Surf school · Sagres
Algarve Surf School
A surf school and camp based in Sagres since 1996, teaching at Praia da Mareta and Praia do Amado depending on wind and swell, with ASI-certified instructors and a free transfer from Lagos.
Algarve Surf School has been running since 1996 and is based in Sagres, with a surf shop and school, its own hostel, and a beach hut at Praia do Amado near Carrapateira. It mainly teaches at Praia da Mareta in Sagres and at Praia do Amado on the west coast, choosing the beach each day from the wind and swell. A free transfer runs from Lagos.
Lessons and levels
Two-hour lessons tailored to each level, in 1-, 3- or 5-day packages, for beginners and intermediates, with options for families and children aged 6 to 10. The surf week is a five-day course with two lessons a day, board, wetsuit and beach transport included. Instructors are certified by the ASI and the school is an ASI accredited school, with sports insurance included.
Staying here
Shared rooms for four to six or private twin and double rooms at the Sagres Hostel, with a kitchen, barbecue area and free wifi. The surf week includes home-baked breakfasts and a beach lunch pack each day, and two yoga sessions a week from April to November.
When
Lessons and surf weeks run year-round.
Spots nearby
Beliche
A cliff-ringed beach between Sagres and Cabo de São Vicente, reached by a long stairway. More exposed and more powerful than Tonel, with a fast, hollow wave for confident surfers.
Advanced surfersAutumn to spring
Mareta
The south-facing town beach at Sagres, tucked out of the west wind and swell. Gentle and forgiving, the main learner wave in Sagres and the go-to when the west coast is too big or too windy.
BeginnersAutumn to spring for swell; sheltered enough to surf on windy west-coast days
Martinhal
A sheltered bay just east of Sagres where the summer north wind blows offshore across flat water: one of the few windsurfing spots in the western Algarve. Hardly ever any surf, and that is the point.
All levelsSummer afternoons, when the nortada blows