WorldTanzania › Dar-Es-Salaam › Ras Kutani

Ras Kutani 50.1

#4072 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇹🇿 Tanzania · Dar-Es-Salaam · near Dar es Salaam

Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner
Ras Kutani, Tanzania
Photo: Mangapwani · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Surf score50.1 /100
Surfable days87% of the year
Clean days0% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell1% period 11 s+
Typical size0.9 m 3.0 ft median
Water28°C boardshorts

Best time to surf Ras Kutani

The best time to surf Ras Kutani is March, July, December. It rarely works. In December the water sits around 29°C, so pack boardshorts, and the typical wave is 0.7 m. The nearest airport is DAR (34 km) and the nearest town is Dar es Salaam (31 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan92%0%0.9 m28°Cboardies
Feb71%0%0.7 m29°Cboardies
Mar42%1%0.6 m29°Cboardies
Apr77%0%0.8 m29°Cboardies
May100%0%1.0 m28°Cboardies
Jun100%0%1.2 m27°Cboardies
Jul100%1%1.3 m26°Cboardies
Aug100%0%1.1 m26°Cboardies
Sep100%0%1.1 m26°Cboardies
Oct99%0%0.9 m26°Cboardies
Nov85%0%0.7 m28°Cboardies
Dec75%3%0.7 m29°Cboardies

What is under Ras Kutani

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor drops to 108 m, shoaling steadily over the last kilometres. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 475 m against 108 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out108 m
Depth 4 km out56 m
Channel beside it475 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 50.1

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
14.2
Best days 22.4%
5.3
Clean days 18.4%
0.0
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
3.7
Water comfort 6.1%
6.1
Access 4.1%
3.8

The detail

Faces 70° with 47% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 38% of days. Mean peak period 7.9 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.3 m, with a peak period of 9 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 83%. Months that work: 11 of 12. Coordinates -6.937, 39.506 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€760/ month
typically €669 – €851
Rent, one bedroom€400
Groceries€160
Eating out€90
Getting around€55
Phone + internet€55
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,480/ month
typically €1,300 – €1,660
Somewhere to stay€870
Eating out€310
Car, transfers, fuel€200
Data + extras€95
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Tanzania (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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