Surf school · Arrifana
Aljezur Surf School
A surf school and camp based in Vales, Aljezur, teaching at Praia da Arrifana and Praia do Monte Clérigo with Portuguese Surf Federation instructors and groups of up to eight.
Aljezur Surf School runs from its Aljezur Surf Spot shop in Vales, Aljezur, and teaches at two beaches of the Costa Vicentina natural park: Praia da Arrifana, a cliff-ringed bay partly sheltered by its headland, and Praia do Monte Clérigo, a quieter north-west-facing beach. A van picks students up between 9:00 and 10:00, and a session on the beach lasts three to four hours.
Lessons and levels
Lessons of an hour and a half, single or two in a day, and three- or five-day packages with two lessons a day, plus private lessons for individuals, families and groups. Beginners, intermediates and advanced surfers, from age eight, with a maximum of eight students per instructor. Instructors are certified by the Federação Portuguesa de Surf, and lesson equipment is included.
Staying here
The surf camp at Aljezur Villas, near Arrifana, offers private, double and four-person shared rooms, all with a bathroom, and a shared kitchen, pool, gym, table tennis and barbecue. Camp packages of five or seven nights include three or five lesson days and a free surf day with equipment.
Rental
Soft and hard boards and wetsuits by the half or full day.
Spots nearby
Arrifana
A cliff-ringed bay near Aljezur, partly protected by a headland and an offshore rock stack. That shelter makes it one of the more forgiving spots on an otherwise heavy stretch of the west coast.
IntermediatesAutumn to spring; workable much of the year
Monte Clérigo
A north-west-facing beach below a small hamlet near Aljezur, with sand to the north, rocks to the south and a stream that shapes the banks. Few surfers even on good days, and wind is the main thing to watch.
IntermediatesAutumn to spring