Surfing in South Africa in February

Conditions in February

Water temp. : 21 °C
Wetsuit : Shorty or 2 mm

February is the last month of the summer pattern. The Eastern Cape points stay in the two to four foot range, clean enough on a good morning and never the wave J-Bay is known for. The Indian Ocean season on the KwaZulu-Natal coast runs to the end of the month and then fades.

February is the month the Western Cape is most often recommended for: a coast facing every direction, with swell somewhere and an offshore somewhere on most days. It is also much colder than these figures, which are Jeffreys Bay's. At J-Bay itself, 21°C and a shorty.

Learning in February

Ideal, and the last of it. From March the Eastern Cape starts getting the size that makes it a different proposition.

Where a beginner goes in February

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

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Good

The end of the summer window. If you want Durban's points, this is the last fortnight; if you want J-Bay, wait three months.

How February 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.