Portugal, Everything to know when Booking a Surf trip to Ericeira

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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!

1. 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.