MapSouth AfricaStruisbaaiSouth Africa

Struisbaai

Western Cape · Overberg / Agulhas coast

also known as Struis Bay Main Beach, Struis Bay Harbour

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-friendly

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
- Hazards
Schools
Tips
Getting there
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Oct–Feb

Months riders and schools name

How windy

18-25 kt

Character: thermal

Room to launch

big grass rigging area at Main Beach; small sandy beach at the harbour

no access rules on record

Water

mixed

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Cape Town International Airport

no transfer time published

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Struisbaai has no other spot on this map within 40 km of it. straight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Witsand (Breede River)
Hermanusno page yet
Arniston / Kassiesbaaino page yet
Die Mondno page yet

The spot

Struisbaai sits on the Cape Agulhas coast and gives you two different sessions. Main Beach is the easy one: a protected bay, flat inside, waves further out, a big grass rigging area near NOSTRA at the end of Minnetokka Street, with ablutions and showers on site.

The other is Struis Bay Harbour, a wake-style flat-water strip you reach by rigging at Main Beach and riding upwind, and it is marked intermediate and expert only because of the tighter launch, the reefs, the mole and the ships.

Wind

SE is the clean summer wind, slightly onshore at Main Beach and more cross-shore the farther down you walk. SW works but comes in gusty, and west at the harbour turns offshore.

Who can ride here

Main Beach is marked beginner through expert, so a first-year rider has somewhere to go here as long as the upwind run stays off the plan. Come between October and March. Nobody has published water temperatures for Struisbaai, so go on the local rule of thumb: warmer than Table View, baggies and a rash vest in summer, a 4/3/2 in winter.

The wind

locals call it Cape Doctor / South Easter

Direction

onshoreoffshorewind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

At Main Beach, SE is slightly onshore and becomes more cross-shore farther down the beach; at the harbour, west wind can be offshore.

Kite sizes

567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Regional guidance for the Witsand-Hermanus-Struisbaai coast: men bring 9 m and 12 m, women 7 m and 9 m, adjusted for weight. Not a Struisbaai-only table.

Character

thermal

Typical strength

18-25 kt in the October-March high season, 10-18 kt in the April-September low season. Those numbers cover the Witsand-Hermanus-Struisbaai coast as a whole, not Struisbaai on its own.

SE is the cleaner main summer setup; SW can be gusty at Main Beach and west can be gusty/offshore at the harbour.

Best months are January, February, October, November and December. SE is predominant in summer, while NW is predominant in winter at Main Beach.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month96
Feb, riders' month94
Mar92
Apr79
May72
Jun67
Jul73
Aug77
Sep88
Oct, riders' month89
Nov, riders' month92
Dec, riders' month96

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Oct, Nov, Dec.

17 ktJan20°
17 ktFeb21°
17 ktMar20°
15 ktApr18°
14 ktMay17°
15 ktJun16°
15 ktJul15°
17 ktAug15°
18 ktSep15°
17 ktOct17°
17 ktNov19°
17 ktDec21°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	96%	17 kt	E	21 °C	20.3 °C
Feb	94%	16.7 kt	E	21.1 °C	20.8 °C
Mar	92%	16.9 kt	ESE	19.9 °C	19.5 °C
Apr	79%	15.3 kt	E	17.1 °C	18 °C
May	72%	14.4 kt	W	15.4 °C	16.7 °C
Jun	67%	15.3 kt	W	14 °C	15.8 °C
Jul	73%	15.2 kt	WNW	12.4 °C	14.5 °C
Aug	77%	17.3 kt	W	13.2 °C	14.5 °C
Sep	88%	17.8 kt	W	14.3 °C	15.1 °C
Oct	89%	17.1 kt	E	17.1 °C	16.8 °C
Nov	92%	17.1 kt	ESE	18.7 °C	18.7 °C
Dec	96%	16.8 kt	WSW	20.1 °C	20.5 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2022-2024

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Tides

No tide information has been published for Main Beach. The harbour is tide independent. The outer reef reportedly stays smoother between waves, especially at low tide.

Wetsuit

The water is reportedly warmer than Table View, with baggies and a rash vest possible in summer and a 4/3/2 wetsuit in winter.

Conditions

Main Beach is a protected bay: flat water close in, small to medium waves further out, and backline swell that can get very big across the bay. The harbour is a separate flat-water option, wake-style water reached by rigging at Main Beach and riding upwind. There are also good waves on the reefs at the harbour.

15–21 °C water

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Main Beach is marked beginner through expert. The harbour is marked intermediate and expert only. A beginner is fine at Main Beach in reasonable wind and should stay off the upwind ride to the harbour unless someone local is going too.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreeridewave ridingwake-style flat water

Who it suitslearning

A relaxed fishing village that fills up with families for the water sports. No kite-specific crowd level is on record.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

2 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: big grass rigging area at Main Beach; small sandy beach at the harbour

no access rules on record

Somewhere else

No neighbour on record

No other spot in the atlas sits within reach of this one.

Rescue

The volunteer sea rescue base for this coast is NSRI Station 30 Agulhas, sited at Struisbaai harbour about 500 m from the Main Beach launch.

Its station emergency line is 082 990 5952.

The national sea rescue operations centre answers on 087 094 9774 and 112 is the general emergency number.

No lifeguard, patrol boat or downwind pick-up is provided for kiters at either launch, so a self-rescue plan and a phone in the car still come first.

Launch

Main Beach launches from Minnetokka Street by NOSTRA, with a big grass rigging area, ablutions and showers. The harbour is off Malvern Drive: park near the wooden walkway and rig on the beach.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Launch at Main Beach off Minnetokka Street; the grass, the ablutions and the showers are there, not at the harbour.
In SW, walk farther down Main Beach before you pump. The wind cleans up as it swings cross-shore.
Only ride to the harbour if you are solid upwind and happy around reefs, the mole and ships; park on Malvern Drive if you drive round instead.
At the harbour reefs, low tide reportedly gives the smoother water between sets.
Check the Struisbaai wind reading before you commit to the drive from Cape Town.

Getting there

Airport

Cape Town International Airport

Route

From Cape Town it is the N2, then the R44 through Somerset West and Strand, then Clarence Drive and Main Road, then Minnetokka Street for Main Beach or Malvern Drive for the harbour.

Staying

L'Agulhas and Struisbaai both have places to stay, including self-catering close to Struisbaai Harbour.

No-wind days

Struisbaai harbour seafood and stingray viewing · swimming · snorkelling · kayaking · hiking · birdwatching · De Mond Nature Reserve · nearby Cape Agulhas

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Struisbaai?

Best months are given as October, November, December, January and February, with SE predominant in summer and NW in winter.

Is Struisbaai suitable for beginners?

Main Beach is marked beginner through expert with a large grass rigging area, while the nearby harbour flat-water option is reserved for intermediate and expert riders.

What is the wind like at Struisbaai?

SE is the cleaner main summer setup and is slightly onshore at Main Beach, becoming more cross-shore farther down the beach; SW can be gusty, and west wind at the harbour can be gusty and offshore.

Are there kite schools at Struisbaai?

Yes, Tip of Africa - Cape Agulhas Kitesurfing offers beginner and advanced lessons and rental in Struisbaai.

Last updated: August 2026