City Trips
City Trips
Surfing
Portugal has a very mild climate with solid surf often with offshore morning breezes, a huge variety of waves and swell, making it a popular surfing destination for surfers from both Europe and elsewhere. A few waves to check out while surfing in Portugal are Pedra Blanca (near Ericeira), Supertubos (near Peniche), Matosinhos (near Porto) and Coxos (near Ericeira)
Surfing Ericeira
Ericeira is a world-class surf zone that has a variety of waves ranging from beachbreak to powerful reef breaks. Some of the notable breaks in this area include iconic spots such as Ribeira d’Ilhas and Coxos, among others. Its best surf season is from Fall-Spring (October-May).
The ancient population of Ericeira was an ethnic group called ‘Jagoz’. They differed from the neighboring villages because they lived almost exclusively from the sea.
Similary, today's community at the core of this surfing paradise have been here for years, quietly living off the quality and variety of the surf. Ericeira has been a destination for years and today is home to numerous surf schools and other surf-related businesses, in addition to regional and international surf competitions.
Ribeira d’Ilhas currently hosts the Quiksilver Pro Portugal each year, an ASP men’s prime professional contest.
The coastline is dominated by rocky cliffs and punctuated by beaches located in small bays. The waters of the Ericeira coastline are some of the richest in biodiversity in the world. Upwelling mixes a tremendous amount of rich nutrients on a regular basis. Portugal has around one thousand marine species and commercially fishes sardine, tuna and Atlantic mackerel.
São Julião
Magical beach Praia de São Julião, simply priceless, is sheltered by high cliffs and has a large sandy area.
The beach begins about 8.5 km from Ericeira and extends to the municipality of Sintra, in the south (Assafora), which includes most of the sand.
It is an ideal beach for long walks and the sea here is rough, making it ideal for surfing and bodyboarding.
Surf lessons
The little fishing town of Peniche is not the prettiest spot on the Portuguese coast, but it's probably the most renowned surfing area in the country. Originally an island, Peniche became one with the mainland due to the silting up of the shallow channel that divided it from the rest of the country. Today that short and narrow spit of land contains an obscene amount of wave variety that can provide the goods in almost any conditions. Most famous is Supertubos, regarded by many as one of Europe's best beach breaks, but there are plenty of other barrels to pull into around Peniche.
Peniche is a year round destination with swell exposure on the north side of the town and shelter on the south. The town also sits at the dividing point between the cooler and wetter north and the dry, sunny south meaning that summers are long but tempered by cool sea breezes and the winters mild though occasionally stormy.
Peniche
Márcio Severino
Our neighbours and friends Márcio and Filipe Severino, born and raised in this coastal region (Ericeira/Peniche), are among Portugal's best surfers and are certified life guards and surf instructors. Both of them are qualified landscape architects as well. They know the region and its coastline like the back of their hand (Nazaré, Cascais, Sagres) showing respect for and honor to their environment. As your surf instructors they are utterly reliable with a full understanding of the Atlantic Ocean’s waves. Having the greatest rating, based on their knowledge and experience, makes them unique. Márcio and Filipe run their surfing school named The Ocean and give surf lessons at every level (from beginners to advanced), with care and an utmost personal approach either in small groups or privately.
Just check out their website to get a feel of what they offer based on their philosophy:
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Teaching about the ocean and its behavior and about surfing / rescue levels
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The pyramid of the important things regarding surfing (safety first, fun and learning new skills)
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A kind, friendly, passionate, professional but human approach
We can assure that you will have a most unforgettable experience and lots of fun and joy attending their lessons!
Their direct contact information is as follows:
Name : The Ocean Surf School Ericeira
Email : [email protected]
Phone : +351 926139750
Site : https://the-ocean-ericeira-surf-school.business.site/
Nazaré
Nazaré is one of the finest beach resorts in Portugal, and is an outstanding destination for a holiday. The town is situated on a wide bay of golden sands and stands in the shadow of the towering Sítio headland. Nazaré is possibly the most famous fishing town in Portugal and has an atmosphere of times gone by, contentment and traditions which continue to thrive, which make it a special place to visit. The latest attraction of Nazaré are the giant waves.
