St Francis Bay
The Bruce's Beauties point and canal village — the wave Endless Summer II made famous, next to J-Bay.
Trip Role
Ideal stay
Best for
Our take
The Bruce's Beauties point and a canal village — J-Bay's quieter neighbour, go for the village and the lighthouse, and surf the point when the swell lines up.
The Bruce's Beauties point and a canal village — J-Bay's quieter neighbour, go for the village and the lighthouse, and surf the point when the swell lines up.
- Trip Role
- Quick Stop
- Ideal Stay
- A day
- Time Needed
- A day
- Best For
- J-Bay surfers, canal-village visitors, lighthouse walkers.
- Skip If
- Travellers far off the J-Bay circuit.
- Go If
- You're at J-Bay and want the alternative point, or you want the canal-village day.
- Worth Extra Drive
- 15 min
Why it's worth your time
A canal-village and point break 15 minutes from Jeffrey's Bay — the wave the original Endless Summer II made famous (Bruce's Beauties), and a quieter, canal-cut holiday village with white-walled thatched architecture. St Francis Bay's surf is a right-hand point when it's on, the canal village is unique in South Africa, and the Cape St Francis lighthouse is the wilder, scenic point. For J-Bay surfers it's the alternative break when Supertubes is too big or crowded; for non-surfers it's a canal-village day and the lighthouse walk.
What we love
The canal village; the Bruce's Beauties point in a swell; the Cape St Francis lighthouse; the quieter J-Bay alternative.
What to know
The point needs a specific swell — it's fickle. Pair with J-Bay for the surf; with the lighthouse for the scenic. The canal village is the architectural draw.
More surf spot in Eastern Cape
Coffee Bay
The Wild Coast's warm-water beach break — remote, cheap, and the country's under-the-radar surf-and-travel town.
Mdumbi
The quiet Wild Coast point — warm, uncrowded, and the more remote alternative to Coffee Bay, 15 km north.
Port St Johns
The Wild Coast's dramatic river-mouth surf — warm beach break between the First and Second Beaches, at the wildest Wild Coast town.
Seal Point
The Cape St Francis lighthouse point — a powerful right-hander at the wild end of the J-Bay reach.
Supertubes
The world's point-break mecca — J-Bay, where the right-hand Supertubes wall runs for 300 metres in a winter swell.