Welcome
I really started The Outdoor Gems to share outdoor experiences through photography and storytelling to inspire more people to get outside. If more people got outdoors; took a walk, hike, went snowboarding, sat around a campfire, and surfed in the ocean, I think the world would be a better place.
-Jeremiah
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Portugal, Everything to know when Booking a Surf trip to Ericeira
Alright, so you’re looking to book a surf trip to Europe but might be unsure of where to go. Ericeira, a small coastal town west of Lisbon the Capitol has pristine coastlines, cool architecture, and of course plenty of waves. The area itself is pretty low key and somewhat small, which is what I
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Alright, so you’re looking to book a surf trip to Europe, but might be unsure of where to go. Ericeira, a small coastal town west of Lisbon, the Capitol, has pristine coastlines, cool architecture, and of course plenty of waves. The area itself is pretty low key and somewhat small, which is what I liked most about Ericeira. There’s a central area with boutiques, surf shops, restaurants, and bakeries. A car helps, but isn’t necessary as you can still walk or rent a bike to get around.
If you’re new to surfing or have been doing it for a while there are a number of hostel style camps that offer cheap lodging as well as lessons if you need them, which I’ll go into more detail later. With that being said, in this post I’ll be going over how to get to Ericeria, where to stay, eat, and surf. Alright lets get into it..
Where is Ericiera
Ericiera is on the west coast of Portugal, pretty much in the middle of the country. A little over a half hour from Lisbon (close to 50 KM/31 miles), getting to the coast is pretty easy and scenic as you drive through towns to get there
What mode of transporation should I use to get there
If you take a shuttle or rent a car, it will be much quicker! I took the bus, which is the cheapest way, but also the longest (about 2.5 hours). If you are doing a surf camp they may offer a shuttle service and can pick you up right at the airport. The shuttle like I mentioned will be much quicker and they can drop you off right at the camp.
If you are looking to save a little bit of money, you can take a bus from the Campo Grande bus station to Ericiera. However, you will then have to walk or a take a taxi to your camp or where you are staying. A full day bus ticket is close to 6.5 Euros and you can buy your ticket and take a shuttle bus from the Lisbon Airport to Campo Grande bus station.
Do you need a car
You don’t need one, however getting to different surf spots will be easier with a car or a bike. Uber is inexpensive and a great way to get around as well.
Where to stay
Depending on how much time you have, I would recommend staying in a VRBO close to the center area (city center) and/or doing a surf camp. There’s a number of inexpensive VRBO’s close to the “city center”, but also walkable to different surf spots, depending on where you stay exactly. The architecture is pretty cool too with cobbled streets, red clay roofs, and the Portuguese tiles on the sides of buildings.
A surf camp is nice because you stay in dorm style housing, meet new people, and learn a lot about surfing. The only downside to some of the camps is depending on the time of year, groups can be large and everyone goes to the same surf spot for a lesson, which means more people and less waves. However, I stayed with Lapoint and the lodging was incredible, equipment included, and free breakfast every morning. They have great instructors for different ability levels from beginner all the way to advanced.
Lapoint also has a skate bowl on site that overlooks the Ericeira country side and ocean! If you only want to do the lodging without lessons, Lapoint offers that as well. Other surf camps include The Salty Pelican and the Ericeira Surf House. Some of the camps also offer yoga too.
Any good restaurants
Although there were a handful of restaurants that I felt were pretty bland, there’s a few that I recommend trying. For coffee, breakfast, or lunch my three favorite places were Dear Rose, Green is Good, and Sunset Bamboo Bar. The pancakes were pretty amazing at Green is Good.
For dinner, I really liked Jangada, about a 15 minute walk from the center area. Friendly staff and cool ambience were what made this my favorite restaurant in Ericiera. The menu was simple, but the food was incredible, including the seafood. Since your right on the coast, there are a lot of seafood restaurants through out the area. Another restaurant I really liked just north of town, outside of Ericiera was the Pizza Mobile. A hidden gem pizza restaurant in Sao Lourenco.
Is there any Night Life
If you stay at a surf camp they will have events through out your stay. Also, every Friday Boardriders, has a party with a DJ and bar on siter. In town the main bar for night life is Tubo.
