logo

Teiki Mathieu Baillan surfing a self-made Alaya surfboard in Macaroni, Mentawaï, Indonesia. Photo by C. Naslain, 2009.


Enjoy and contribute!

 Algarve

Portugal

The Algarve is the perfect year round destination with excellent waves and fantastic weather.

The West Coast is by far the best destination as it picks up the predominant northwesterly swells.
It is a famous for perfect peaks on beautiful beaches and its amazing coastline.

The south coast tends to have nice waves during the bigger winter swells, but the further you get from the west coast the smaller they become and the more tourist orientated it gets.

It is these two very different coasts that make for such a special surfing location. With one coast facing predominately west and the other south if there is any swell around, there will always be waves somewhere.

Depending on the swell direction it only takes an ocean swell of 2 or 3 feet for the better breaks to start working.

Summer on the west coast will usually see clean waves from waist to chest high although it can be busy on the beaches.

Either side of summer the west coast produces consistent swell that can be nicely over head.

The winter months are fantastic with comfortable water temperatures and sunbathing as well.
The south coast starts to get better here as big northwest swells come in.
The west coast can have regular 15ft swells and Carrapateira has been known to hit 25ft!

But don't worry! This is one of the areas main advantages. The west coast is usually bigger than the south coast.
So, if the west coast is too big for you then a short 15-minute drive from Carrapateira (Praia do Bordeira) and Praia do Amado (host to ASP pro events) will find you on the south coast where the waves will usually be smaller. The further along the south coast, in general, the smaller the waves.

Remember sun cream – If the air temperature is only showing 15 degrees and the sun is out – you will get burned without it!

English (Translate this text in English): The Algarve is the perfect year round destination with excellent waves and fantastic weather.

The West Coast is by far the best destination as it picks up the predominant northwesterly swells.
It is a famous for perfect peaks on beautiful beaches and its amazing coastline.

The south coast tends to have nice waves during the bigger winter swells, but the further you get from the west coast the smaller they become and the more tourist orientated it gets.

It is these two very different coasts that make for such a special surfing location. With one coast facing predominately west and the other south if there is any swell around, there will always be waves somewhere.

Depending on the swell direction it only takes an ocean swell of 2 or 3 feet for the better breaks to start working.

Summer on the west coast will usually see clean waves from waist to chest high although it can be busy on the beaches.

Either side of summer the west coast produces consistent swell that can be nicely over head.

The winter months are fantastic with comfortable water temperatures and sunbathing as well.
The south coast starts to get better here as big northwest swells come in.
The west coast can have regular 15ft swells and Carrapateira has been known to hit 25ft!

But don't worry! This is one of the areas main advantages. The west coast is usually bigger than the south coast.
So, if the west coast is too big for you then a short 15-minute drive from Carrapateira (Praia do Bordeira) and Praia do Amado (host to ASP pro events) will find you on the south coast where the waves will usually be smaller. The further along the south coast, in general, the smaller the waves.

Remember sun cream – If the air temperature is only showing 15 degrees and the sun is out – you will get burned without it!

English (Translate this text in English): The Algarve is the perfect year round destination with excellent waves and fantastic weather.

The West Coast is by far the best destination as it picks up the predominant northwesterly swells.
It is a famous for perfect peaks on beautiful beaches and its amazing coastline.

The south coast tends to have nice waves during the bigger winter swells, but the further you get from the west coast the smaller they become and the more tourist orientated it gets.

It is these two very different coasts that make for such a special surfing location. With one coast facing predominately west and the other south if there is any swell around, there will always be waves somewhere.

Depending on the swell direction it only takes an ocean swell of 2 or 3 feet for the better breaks to start working.

Summer on the west coast will usually see clean waves from waist to chest high although it can be busy on the beaches.

Either side of summer the west coast produces consistent swell that can be nicely over head.

The winter months are fantastic with comfortable water temperatures and sunbathing as well.
The south coast starts to get better here as big northwest swells come in.
The west coast can have regular 15ft swells and Carrapateira has been known to hit 25ft!

