushy28kJwind from the south-south-east, 15 knots, offshore23°C
Mon 26Oct43, fair4 ft8 scrumbling182kJwind from the east-north-east, 1 knot29°C
Tue 27Oct21, too small3 ft6 smushy88kJwind from the north-north-east, 2 knots22°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.

Rough cost per person for this trip
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

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