Where can we rent surfboards and take lessons
If you’re not doing a camp, there’s a number of awesome surf rental shops that offer instruction from beginner to advanced. If you’re traveling solo and don’t know anyone in the area it’s good to go out with people who know the area and different breaks, where to paddle, what to avoid, and the best time to surf different spots. Shops such as Ericiera Surf School, Tiago Pires Surf School, and Surf Riders all offer lessons with rentals. My favorite place to take a surf lesson was the Surf Center in between Quiksilver and 58 surf. The instructors were incredible and the owner was really nice.
They offered private lessons as well as group lessons. There was also a place to keep your things when you were out surfing so you don’t have to leave them on the beach. If you rent, but don’t take a lesson, the owner still allowed me to store my things there when I was surfing. It’s the little things that make a difference when traveling.
If you’re looking to rent, but not take a lesson, the best place for that is Portugal Surf Rentals. They have a number of great performance, higher-end boards for an incredible price compared to a lot of shops in town. Book your reservation online and they deliver the board to your place, throw in a bar of wax, and give you a surf bag for the rental. You then drop the board off at Quiksilver or 58 when your done.
Are there any good surf shops
58 Surf on the north end of Ericeira has just about everything you need from wetsuits, to fins, shortboards, longboards, and hybrid shapes. There’s also Magic Quiver. It’s more of a boutique style shop, with locally shaped boards. Really cool spot that will premiere surf films sometimes.
Is the water cold
Yep, cold water in Portugal. You’ll want to wear a 3/2 wetsuit and then as you reach mid to late October a 5/4 wetsuit. These numbers are the thickness of the wetsuit. I would also recommend a hood and booties in the colder months too. Some of the breaks will be rocky as well so having booties to protect your feet from getting cut up, will be very helpful!
When is the best time of the year to surf in Portugal
Late September through April are when the waves will be the largest, but also most powerful. I went in October and there were some smaller days in the two weeks that I was there, but also some really heavy days, so keep that in mind when booking a trip. One of my instructors said that If you are looking for smaller waves, August will be the best month. Summers are nice as well because it doesn’t rain very much, but as you get into late fall, you will have more rainy days throughout the winter months.
Where can I check the Surf Forecast
The best website for checking the surf forecast in Portugal is MEO. A was recommended to use this site by a handful of locals and found that it provided the most accurate information!
What are the best places to surf
There’s a number of great surf breaks in Ericeira and below are the top five. The best time of day to surf Ericeira is MID TIDE, either when the tide is going from Low ->High or High->Low. If you surf during low tide the waves will close out early and if you surf during high tide the waves will be Flat. However, sometimes you can still surf these spots during low and high tide!
Foz Do LIzandro- This spot is on the south end of Ericeira and can be a little more low key. When the waves are good there will be people in the water, especially in the morning! There are mostly rights here with some lefts mixed in as well. Be careful surfing this spot during low tide as it does get shallow and rocky in some areas. Also because it is near surf schools, in the morning the water can get pretty crowded.
There is a free parking lot at this beach as well as a boardwalk with restaurants and a surf rental shop. You can either surf in the middle of this break or farther down towards lookers right, depending on where it’s breaking that day!
2. Praia Do Matadouro- Lots of fun breaks here. It’s best to surf this beach with someone who knows exactly where to go. I would also recommend wearing surf booties to protect your feet as there is a rocky bottom. Mid Tide will be the best time to surf this spot and if you’re able to time that for an evening surf session it is pretty magical. There’s different peaks through out the break, lefts and rights.
There’s a parking lot across the street near Quiksilver if you are driving or if you want to walk and are staying near the city center its about a 20 minute walk.
3. Ribeira D’llhas- Located on the north end of Ericiera this break is one of the stops for the World Surf Tour and when it’s pumping, you will see a lot of people in the water. This will be a right hand point break, with different peaks through out. You can also surf this spot during high tide and the waves are a little smaller and more fun if you are an intermediate surfer. There is also some fun waves outside the main peak if you want to avoid a crowded lineup and increase your wave count.
There is a parking lot as well as a restaurant and public restrooms. This is also a rockier break so where booties if you don’t want to cut up your feet! This spot also has a nice beach to relax if you take breaks while surfing.
