Surfing Waves

I am going to south africa in jan , need a wifi/bedroom.

What surf village/town would you recommend?

---working on my 3-4ft waves
---will be doing my day job remotely
---can stay at a house
---don't want to drive

There are many options and it depends on what kind of place you want to stay in.

Lots of towns have hostels on the beach if you're happy to stay in one. They all have bars and are good fun. You can travel between them on the Baz bus.

I stayed in hostels in Kommetjie, Plettenberg, Jeffrey's Bay, Cintsta, Coffee Bay, Umtentweni, Durban, Ballito. All walking distance to decent surf beaches.

If you want a house then it's up to you to find one close to a surf beach.

Tnx, I guess I have to go and see what location has the best waves for my level.

Is there any major difference between west, south, east coast at least in months of J,F,M?

What is your level?

I was there Sept-Dec only.

Working on 4ft waves, I would say a beginner to become intermediate

To be honest, there are options everywhere. I would suggest deciding on an area you're interested in and to go from there.

Somewhere like Muizenburg is fairly busy surf-wise, but suitable for your level. Also close to Cape Town for other activities and nightlife.

The other places I mentioned are less busy generally, some are empty and some are in the middle of nowhere.

Durban is another option if you want to be near a city, and the water is a lot warmer than further south.

There are a lot of practically empty surf breaks as you head up the coast, which is a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it (my mind tends to wander onto what's swimming under the surface).

I do prefer warmer waters and less touristy spots

I can't say much about warmer waters in south africa, only been west of J-bay, really.

Generally, for surfing around Cape Town: The water will be cold, make sure you pack a winter wetsuit. Things should get warmer
as you head towards the Indian ocean.

I didn't surf nearly as much as I had wanted in south africa, but I really really loved "Kitchen Windows", which is a wave in J-Bay (but not the famous bay). Plettenberg Bay was beautiful / scenic, and felt a slight bit "posher" than JBay (not sure what the actual accomodation prices are), surf-wise the places in PBay I went to were closing out & pitching me, but that may have been due to idiocy / conditions.

I have heard great places about Buffels Bay, too - it's supposedly a fun wave for intermediates.

In Cape Town, Big Bay can be fun and has a beautiful view of table mountain from the lineup. It was damn cold when I was there, tho. Kommetje was beautiful and fun; Muizenberg was onshore every day I was in CT, so I didn't get into the water there.

I have to admit that psychologically I could never get over the ... errr ... wildlife in the area, e.g. each time anything moved in the water
I was convinced I'd get eaten by a shark, but that's mostly me being panicky. Do pay attention to the shark flags in CT though, this year
has been sharky.

Cheers,
Thomas

I spend 3-4 weeks in Jeffrey's Bay in January 2013 and can recommend it. The water is warm enough to not really need a wetsuit and although (from my experience) the swell was getting smaller towards the end of January there were still some pretty good waves for your level.
And there are quite a few different breaks within walking distance of each other.
The town is packed for just around NYE but the crowd thins seriously out during the first week of Jan and from there the town can seem a little empty.

I don't know much about other towns in SA