Silver Coast · 39°36′N 9°04′W
Nazaré
The town beside the canyon that funnels giant winter swell onto Praia do Norte. The bay in front of town is an ordinary beach break most days.
Nazaré is a fishing town built beside an undersea canyon that runs almost to the shore. The canyon bends and focuses Atlantic swell, and on the biggest winter days it produces the largest rideable waves in the world at Praia do Norte, under the lighthouse headland.
That is one beach on the biggest days. Praia do Norte is not a surf spot in any normal sense: it is tow-in and big-wave gun territory for a small number of specialists, with lethal current and shorebreak. Do not paddle out there to see what it is like.
Where to surf, by level
The main town beach, Praia da Nazaré, in front of the promenade, is an ordinary beach break most of the year and works for all levels in summer, with schools operating on the sand. When a real swell is running it closes out and everything moves to watching Praia do Norte instead.
When to go
Big-wave season is roughly November to March, when the canyon does its work and the contest window is open. Summer is calm, warm-ish and suited to the town beach and learning. Water is about 16 to 18 degrees in summer and 14 to 15 in winter.
Getting there
From Lisbon it is about an hour and twenty by car on the A8. Rede Expressos runs coaches to Nazaré. A funicular climbs from the beach to Sítio, the old town on the clifftop, and from there it is a short walk to the Forte de São Miguel Arcanjo by the lighthouse, the free viewpoint over Praia do Norte. It fills fast on a called swell.
Events
The TUDOR Nazaré Big Wave Challenge (WSL) is a one-day tow contest at Praia do Norte, called with 24 to 48 hours notice when the forecast and wind line up during the winter window.
Spots here
Read next
Guides
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.
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.
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.
Schools & rentals here
Surf schools, camps & board rental in NazaréEvents here
Nearby
Foz do Arelho
Where the Óbidos lagoon meets the sea, giving an open ocean beach break plus a flat lagoon for wind sports.
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Baleal
A tied island just north of Peniche with a sheltered bay on one side and open beach break on the other. The area's main learner hub.
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Ferrel
The village behind Baleal and Almagreira, with reef and beach options that pick up northwest swell.
SurfCommon questions
- What are the surf spots in Nazaré?
- Nazaré has one spot guide here: Praia do Norte.
- Is Nazaré good for beginners?
- Not really — the spots listed here suit intermediate surfers and above.
- When is the best time to surf in Nazaré?
- Nazaré has two seasons. November to March is big-wave season, when the canyon fires and people come to watch from the headland, not to surf. The rest of the year the town beach is an ordinary, quiet beach break, fine for learners in the warmer months.
- Is there a surf school in Nazaré?
- Yes — one is listed for Nazaré.