4. Praia do Sul- Probably my least favorite spot to surf, this break is only good to surf during mid tide with a farther paddle out to get to the peak. When it’s pumping this break can get pretty heavy and there will be some localism in the water as well. Just remember to be respectful in the water, even if someone gives you a hard time! There will be lefts and rights at this break, giving you more options and also sometimes there’s good waves on the shoulder of the main peak.
Be careful paddling back in as the shore break area can be pretty heavy too! This spot is right in town and there will be parking down towards the beach on the side of the road.
5. Praia de São Julião- My favorite spot in all of Ericiera, this mellow beach break doesn’t draw the crowds like the other breaks I surfed. Less crowds means more waves for you. I only surfed here once, but had wished I had rented a car for a few days to drive to this spot. If you can’t rent a car, take a lesson and discuss with your instructor about surfing this spot. The break has lefts and rights and the paddle out isn’t too bad either. Parking will be a big dirt lot right at the beach.
The other nice thing about this break is it is a sandy bottom, no rocks.
Last minute things to know when booking a surf trip to Portugal
Make sure to bring warm clothing as it does get cold at night and even during the day sometimes.
It can rain during your trip so make sure to pack a rain jacket! Burton makes my favorite rain jackets, especially anything with Gore-tex
The sun is less intense, however, still pack zinc sunscreen
You’ll need a passport to get into the country
Make sure to bring an outlet adapter, a type C and F adapter work great
If you bring a film camera, customs is strict and won’t do a hand check on your film. Buy a pouch that protects your film from X-Rays. They sell them on Amazon.
You can rent wetsuits and booties, but having your own will be a plus. You can purchase these on Hansens and save 10% on your order. Size down a whole size for your surf booties.
Know surf etiquette and be respectful in the water.
Summer is a busier time so book your lodging ahead of time!
There is a skatepark in Ericeira, it’s great for working on your surfing or if you just like to skate.
That’s it for a surf trip to Ericeira, if you have any questions or anything to add please leave a comment below! Also subscribe to our email list below for information on the latest travel and outdoor content. Thanks for reading the blog and I’ll see you on the next post.
Looking to spend some time in Lisbon? Check out top 7 things to do in Lisbon in 48 hours.
Snowboard Tuning, How to wax and take care of your board from Home
It’s that time of year where the lifts are spinning at your local ski resort, new gear is hitting the stores, and you might be looking to tune that snowboard that has been sitting in the garage all summer long. There’s actually a lot you
Disclosure: When you buy something through the Affiliate product links I have created below, I earn a small commission. I only promote products and companies I support as well as believe in.
It’s that time of year where the lifts are spinning at your local ski resort, new gear is hitting the stores, and you might be looking to tune that snowboard that has been sitting in the garage all summer long. There’s actually a lot you can do from home to keep your board riding smoothly on snow. It’s nice to have these skills so that you know how to take care of your gear! Also, if you ever want to work in a tune shop, knowing how to wax and do minor upkeep on a snowboard is a good start.
Like a car, a snowboard needs routine maintenance to give you the best experience possible on the mountain or hill and can make all the difference when riding two feet of powder or spring slush. In this post I’ll be covering the different steps of Waxing and Tuning your snowboard, what you need, tune tips/terms, and the importance of taking care of your gear! Alright lets gooooo.
Why do I need to Wax my board
The main reason is snow temps change through out the season and in order for your board to glide across the snow properly you need to maintain the base with the proper wax. Also, your base has pores and over time, snow will dry the base out. Therefore in order to maintain speed it’s important to wax your board. Just like a car, home, or bike, upkeep is important to keep your equipment in great shape and give you the best experience possible!
Although this blog post is about waxing your board from home, I would highly recommend still taking it to a great tune shop in your local area from time to time. The best tune shops have really good equipment and knowledgeable staff with years of experience. They’ll also be able to fix any repairs that you can’t do on your own.
How Often Should I tune my board
It all depends on how often you ride and how much abuse your snowboard takes! You can also look at the base and see if it looks dry or has scrapes and scratches throughout the base. I would say on average if you are riding 2-3 days per week once every couple weeks should be just fine. If you are looking to ride the terrain park it would be a good idea to wax your board once a week to make sure you have the right amount of speed for jumps as well as rails.
