When to surf · Lisbon and Cascais
Carcavelos in January
Deep winter. Big, cold and heavy on the west coast, prime Nazaré season, and the Capítulo Perfeito tube contest waits on a swell at Carcavelos. For experienced surfers, or beginners sticking to sheltered bays on the small days.
Carcavelos
Carcavelos is best October to March, when swell reaches the bay and mornings can be clean before the wind. Summer is small and blown out by the afternoon nortada, so it is a dawn-only wave then. The Capítulo Perfeito tube contest waits on a swell somewhere between January and March.
Winter
Events here
12 Jan – 12 MarCapítulo Perfeito
A one-day invitational tube-riding contest at Carcavelos, run only when the wave is 2 to 3 metres, barrelling and offshore.
Praia de Carcavelos11 Jan – 11 MarCapítulo Perfeito
The invitational one-day tube-riding contest returns to Carcavelos for 2027, with a waiting period of 11 January to 11 March.
Praia de CarcavelosSpots here
Carcavelos
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 springParede
A right-hand rock reef on the Cascais train line that sleeps most of the year and wakes up on a big west or south-west swell. A local's wave for experienced surfers, not a learner's beach.
Advanced surfersAutumn and winter, on the bigger swells