Coastal & Safety
Conditions and swim safety along the Garden Route coast.
Swim safety
Use caution
Moderate surf. Only strong swimmers, between the flags, at a lifeguarded beach. Watch for rip currents.
Wave height
2 m
from SSW · 11.55s
Swell
1.64 m
from SSW · 9.55s
Sea temp
16.3°
current 0.5 km/h
Wind
8 km/h
Clear sky
Tides
High/low tide times need a dedicated tide source and aren’t available from the free marine feed. For now, check the SA Navy Hydrographic tide tables or the WSA tide app before heading out. Wave and swell data above is live.
NSRI emergency
Sea rescue emergency line for Plettenberg Bay. National emergency: 112 (mobile).
Rip current awareness
- • Swim only at beaches with lifeguards, between the red-and-yellow flags.
- • A rip looks like a darker, calmer channel of water moving out to sea.
- • Caught in one? Don’t fight it. Stay calm, float, and signal for help.
- • Swim parallel to the beach to escape the rip, then back in at an angle.