Surf trip review: Ericeira
How good does it feel to travel again. To explore. Visit new places. Soak up history. Get lost. Challenge yourself. Meet new people. Be with family, or old friends. Surf new spots. Create memories.
We recently returned from a surf trip to Lisbon and Ericeira, at the heart of Portugal’s west coast.
Read on for more about this trip, what makes Ericeira unique, and some ‘tried and tested’ tips to help you plan a surf trip this way.
Getting to Ericeira via Lisbon
We flew to Lisbon, and from Lisbon Airport took the Metro which is 30 mins into Lisbon City Centre. Super easy and staff on hand to assist with buying tickets, and platform directions.
It is also easy to pick up a taxi or car rental in the airport Arrivals.
If you are heading straight to/ from Ericeira, we would recommend prebooking an airport transfer with Easy Transfer via their website/ Whats App. We paid €35 (1/2 people) plus €3 for a surfboard.
From Lisbon to Ericeira, it is possible to take a bus, we found this guide to bus routes to be the most helpful.
Or log onto Uber, Bolt and Freenow. We used all three during our stay and found them to be cheap and reliable.
A night in Lisbon
Having never been to Lisbon, we wanted to spend at least one night here to get a feel for Portugal’s historic capital city. Soak up some European culture. We chose to be somewhere central so that we could drop our bags and easily wander around the city centre. The Central House Lisboa was the perfect place; a boutique hostel in the heart of the Baixa district. This friendly and affordable hostel, with both dorms and hotel room options, is a short walk from the iconic Castelo district, the river, and the beautiful squares, shops, cafes, and bars of Lisbon’s historic quarters.
Ericeira, a World Surfing Reserve
Around 50 km (see Getting There section) to the north of Lisbon, and you are in the midst of this surfing mecca. A world-class surf zone encompassing 8km of coastline. Ericeira contains numerous outstanding surf breaks, including iconic breaks such as Ribeira d’Ilhas and Coxos.
The area became a World Surfing Reserve (WSR) in 2011, which means it is part of a global program that aims to protect waves, surf zones, and surrounding environments. By taking on the label and dedicating a team to maintaining the status, it recognizes and protects key environmental, cultural, economic, and community aspects of that surfing area.
Read more about the World Surfing Reserve program here.
Getting around Ericeira
We loved exploring Ericeira on foot and rented an apartment in the centre so that we could walk around the town, and to different surf spots in the centre.
When travelling further afield, we used Uber/ Bolt/ Freenow, or local taxis picked up roadside.
There is also a Beach Bus which operates a schedule in Summer, they carry surfboards in a trolley behind the minivan. Check out this Ericeira Insider blog for their schedule and info.
If you are looking to explore further afield, it is worth considering renting cars to pick up and dropping off from the airport.
Where to sleep in Ericeira?
We rented a cosy three-bedroom apartment through Air B&B, the Surf Nest is perfect for a family or a group of up to five friends. Well-equipped, comfortable, and great location. It’s across the street from a shopping centre with a supermarket, bakery, and ATM. Also, an easy walk into the town centre, and Matadouro and Sao Sebastiao beaches and surfing spots are on your doorstep.
Our main focus was surfing, so we did not discover other places to sleep during this trip. However, we did stumble across an excellent overview by The Evolista, which has a detailed overview of the luxury and stylish accommodation in the Ericeira area. There are so many stunning places to choose from!
How does it work with surf lessons and rental
It goes without saying, Ericeira is extremely well-set up for all things surf-related. There are rental shops and surf schools everywhere both in the village and at the beach. You can rock up at the beach with your towel and rent a board and wetsuit for a few hours or longer. There are showers and lockers available at most of the popular beaches.
If you prefer to book surf lessons with a qualified instructor, check out the boards in front of surf rental shops for their daily lesson times. Schedules change daily as synced with the tides.
It may also be worth considering a surf school setup that will offer you packages.
We rented our boards from Surf Point Ericeira. They have a good selection of rental boards, and were less expensive than rental shops at the beach. They also have a large stock of new and secondhand boards for sale. Their highly knowledgeable and friendly team was able to answer all our surf-related questions. Encouraging us to try different boards throughout the stay, one we loved so much, we bought and brought it back to Morocco!
What’s the surf like….in a nutshell
We were a mixed group of beginners and intermediate surfers. Our preference would have been a nice wide beach break with lots of peaks and mellow waves to choose from, somewhere we could all surf together. We almost found it at Foz de Lizandro, a long beach break, however, conditions were a little punchy that day.
We travelled in Summer and mostly surfed on 4-5ft waves, perfect for intermediate level.
The ocean is cooler than we were used to in Morocco, we surfed in a new 3,2 wetsuit and it was perfect.
In the end we split the group up and the intermediate surfers were happy to discover Matadouro break, a point/reef break with lots of fun left and right peaks. This was the perfect place to play with our new AQSS Flying Fish! Just above Matadouro we found a food truck where our group met for after-surf snacks and sundowners.
Other things to do in Ericeira
Potter around Old Town with its cobbled streets, al fresco cafes and bars.
Feast on ice cream in the ‘gelatarias’, and freshly-baked pastel de nata in the ‘pastelarias’
Enjoy some chilling time on the beach, most have parasols, snack bars, and showers
Walk and wave watch from the cliff top paths
Sunset drinks. There are amazing sunset spots along the coast. The food truck at Matadouro served an ice cold Sagres and goldfish bowl sized G&T’s!
Delicious hearty food. Seafood, fish, beef from the Azores. Loved the vibe of the Old Town for dinner, especially Tik Tak, for its amazing Portuguese, service, menu and ambience - amazing!
Sushi at Onegai and sourdough pizzas at Secret Oven
Shop at the little surf boutiques, for a local Portuguese brand discovery we loved Oslo.
Yoga classes on offer at Ericeira Yoga Studio, and also, Swara Yoga offers private classes
Day trips to the nearby historic palaces in the hills at Sintra, or a visit to the pretty sailing town of Cascais
Other ‘tried and tested’ surf trip suggestions for Portugal
If you are travelling further south, the Algarve is also worth a visit. A few years ago, we travelled to Aljezur and Sagres, and made an awesome discovery at Arrifana Surf Lodge A small, owner-run guesthouse offering well-priced full board surf packages and in-house tuition via their surf school. The owners, Aldo and Sarah create a familiar, fun and lively vibe. Days are spent surfing at nearby breaks such as Arrifana and Monte Clerigo. Home-cooked meals are enjoyed together. Surf movies, surf banter, fun people, pool, yoga, excellent waves, beautiful beaches, comfy beds, and great food - perfect.
Wherever you end up, wishing you a fantastic surf and travel adventure!