Guides
Surf guides for Portugal
Practical, opinionated guides to surfing Portugal: trip routes down the coast, flying with a board, dodging the crowds, picking the right board for a spot.
A 7-day surf trip down the Silver Coast
The straightforward one-week route through the heart of Portuguese surf: Peniche and Baleal, then south to Ericeira, with Santa Cruz as the quiet card in the middle.
A long weekend surfing Ericeira
Three or four days in the World Surfing Reserve, no car needed, with a plan that scales from first lessons to the reefs.
A week surfing the Algarve
Base in Lagos or Sagres, chase the wind between two coastlines, and use the west-coast beaches when the south goes flat.
Where to surf near Lisbon
The city has four very different surf beaches within an hour, plus Ericeira a little further. Which one to pick, by wind, swell and level.
A week on the Costa Vicentina
The wild southwest, from Vila Nova de Milfontes to Sagres: powerful beach breaks, almost no development, a natural park the whole way. What a week looks like and where to base.
How to watch the big waves at Nazaré
Where to stand, when the giant swells actually come, how to know a day is on, and what you will really see.
Beach cleanups and ocean conservation in Portugal
Who cleans the Portuguese coast and protects its water, how to join a cleanup on a free morning, and where to give if you would rather send money than turn up.
Flying to Portugal with a surfboard
What it costs, how to pack, which airport to use, and when it is simpler to leave the boards at home and rent on arrival.
Surfing Portugal without a car
A few towns work well on buses and trains, boards and all. Where to base, how to get there, and how to move once you arrive.
Which wetsuit for surfing in Portugal
The Atlantic here is colder than the latitude suggests. A simple month-by-month and region-by-region guide to what to pack.
How to avoid the crowds surfing in Portugal
The Portuguese coast is busy in the obvious places at the obvious times. Change one of three things -- when, where, or what time of day -- and it thins out fast.
Surfing Portugal in winter
The biggest, cleanest, emptiest waves of the year, and the coldest water. How to get a good winter trip, and where to go when the west coast maxes out.
Surfing Portugal in summer, and beating the nortada
Summer is small, warm and crowded, and the north wind wrecks most afternoons. How to still get good waves: dawn, shelter, or the Algarve.
The surf spots of Peniche
Peniche is a peninsula, not one wave -- which is why something is almost always working. Every spot, who it suits, and how to pick one on the day.
The surf spots of Ericeira
Europe's first World Surfing Reserve packs a run of world-class reefs into a few kilometres, from a beginner river mouth to board-snapping points. Every spot, by level.
Where to learn to surf in Portugal
Almost the whole coast teaches, but a few places are built for it. Where to go for a first week, and what to expect.
Surf camp or surf school: which to book
A camp bundles a week of lessons, a bed and transport; a school sells you the lesson and nothing else. Which suits your trip.
Kitesurf and windsurf in Portugal: where and when
Portugal is a summer wind destination as much as a winter surf one. The nortada, the four spots that matter, the season, and how to choose between kite, windsurf and wing.
Which surfboard for Peniche and Supertubos
Peniche is a peninsula, not one wave, so the honest answer is "more than one board". Here is what actually works, by level and by spot.
The Ericeira World Surfing Reserve
Why a small stretch of the Portuguese coast became the first protected surfing reserve in Europe, and what that protection actually means.
Surf etiquette and localism in Portugal
Most Portuguese line-ups are relaxed. A few are not, and it is easy to know which, and how to behave in both.