Surfing in Senegal in April

Conditions in April

Water temp. : 19 °C
Wetsuit : 3/2 mm fullsuit

April is the flattest useful month in Senegal, and it is flat for a structural reason rather than a bad one. The North Atlantic has stopped sending winter swell to the north shore, and the southern hemisphere has not yet started sending it to the south. The peninsula is between jobs.

What that leaves is small, and the small is warming: the sea turns the corner from its March floor and begins the climb that ends in September.

If your dates are fixed to April, plan the week around Yoff and the beaches rather than the reefs, and treat any reef day as a bonus.

Learning in April

For learning : Very good

A good month to learn, for the reason it is a poor one to surf: everything is small and the water is climbing.

Where a beginner goes in April

These spots are reachable all year. What the month changes is the size of the waves, not the access.

Yoff Beach
DakarBeginner

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Good

The one month with nothing much to promise. Bring a longboard or come another time.

How April compares

All twelve months, side by side

Where these figures come from

Air, rain and sunshine: WMO / NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Agadir Al Massira, a station some twenty kilometres inland and so a little warmer than the coast in summer. Swell, period and share of workable wind: Swell Archive and surf-forecast. Water temperature: seatemperature.org and weather-and-climate. Crowds and prices are an editorial judgement, not a measurement.