Central Portugal is a year around surf zone, the winters stay delightfully mild and the summers never get too hot.Peniche and Ericeira are the Mecca of Portuguese surf. The west coast and the Costa Capparica offers consistent beachbreaks and, if you now where to look, even a bit of peace and quiet.
Peniche, a medieval town and now surfing hotspot, is located on a peninsular. So with both North and South facing coastline it has excellent surfing conditions regardless of the wind direction. Everyone from complete beginners to experts can surf in Peniche. It is a very popular location for surf schools as there are more than 20 breaks in the vicinity. The most famous is the ‘perfect’ Supertubos but other impressive ones include Santa Cruz, Molho Leste, Praia do Baleal, Lagide and beginner friendly Praia Azul.
Ericeira is a whitewashed fishing village and host to a strong international surfing scene and competitions such as the ASP (WQS) world championship. If you are an intermediate or experienced surfer and want to surf in Ericeira you have lots of options including Coxos, Pontinha, Backdoor, Pedra Branca, Ribeira d’ilhas and Praia do Norte.
The lovely capital city Lisbon has fascinating winding streets, beautiful historic monuments and architecture and great nightlife. So it's a great place to combine a city break with easy access to popular surfing and body boarding beaches. The Praia Grande near Sintra is particularly popular with body boarders with other top destinations for both sports including the spectacular Praia do Guincho, novice friendly Costa de Caparica, São João and neighbouring São Pedro and Carcavelos and, for the experts, Santo Amaro. Carcavelos in particular is a great place to meet local of all ages who surf away those school or work day stresses!
For more information about surf camps and surf schools in europe or worldwide search our camp overview. Wish you a lot of fun planning your surf trip!