Where should I wax my board from home
Ideally a garage or tool shed are the best places to wax a board, especially if there is a work bench of some kind. This will make it a lot easier when working on your board, mainly when your scraping wax off the base. Put on some music, hang out with your friends, or grab a drink and have fun. Also if you can find someone whose worked in a tune shop or has extensive experience with waxing snowboards, it will be very helpful so you don’t get into bad habits.
What are some terms to know
Base- The bottom of a snowboard or skis
Wax Iron- This is the tool you use to melt wax into your base
Scraper- What you use to scrape the wax off your board
Brush- After your done scraping, you’ll use a brush to smooth out the base
Wax- The material used to melt into your base
Temperature ratings- Wax has a snow temp range to follow, the most common being an all temp wax. You’ll also use a spring wax for warm temperatures and a cold wax for those ice cold days.
Core Shot- When you hit a rock or something sharp that digs through your base to the wood core.
Tuning Vises- What you put the board on to wax it
Edge- The metal part attached to your base. Allows you to be stable and turn on snow.
Edge Tuner- A tool used to hand sharpen your edges
Gummy stone- What smooths the rough parts of your metal edges. Somewhat soft.
Burrs- Rough areas on your edges caused from use
Diamond Stone- Used to also smooth out yours edges and contact points so that the edge doesn’t catch on the snow when riding.
Base Grind- Running your board through a machine to smooth it out
P-Tex-Used to repair your base if you have a core shot or ding in the base. Never use this material on the top sheet.
Epoxy- A glue like material used to fix top sheet damage
Contact Points- The metal part of the edge that touches the snow
Detune- Smoothing out sharp parts on the edges of your snowboard or skis
Sintered Base- faster, more durable, more porous, holds more wax
Extruded Base- holds less wax, requires less maintenance, and are slower
What supplies do I need
The tuning supplies you’ll need can be found at your local snowboard or ski shop and online at places like Burton.com
Wax
Waxing Iron
P-tex
Wax Brush
Lighter
Scraper
Edge Sharpener
Gummy Stone
Ceramic Stone
Apron
Tuning Vises
Step 1
The very first thing I like to do is to take the bindings off. You don’t want to wax your board with the bindings on because the heat from the iron could damage them. Put them off to the side and then make sure to wipe the base down with water. or base cleaner. It’s important not to wax the base when there’s dirt, debris, or hair because that can melt into the base and effect speed and maneuverability on the mountain.
Another thing to keep in mind is if you have black marks on the bottom from riding rails, the BEST way to get ride of this is to either scrape it off with a wax scrapper or melt warm temp wax over the marks and then scrape off right away.
Step 2
Next you’ll want fix and minor dings, gashes, or core shots in the base of the board. To do this you’ll need a lighter and a stick of PTEX. Ptex is essentially a type of plastic. It is available in clear and black. Personally I like the black color because if the clear gets too hot it will burn and leave a brownish color. AVOID having Ptex drip on your hand. It will be very painful.
You’ll light the end of the stick with a lighter, rolling the stick with your fingers as you get the stick to stay lit. Once lit, keep the flame low with the flame color blue. This means the ptex will be very hot when going into the damaged base, which means it will hold into the base better. Evenly drip the heated Ptex over the damaged area. AVOID getting the flame too large, causing the Ptex to get smoky. Once filled in, wait for the repair to dry. It will be ready to scrape after about ten minutes.
Use your wax scraper to scrap off the Ptex until smooth. If the repair isn’t completely filled in with Ptex, repeat the above steps until the base is nice and smooth.
Step 3
Choose the wax based on what the temperature will be for the next week. Most of the time you’ll use an all temp wax that has a range of 10-40 degrees fahrenheight (-12 to 4 degrees celsius). Since the edges of your base take the most abuse when riding on snow a good trick is to use a harder wax (colder wax) on the edge part of your base.
Check the packaging of your wax to see what temp the iron needs to be at and start to drip the wax evenly over the base by sticking the wax bar on the iron. Make sure that iron doesn’t start smoking! as this indicates that the temperature on the iron is too high.
You won’t need to drip wax on the nose or tail, as they don’t touch the snow very often. If you like to do presses and butters then wax these parts of the board, otherwise save time and wax. Try to cover most of the base with wax so you don’t leave any dry spots on the base.
