Trip route
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.
Lisbon itself has no surf, but four beaches within about an hour of the centre do, and they are different enough that on almost any day one of them is working. You can reach all of them by public transport or a short drive.
Carcavelos
The closest, about 20 minutes on the Cascais train line. A wide beach break in front of an 18th-century fort, sandy-bottomed and forgiving, and the busiest learner beach in the country. Best at low to mid tide with a west swell and an offshore north wind. It gets crowded, and the water quality dips for a day or two after heavy rain.
Costa da Caparica
South of the river across the 25 de Abril bridge, 30 to 40 minutes by car or a bus from Praca de Espanha. Kilometres of beach breaks, so you can always walk away from the crowd. The first beaches are the easiest; the ones further south, reached by a little summer train along the dunes, catch more swell. Caparica is the sheltered option when the summer nortada is blowing the rest of the coast out.
Praia Grande
On the Sintra coast, about 40 minutes by car. A committing beach break with a powerful reef at the north end that hosts a bodyboard world-tour event. The beach works for intermediates on a small to medium day; the reef is for experienced surfers only. Colder and more exposed than the city beaches.
Guincho
Past Cascais under the Sintra hills, about 40 minutes by car, with no train (bus 405, or a taxi from Cascais). A beautiful, brutal dune beach facing the full Atlantic. Good in autumn and winter when it is clean; in summer the nortada turns it into one of Europe's best kite and windsurf spots and a hard, current-heavy surf.
One step further
Ericeira is about 50 minutes from Lisbon by car, or the Mafrense bus from Campo Grande, and it has far better waves than anything closer to the city, from the beginner beach break at Foz do Lizandro to the reefs of the World Surfing Reserve. If you are based in Lisbon and want one proper surf day, go there.
Picking a beach
Small and clean, or learning: Carcavelos or Caparica. Summer afternoon with the nortada up: Caparica, or wait for dawn. A real swell and you can handle power: Praia Grande or Guincho. Wind sports: Guincho. In doubt, Caparica almost always has a rideable peak somewhere along its length.
Updated 5 September 2026
Spots in this guide
Carcavelos
Lisbon's home beach and the busiest wave in Portugal on a good day. A wide, forgiving beach break one stop from the city on the Cascais train line, with a fort at one end and peaks spread along the sand.
All levelsAutumn to spring
Sao Joao da Caparica
The northern end of Costa da Caparica, where a line of groynes shapes the sandbanks and most of the area's surf schools operate. Sheltered from the north wind, so it is a key summer option near Lisbon.
All levelsAutumn to spring for size; summer for the sheltered lessons
Praia Grande
A wide, consistent beach break under the Sintra hills, with a powerful right-hand reef at its northern end that has hosted world-tour surf and bodyboard events. Something here for every level, depending on the day and where you paddle out.
All levelsAutumn to spring; summer smaller and good for learning
Guincho
An exposed dune beach below the Sintra hills. The summer nortada makes it one of Europe's best wind and kite spots; in the calmer months it is a serious, current-heavy beach break.
IntermediatesSurf autumn to spring; wind and kite in summer
Sao Pedro do Estoril
A rock-reef break on the Cascais train line that comes alive when a south swell or a large wrapping west swell hits. A long, workable wall favoured by longboarders, and the venue for the national longboard finals.
IntermediatesAutumn to spring, and on the big W swells that shut the open coastOn while you go
Lisbon and Cascais →
International Ocean Film Tour
A travelling programme of ocean and surf documentaries, shown in the original language with Portuguese subtitles.
23 July 2026 – 31 October 2026Cinema Sao Jorge, Lisbon (and other cities)
Sintra Bodyboard Pro Fest
The 30th edition of the longest-running stop on the world bodyboard tour, at the reef of Praia Grande under the Sintra hills.
1 September 2026 – 6 September 2026Praia Grande, ColaresNational Longboard Circuit: S. Pedro do Estoril
The closing stage of the national longboard circuit, at the reef of Sao Pedro do Estoril on the Cascais train line, a wave that holds shape for the noseriding the longboard divisions are judged on.
15 November 2026 – 16 November 2026S. Pedro do Estoril, CascaisGuides
See more →
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.