by kluulz » Thu Sep 29, 2016 12:35 pm
by jaffa1949 » Thu Sep 29, 2016 12:43 pm
by Lebowski » Thu Sep 29, 2016 2:15 pm
by kluulz » Thu Sep 29, 2016 6:21 pm
Have you surfed before? There were a few good recommendations to your previous post. Baleal Peniche area has walk to the beach and rent board facilities .
Rock climb, maybe Cliff will give you some answers.
You wanted night life before, there is an amazing amount of information available, but your new research is a little close to your departure time.
BTW what happened to your July trip?
Lebowski wrote:Arrifana is very small with not much to do other than surf I think. There is one west facing beach and you'll be able to rent gear (it will be busy!) There aren't many shops or anything around. If the surf is bad, you need to drive somewhere else.
Sagres is a nice small town, but you will have to stay in the centre to have walking distance to the beach, and you'll only be walking distance to one beach really (or two depending on your competence), which may or may not be working.
Lagos is a much better place to stay with good restaurants/nightlife, but there is only one beach within walking distance and it's usually not good for surfing.
If you really insist on not driving, as Jaffa says Baleal is probably your best option (there are still more options here if you drive though).
All the spots you mention will be pretty busy with tourists and locals.
by Lebowski » Thu Sep 29, 2016 7:46 pm
by kluulz » Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:39 pm
Lebowski wrote:The central parts are only a little colder than the Algarve, but the water is still warm in October. 3/2 was fine for me. I actually surfed in boardies only in November once in the Algarve (I was a bit cold but it was fun).
The beach in Lagos is on the south coast, which means it only really has waves in large swells because the swell usually comes from the western quadrant. You could get lucky and have waves but it also might be poor. The town is a lot of fun though and makes a good base (for driving based surfing).
If you want guaranteed waves in walking distance then Baleal is probably the best option. There are also a few great restaurants there.
All the spots you mention get mega crowded at times, with lots of surf schools and local surfers all jostling for waves. If you're willing to walk down the beaches a little further you can usually get some less crowded waves and avoid annoying the locals.
by Lebowski » Fri Sep 30, 2016 9:32 am
by kluulz » Fri Sep 30, 2016 3:27 pm
by Lebowski » Fri Sep 30, 2016 4:28 pm
by Desertweasel » Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:43 pm
by tdullien » Tue Oct 04, 2016 3:08 pm
by kluulz » Tue Oct 04, 2016 10:28 pm
tdullien wrote:Hey there,
I spent around 6 weeks in Sagres this June and July, and here are my notes:
1) Arrifana is beautiful as a location, and the beachbreak on the left side of the beach is *very* beginner-friendly. Works on all tides, soft and rolling. The prevailing wind in June / July was from the north, and Arrifana was by far the most consistently surfable wave; due to it's strange orientation, north wind is kept away by the cliffs. It is a small town with not much to do when there is no surf, but I like exactly that.
My (beginner) friends loved Arrifana.
When the waves are very big, there's a legendary right-hander pointbreak on the other side of the bay, but that is definitely a wave to watch advanced surfers on, certainly not a wave for me.
2) Sagres is great - super chill, and due to the peninsula location you have multiple beaches facing different directions. If you stay in Sagres center, you can reach Tonel and the south facing beach by foot; you probably want to get at least a bicycle so you can also reach Beliche (which is a beautiful beachbreak, and a fair bit faster / hollower than the Arrifana beachbreak).
In general, the region is more fun if you have a car - and even more fun if you have a 4x4, as there are quite a few hidden secret gems on the coast. But I loved my stay in Sagres, and with a decent bicycle you get three different spots in non-car range, which is a fairly rare configuration.
3) I spent some time in Ericeira a few years ago. I was very much a beginner then. The town is beautiful, but my main memory was that (a) we still needed a car to get to the different breaks and (b) tons of sea urchins - my wife spent an afternoon with tweezers removing about 50 spines from my foot. So boots are a must.
Hope this helps, and all the best!
by jaffa1949 » Wed Oct 05, 2016 6:55 am
by kluulz » Wed Oct 05, 2016 9:55 am
jaffa1949 wrote:Soft racks, can transport board on just about any car roof!
by jaffa1949 » Wed Oct 05, 2016 10:39 am
by tdullien » Sat Oct 08, 2016 9:58 pm
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