Country
Portugal
The Atlantic meets 850 kilometres of coast. From the big-wave circus at Nazare to quiet beginner beaches in the north.
- Best season
- Autumn and winter
- Water temperature
- 14-19 °C
- Spots
- 3
The region
Portugal's west coast faces the open Atlantic with no land mass in front of it to slow the swell down. Whatever forms in the North Atlantic arrives here more or less unfiltered. That makes the country Europe's most reliable region: there is nearly always a wave, the only question is whether it suits your level.
The coast falls into three sections. In the north around Porto you find wide, unhurried sand beaches that are good for learning. The middle around Peniche and Ericeira packs spots of very different orientation into a few kilometres — when the wind is wrong you simply drive to the other side of the peninsula. The south, the Algarve, is the fallback for days when the west is too big.
The strongest low-pressure systems pass through between October and March. That is when it is biggest and most demanding. If you want to learn in calm conditions, come in late spring or summer, when the waves are smaller and the beaches quieter. At 14 to 19 degrees you need a wetsuit all year.
- Nazare
Praia do Norte is where the largest waves ever surfed have been ridden — an underwater canyon focuses the swell straight onto the beach.
- Algarve
Portugal’s southernmost region is usually associated with beach holidays, but it has two coasts with very different conditions: the west catches the Atlantic swell, the south sits sheltered.
- Costa Verde
The “green coast” in the north runs for roughly 100 kilometres.
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