Witsands, South Africa

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Scarborough Western Cape, 3 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Cape Town International Airport (CPT), 33 km.

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About Witsands

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

The spot faces SW (212°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (32°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 14). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 15°C in August, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in January, its warmest (2 mm shorty). No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Scarborough Western Cape, 3 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Cape Town International Airport (CPT), 33 km. Within 5 km we also list 17 surf spots.

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

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From Chicago: about 26 h 40 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

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
Getting there. 55 min from the airport to Witsands.
Car hire · Discover CarsAd
Accommodation.
No town nearby
No stay checked for this site yet: Scarborough Western Cape, 3 km away, is the nearest town we list. Nearest airport: Cape Town International Airport (CPT), 33 km.
Hire and lessons.
Surf lessons in Witsands · GetYourGuideAd Board and wetsuit hire in Witsands · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Witsands on Google Maps · Directions

Surf spot

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Forecast

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

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Witsands, each day
Day	Score for experts	Swell	Energy	Wind	Temp
Sun 18Oct	20, poor	9 ft9 smushy	1,232kJ	wind from the south-south-west, 10 knots	15°C
Mon 19Oct	47, fair	8 ft8 smushy	769kJ	wind from the south-west, 5 knots	18°C
Tue 20Oct	40, fair	6 ft8 shollow	431kJ	wind from the north-west, 11 knots	16°C
Wed 21Oct	20, poor	9 ft8 scrumbling	1,009kJ	wind from the west-north-west, 14 knots	18°C
Thu 22Oct	36, fair	8 ft8 smushy	722kJ	wind from the west, 8 knots	18°C
Fri 23Oct	56, good	7 ft8 shollow	665kJ	wind from the south-west, 3 knots	23°C
Sat 24Oct	24, too small	5 ft8 shollow	252kJ	wind from the south-west, 6 knots	21°C
Sun 25Oct	2, too small	2 ft10 smushy	79kJ	wind from the south-east, 20 knots	20°C
Mon 26Oct	8, too small	4 ft8 shollow	207kJ	wind from the south-east, 19 knots	22°C
Tue 27Oct	11, too small	3 ft8 shollow	89kJ	wind from the south-south-east, 1 knot	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 expert surfers. Change dates

Mon 19 Oct
Travel out
Fly MDW to CPT, changing at ATL, then 55 min by road. About 26h 40 door to door
Tue 20 Oct
Surf Witsands
Best 14:00 to 17:00 local time: 6 ft at 8 s, wind 11 kn (20 km/h).
Wed 21 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 32 of 80.
Thu 22 Oct
Surf Witsands
Best 17:00 to 20:00 local time: 8 ft at 8 s, wind 8 kn (14 km/h).
Fri 23 Oct
Surf Witsands
Best 14:00 to 17:00 local time: 7 ft at 8 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).
Sat 24 Oct
Rest day
Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 32 of 80.
Sun 25 Oct
Travel home
Fly MDW to CPT, changing at ATL, then 55 min by road. About 26h 40 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,015–£2,025 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 MDW to CPT, estimated from distance and season, changing at ATL, full-service airlines, with a hold bag	£765–£1,585
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		£1,015–£2,025

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

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Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

In the waterAd

Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

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