by Joseph Richard Francis
written by Joseph Richard Francis Published: Updated:
This guide to Costa da Caparica surf outlines all of the major spots to know about on this long tongue of sand that runs south of Lisbon for over 14 miles. In short, we’d say it’s a fantastic place to cruise in your car with the board in the back, because you can score everything from rippable walls to neat wedges on the groynes, plus it’s never, ever too busy.
An introduction to Costa da Caparica surf
The Costa da Caparica runs south of Lisbon. It begins the moment you cross the Tagus River estuary and get to the coast. The whole thing is basically one big beach. And when we say big, we really do mean big…
Yep, this particular costa clocks up 14 miles from top to bottom. The whole shebang has surf, too, so there’s no worries about crowds, even this close to the bumping heart of old Lisboa. Seriously, you’ll find more people wedged onto the closeouts of Carcavelos on any given day.
It’s sandbanks and groyne breaks that really fuel the Costa da Caparica surf. They start right up on the northern tip of the sand and run the whole length. Because the banks shift and change with the swells and movement of water as it emerges from the Tagus, you never really know what you can get, though the jetties do add a hint of consistency.
The further north you track up the coastline the busier its likely to be. The further south, away from Lisbon and into the protected coastal reserves, the quieter it becomes. Oh yea, and the south gets a touch more swell because it’s more exposed to NW and W Atlantic channels.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
This guide is just one part of our complete guide to surfing in Portugal
Costa da Caparica surf at a glance
The good…
- Loads of beachfront, so never too busy
- Fun breaks on the jetties and breakwaters
- Some great beginner surf hotels/Proximity to Lisbon
The bad…
- Very susceptible to wind
- Northern parts can sometimes be busy
What’s in this guide to Costa da Caparica surf?
Where is Costa da Caparica?
The Costa da Caparica is the name for the beach – and it really is just one, uninterrupted beach – that curves southwards of Lisbon.
It all begins in the town of Cova do Vapor, a small fishing village that’s now a bit of a hip holiday town with Airbnbs and coast hotels. From there, the costa runs south past cork woods and then the rugged cliffs of the Portuguese fossil coast, eventually ending around Praia das Bicas, where you can also surf.
To put it in numbers, the Costa da Caparica starts 7.5 miles to the southwest of Lisbon’s historic center, the Alfama. It’s just shy of 10 miles to the southwest of Lisbon International Airport.
How to travel for surfing on the Costa da Caparica?
There are two option open to you when you want to surf in the Costa da Caparica.Both mean getting to Lisbon Airport first. (For flights, check Skyscanner – we reckon by far the best comparison search engine and it’s got the European low costers to boot).
One: Public transport from Lisbon/Lisbon Airport. There are boats and buses, but most don’t bother when a taxi costs like $20 each way from the airport and even a less from the center of the city.
If you do want to save $$ then head to Areeiro Plaza (on the green metro line) and hop on bus 3710. It leaves like every 15-20 minutes in the peak season and takes you all the way to the town of Costa da Caparica for under $3.
If you are going to go with these options, we’d deferential recommend booking a surf camp or surf hotel in one of the small surf towns or fishing villages at the north end of the beach. The surf camp itself should take care of your travel around the region itself to hit different breaks, but you’ll also likely be staying within easy walking distance of the beach.
Option two: Rent a car. This would probably be our pick if you’re anything above a total beginner. The reason? Having your own wheels will mean you can cruise south to the WAAAAY less-busy parts of Costa da Caparica to surf waves that are a) more challenging and b) less busy. It’s also a real pleasure, because you’ll be driving on roads between cork-tree forests and have the ability to divert inland to stop at lovely villages. Oh yea, and it makes getting here from Lisbon Airport an absolute breeze to begin with.
We usually use RentalCars.com for car hire. We tend to find they have the best rates around for rentals in Portugal. But be sure to check multiple providers just in case. We can vouch for Centuaro as a hire company (we’ve used them in the past with no hassle).
Costa da Caparica surf spots
Look, the whole of the Costa da Caparica is surfable.