But don't worry! This is one of the areas main advantages. The west coast is usually bigger than the south coast.
So, if the west coast is too big for you then a short 15-minute drive from Carrapateira (Praia do Bordeira) and Praia do Amado (host to ASP pro events) will find you on the south coast where the waves will usually be smaller. The further along the south coast, in general, the smaller the waves.

Remember sun cream – If the air temperature is only showing 15 degrees and the sun is out – you will get burned without it!

English (Translate this text in English): The Algarve is the perfect year round destination with excellent waves and fantastic weather.

The West Coast is by far the best destination as it picks up the predominant northwesterly swells.
It is a famous for perfect peaks on beautiful beaches and its amazing coastline.

The south coast tends to have nice waves during the bigger winter swells, but the further you get from the west coast the smaller they become and the more tourist orientated it gets.

It is these two very different coasts that make for such a special surfing location. With one coast facing predominately west and the other south if there is any swell around, there will always be waves somewhere.

Depending on the swell direction it only takes an ocean swell of 2 or 3 feet for the better breaks to start working.

Summer on the west coast will usually see clean waves from waist to chest high although it can be busy on the beaches.

Either side of summer the west coast produces consistent swell that can be nicely over head.

The winter months are fantastic with comfortable water temperatures and sunbathing as well.
The south coast starts to get better here as big northwest swells come in.
The west coast can have regular 15ft swells and Carrapateira has been known to hit 25ft!

But don't worry! This is one of the areas main advantages. The west coast is usually bigger than the south coast.
So, if the west coast is too big for you then a short 15-minute drive from Carrapateira (Praia do Bordeira) and Praia do Amado (host to ASP pro events) will find you on the south coast where the waves will usually be smaller. The further along the south coast, in general, the smaller the waves.

Remember sun cream – If the air temperature is only showing 15 degrees and the sun is out – you will get burned without it!

:

West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

English (Translate this text in English): West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

English (Translate this text in English): West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

English (Translate this text in English): West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

More details

 
Seasons
Jan/Feb Mar/Apr May/Jun Jul/Aug Sep/Oct Nov/Dec
Best Surfing Season
Typical Swell Size
Surf Equipment Fullsuit Springsuit Springsuit Shorty Shorty Springsuit
Water temp. 59°F
15°C
63°F
17°C
66°F
19°C
72°F
22°C
70°F
21°C
64°F
18°C
Air temp. 61°F
16°C
68°F
20°C
77°F
25°C
86°F
30°C
77°F
25°C
64°F
18°C
Climate

West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

English (Translate this text in English): West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

English (Translate this text in English): West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

English (Translate this text in English): West to NorthWest throughout the year with some South / SouthWest from June to September

Want to correct or complete those additional data? Edit this page

This is an interactive map! Use controls to pan and zoom this map.

  • Favourite

 Photos

Show all (604)...

Albufeira
Portugal

Albufeira
Portugal

Amoreira
Portugal

Amoreira
Portugal

 Videos

Show all (4)...

south, portugal, zavial, surfing, surfvideo 06:14

Zavial

Longboard, Arrifana 07:13

Arrifana

Algarve surf, surfing algarve, accommodation algarve, sagres surf, surf school algarve 03:31

Arrifana

portugal, promo 01:24

Tonel

 Comments

Add comment

Show all (1)...

By wounded gull , 01-02-2008

monte clerigo - On a bigger swell it's not suitable for inexperienced surfers as the rip can be pretty strong.
5-6ft and clean, pretty heavy beach break.
Saw one guy get dragged right over onto the far side but he got out before he hit rocks ;)
Another was pulled out to sea to the right again but god knows what he was up to!
The reefs to the left look lovely but looked a bit shallow when I was there.

Errors, Feedback

You can edit this page to correct errors or add new information. If you have any problems regarding this page, Send us feedback.

Advertise

Google Play Application

RSS

Newsletter All news by email