Surfing in South Africa in April

Conditions in April

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

April is the month the Eastern Cape becomes serious. The lows are tracking closer and more often, the point is getting swells with the period to hold its sections together, and the J-Bay season is commonly given as April or May through to September.

It is also the last month before everybody else arrives. May to August is the window the surf world books, so April gives most of the season's character with none of its company. The water has dropped to 19°C, which is a 3/2, and the offshore westerlies that groom the point are starting their winter pattern.

Learning in April

Getting past a first trip. If you are learning, the summer months are yours and April is not one of them.

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.

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Very good

The best value month of the South African year. Almost the season, none of the crowd.

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.