Seriously, the whole 14 miles of sand here has the potential to offer up waves.
That’s kinda’ why we wax so lyrical about having your own wheels in these parts. You’ll be able go a-hunting for that sandbank that no one’s on; that empty jetty break all to yourself.
Starting in the north, the waves there generally form around the jetties and breakwaters. Some have serious quality. At least enough to make them competition-level in the autumn and spring, because events happen regularly around the town of Costa da Caparica itself.
As you head south, the story becomes more and more about sandbank waves that form on the river mouths and at bends in the bay. They can be excellent but can also disappoint. It’s a bit like the Hossegor lottery in that you’ll be rolling the dice and hoping that a good bank has formed below.
Let’s dig in a little deeper and take a look at all of the best-known breaks on the Costa da Caparica from north to south…
Cova do Vapor
The most westerly spot of the whole Costa da Caparica gets cooking in the heaviest winter swells. Slappy wedges with backwash rise and romp on the main groynes at the north end of the bay. They’re pretty unpredictable fast, right-hand rides; not really suited to surfers but great for tray riders looking to get thrown around.
When the swell switches south a touch, usually in the summer, it’s also possible to get hollow lefts that curl around the southern jetty when the tide drops completely. For us, they are the real star at Cova do Vapor but are fickle as hell and always crewed when working.
São Joao da Caparica
One of the few runs of sand in the north of the costa that doesn’t have too many groynes cutting it up, São Joao da Caparica is famed holiday territory, with a resident crowd of fat sunbathers always in attendance.
Waves here are really unpredictable stuff. We’ve seen pitching wedges that are glassed up in easterly winds around November time. But we’ve also seen more mush than anyone can handle for a whole week in the midsummer.
Generally, this is a good hunting ground for learners and improvers because the waves are flatter and fatter and there’s lots of space.
Marcelino
Marcelino is the first named break of the main town breaks. This is a group of about four waves that work on the jetties just in front of the town of Costa da Caparica itself.
There’s pros and cons to that. They’re accessible but always busy. Plus, the manmade breakwaters mean that the waves act more like reef breaks – always consistently shaped and predictable. Sadly, the proximity to the town means that the water quality sometimes lacks, though we’ve never seen it too bad to surf.
As far as Marcelino goes, this one’s named for the beach bar that’s next door (the Marcelino Beach Club). It’s a reliable groyne break that has solid rights that are short and wedgy. Loves a W swell or a NW swell in the winter.
Praia do Barbas
A fun, quality left hander breaks over the sandbars north of the main jetty on Praia do Barba. It’s one of the most famous breaks in the area, but not because it’s awesome or anything, mainly because it’s the one that’s front and center on the webcams. Plus, a whole clutch of surf schools live out front.
We’d really love this one if it wasn’t so busy or didn’t rely on the sands underwater so much. Sometimes you’ll get here and it’s packed. Other times it’s got zero shape and moxie. When it does work, it’s a pushy, punchy number with some potential for airs.
Castelo
Castelo is the name for the series of spots that work in between Praia do Dragão Vermelho to the south and Praia do Tarquínio-Paraíso to the north. They’re good because the nature of the beachfront here means that underwater channels stay in place, so the banks are really predictable.
The waves are generally A-frame peaks with better rights. They’re super popular with the town’s surf schools in the smaller summer months. Some can handle size in winter on heavy NW swells, to shoot off hollowish sections that run real fast.
Praia da Saude
Praia da Saude is the beach that goes south from the main town. The crowds in the water thin out a little but don’t look at that as a signal of what’s on offer, because there are often martching walls of semi-hollow lefts to get stuck into here.
The paddle out can be feisty and there’s a shifty rip when it’s big. When it’s not, this is a mecca for learners, with pimple-high rollers making their way into a soft seafront. Not scary at all.
Oh yea, and check out those super-lovely beach huts, all colored turquoise and yellow. Prettyyy.
Praia da Rainha
Praia da Rainha is where the regular day trippers from Lisbon really draw the line. If you can be bothered to drive past this point then you’ll be rewarded with much emptier line ups, plus some of the more consistent spots on the Costa da Caparica, since there’s more exposure to those swell-giving NW channels down here.