Step 4
Next you’ll want to press the wax into the board. A lot of people think you should go over the base in a circular motion with the wax, but this is actually what you should avoid doing. The reason being is when you wax your board like this, it goes from hot to cold all over the board and can also leave scratches in the base. You want to wax the board how you ride it, which is tip to tail.
What you want to do is press the wax into the board from tip to tail, pulling the iron down in a straight line and then pushing it back up the same line. When you pull the iron towards you put pressure on the nose of the iron. When you push the iron away from you, put pressure on the heal of the iron.
This will really allow the base to absorb as much wax as possible. Pro tip-if you feel the top sheet is luke warm, then you know the wax has been absorbed into the base. Create even lines across the base until it’s covered. Wait until the board is cool to touch for scraping.
Step 5
Now that the board is cool, it’s time to scrape the wax off your board. One thing to note is that your scraper will dull over time. Another pro-tip is to use a fine or ultra fine grade piece of sandpaper to sharpen the scraper.
When first scraping, you’ll want to push the wax away from you (see photo below), while keeping the scraper even with the base. It also helps to flex the scraper as you push wax off the board.
You’ll want to scrape the board how you ride it, tip to tail. Another pro tip is to scrape the top area of the board before scraping tip to tail. This way when you scrape tip to tail, you can do it more evenly without the scraper leaving the board too much. Overall, it helps prevent damage to the base. Make sure to scrape as much wax off as you can before using a brush.
Step 6
Now that you’ve scraped as much wax as you can off, you’ll want to take a brush and smooth the base out, getting rid off any uneven spots that you missed with the scraper. Again brush tip to tail, just how the board is meant to be ridden. Try to make sure there’s no access wax left on the board as this will slow you down on the mountain.
Step 7
The last thing I like to do, is sharpen the edges. Machines will do a much better job with this at your local tune shop, however you can use a hand tool that allows you to make your edges nice and sharp. Swix makes a good one.
Follow the arrows on the tool and use the 1 degree option. Snowboards typically come out of the factory at 1 and 1. Which means 1 degree off from 90 degrees for the base and side edge, so 89 and 89. Make sure to start with the Base edge FIRST and then sharpen the side edge. You should feel the tool catch the edge while smoothing it out. Do this a number of times until the edge is nice and sharp. If you are using the tool incorrectly on the edge, you will be able to hear a weird noise.
Step 8
Next you will want to smooth out the edges and detune your contact points. The contact points will be near the tip and tail and are the part of the edge always in contact with the snow. You want these to be smooth and not sharp, so that they don’t catch on the snow.
A diamond stone will work best for smoothing out contact points. But if you only have a gummy stone, that will work too. Use a gummy stone for the rest of the board, to smooth out your entire edge.
Step 9
Now that the board is waxed and tuned up, put your bindings back on and set up a stance that is comfortable to you. You’re bindings will have different angles on them. I would mess around with those until you find something that works. For stance width, ideally you want something a little bit wider then shoulder width. Each snowboard will have reference points and how much the width is from those reference points.
It’s also a good idea to periodically check binding screws, buckles, straps, and highbacks to make sure everything is dialed. The last thing you want is to have your binding’s malfunction while on a snowboard trip.
Step 10
Lastly, go out and ride your board! Whether your riding solo or with friends remember to keep it fun
A hot wax will typically last you 4-7 days on snow. Warmer temps will take the wax out of your base a lot quicker. Other then that, tuning your own equipment can save you money over the long run and is a great way to understand how to maintain it.
Thanks for reading the blog! If you liked this post, subscribe to our email list for information on the latest outdoor content. Looking for snowboard trip ideas? Check out our post on Jackson Hole Ski Resort. See you on the next post!
Meet Jeremiah
Growing up, I loved being outside. I took a lot of cool trips with my family, whether it was camping, going to the beach, road trips, and national parks. Even though I didn’t fully appreciate those experiences at the time, as I got older I started getting more into the outdoors and traveling, reconnecting with my past. The feeling of traveling or going somewhere new always seems to give a sense of excitement or adventure.
Snowboarding and boardsports in general have been a passion of mine for over 20 years. I always loved the culture that came with it; from local retail shops to magazines and videos, to riding with friends as well as geeking out on the latest gear, it’s all part of the experience. After working in snowboard/outdoor gear shops for the past decade along with traveling to different outdoor places, I decided to put all of that experience in digital form to inspire and connect with other people.