For its part, Praia da Rainha caters to all levels and all styles of wave craft. We’ve visited in both summer and winter and seen two different beasts. The storm swells of January kicked some froth into action when there was light offshore, with certain take off leading to fast, rippable walls that threw us into the air.
Swap that for May and June and you’re looking at a real logger heaven. There’s no real definition to the waves because there aren’t groynes this far down the costa. It’s more about where those sandbanks choose to settle. Most of the time, there’s a new take-off ever 30-60 meters or so along the shore.
As you end up at the south side of Rainha, you’ll enter Praia do Pescador. That’s famous for the fleets of sardine fishers and you can watch them bring in the catch in the early morning if you’re up to catch a dawnie.
Lagoa de Albufeira
The waters of the Lagoa de Albufeira Beach (no relation to the pumping resort town of the Algarve that shares the name) escape into the Atlantic at just one point. At that point, there are some pretty nice sandbanks around the channel.
With an angle to a W swell (either north or south), they’ll get oncoming sets acting like a sort of point break. They’ll form and peel either left or right (depending on whether it’s north or south), and can be seriously good fun, with turn potential top to bottom and cutbacks in the offing.
Smaller days make it a doozy for longboarders.
Bicas
The very southern end of the Costa da Caparica is marked by Bicas. No one really goes here, bar a crew of solid-as-nails locals who chase the big winter storms on the point. It’s basically the only spot in the region that has proper rock reef underneath and that shows, because it can hold 8-10 foot in December, when it’s a frothing A-frame that resembles something out of Hossegor mid-WSL comp.
How hard is the Costa da Caparica surf?
Along with the Costa Estoril and Ericeira further north, the Costa da Caparica is now firmly among the major surf-travel destinations in central Portugal.
That’s down to the abundance of breaks and the excellent accessibility to Lisbon and the major airport there.
Plus, we’d add to that the fact that the long, sandy beach breaks of this part of the central coast are probably the best in the whole region for learners. No one wants to get chucked around a Carcavelos washing machine when they could be catching cruisy numbers on the CdaC.
To put it simpler: If you’re looking to learn to surf in Lisbon and don’t have loads of time, come here.
With the scene set, it should come as a surprise that Costa da Caparica is now home to some of the best surf schools and surf camps near the capital. Let’s take a closer look at those…
Costa da Caparcia surf camps
The Costa da Caparcia has become a hotbed of surf camps in the last 20 years.
We love them as an option for people who want to visit the historic sights of Lisbon and the Atlantic beaches in the very same trip – it takes less than 30 minutes to reach some camps from the heart of the city.
These camps also benefit from having long runs of beginner-friendly sandbank waves on the doorstep. Most have a minivan at hand to transport you to the beaches in the southern Costa da Caparcia, away from the crowds, to areas where learning will be a pure joy.
Because there are so many about nowadays, it’s important to know WHAT you’re booking. Our two cents are stick with the tried-and-tested names, such as…
- Gota Dagua Surf Camp – One of the best-known camp names on the whole costa, Gota Dagua are based out of a very stylish boutique camp. They’re welcoming folk that have this tailored package for improvers that’s based around 10 hours of surf tuition made up of six lessons and a theory course. Take it from us, they have a great record in helping you get on those green waves!
- Lisbon Surf Villa – These guys have been running super fun camps on the Costa da Caparica for some time now. They’ve cut their teeth offering very sociable packages out of a proper Portuguese beach house, complete with dorm rooms (for the budget conscious) and doubles (for the couples). You cannot go wrong picking these. We only hear good things.
For more inspiration on surf camps in central Portugal, check out our guide to surf camps in Peniche and Ericeira. We also have a complete ranking of the best surf camps in the country right now.
A note on why we partner with BookSurfCamps.com: Book Surf Camps are probably the biggest online aggregator of surf camps and surf-yoga packages in the world. We sounded out a quite a few potential partners before we affiliated with them. But, in the end, the abundance of choice for beginners, intermediates, and female-only surfing sealed it. We also love the simplicity of their booking system and the trusted brand name, along with the focus on connecting with homegrown local businesses on the ground.
Want more Costa da Caparica surf camp options? Search the whole shebang below right now and book in a few clicks.
Surf trips to Costa da Caparcia from Lisbon
Get this: You don’t even have to drag your luggage out of Lisbon to hit the Costa da Caparica surf!
Remember when we said that this is probably the single best place for day-trip surfers who are city breaking in Lisbon but want to hit some waves on the side.
Well, that’s because there are stacks of companies that offer organized tours from the big city to the costa. They’ll usually have a designated pick-up spot in Lisbon central and get you back there in the evening or afternoon once the trip is done.
It’s a really stress-free way to do things because these trips almost always include EVERYTHING you’re going to need throughout the day: Wetsuits, transport right to the perfect wave, an instructor, boards.
Here are two of the packages that we really like, run by local guys out of the Costa da Caparica:
- The Surf Instructor in Costa da Caparica – 305 five-star reviews can’t be wrong. Philippe and the crew do amazing half-day surf packages that include expert beginner tuition.
- Lisbon Surf Experience – You can do 4- or 8-hour trips with these guys and they offer totally private tours if you already have a group sorted.
We also have a complete guide to surf camps in Lisbon. Some of those are based in the city and make trips to the Costa da Caparica. Others are located on the costa itself, but offer trips to Lisbon and back for sightseeing. They are worth checking out if you want to take the stress out of planning your own tirp.
Step-by-step guide to planning your Costa da Caparica surf trip right now
Step one: Book flights to the Costa da Caparica surf…Lately, we like Omio for searching flights. It’s a nice interface and has lots of airline options. We also use Skyscanner because that sometimes offers deals that even beat going direct to the carrier!
Step two: Book your surf camp Book Surf Camps is the numero uno online booking platform for fully-fledged surf-stay packages on the internet right now. Then there’s Booking.com. That has consistently unbeatable rates for hotels and a nifty map feature that lets you check EXACTLY how close your hotel is to a surf break.
Step three: Get insuranceThis is kinda’ important. Not just for surf trips but for any trips. SafetyWing is great for nomad travelers. They offer rolling contracts that cover amateur surfing.
Step four (optional): Rent a car If you’re surf camping then you might not need wheels. If you’re not then we’ll just say this: We’ve never been on a surf trip that wasn’t improved by having our own car. Use RentalCars – they’re the best.
Step five: Enjoy!
For paying for stuff when you’re traveling – Get a Wise borderless card/account. They charge NOTHING for POS payments in any country and have some of the best FX rates around in our humble opinion.
When to surf in Costa da Caparica?
The best time to surf the Costa da Caparica is probably the spring and the fall, which have great swell but smaller crowds. Summer still has waves but they’re small – better for beginners. Winter has bigger swells and it’s the time for advanced surfers.
The Costa da Caparcia gets surf all year round. It’s one of those nicely exposed regions that can pick yup swell in almost 180 degrees of the compass, from the SW to the NW.
The most consistent time of year in terms of swell is the winter, but onshore winds often play a big part in messing with conditions. That’s why the locals love the spring and the autumn, as winds drop some but there’s still good power and long periods to play with.
We’re inclined to agree that months like April and May, September and October, are the overall best on the Costa da Caparcia. They’re especially fantastic for leaners and improvers keen to hit the surf camps because there’s low risk of getting skunked (AKA no waves) and there’s usually something for multiple levels.
We might use affiliate links in this post. Basically, you click em’ and we get a little something from your booking or purchase. They help us keep offering more and more in-depth surf guides to awesome places all around the globe. So, thanks for that!
Joseph Richard Francis
Joe “Rich” Francis has been surfing for the best part of 15 years. He’s nowhere near as good as he should be at the end of all that, but hey ho. Born and bred in Swansea, South Wales (the current base of The Surf Atlas), Joe is a seasoned adventure travel writer with completed publications in the surf-travel and adventure-travel sphere for major publications like Lonely Planet and The Culture Trip.
