surfing portugal

The following article is a guest post by the Portuguese surfer Nuno Viegas. We met him while surfing in Portugal and stayed in his surf hostel “Endless Surf Hostel”. First, the article starts with a biographical outline and shares some of Nuno’s surf experiences. After this introduction he answers some questions you might have regarding surfing in Portugal.

“… I surf all my life. It’s my passion. I need to feel the salty water in my face to keep my allergies away…”

Born in 1976 in Oporto, Portugal, Nuno “the captain” Viegas started surfing from an early age and became hooked on the sport and lifestyle. He began surfing at the PRO Junior circuit championships at the age of 15 and his competition surfing continues to this day as he receives invitations to compete in masters events. After years of travelling and life in the corporate world Nuno has returned to the passion of his life, free surfing, coaching some young surfers preparing them for competitions and he also utilises his surf judge qualifications judging a number of the Portuguese surf championships. As well as that Nuno also runs a boutique surf hostel in the western Algarve where he welcomes travellers and surfers from across the globe. Nuno joined Northcore in 2015 to contribute his skills and knowledge to the business, leading the European marketing programme and heading up Northcore Portugal.

What are your favorite surf spots in Portugal?

“To live and surf in the SW coast is the best. There is magic places that people don’t even imagine. The landscape mixing up with the ocean make our life look like paradise. My favorite spots to surf are Ponta Ruiva, Amoreira and of course Arrifana in the winter.”

surfing portugal

When to go and where to stay while surfing in Portugal?

“If you come here you can stay in Endless surf hostel.Just right in the middle of the Natural Park of “Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina”, the “Arrifana Surf Hostel” is situated in this privileged location a few minutes away from the fabulous and almost epic beach of “Arrifana” (a Blue Flag beach whose sands stretch for 500 m) located in the city of Aljezur, and involved by a magnificent beauty which irradiates calm and tranquility. Its location along the Portuguese coastal, allied with a beautiful hillside that protects it from the undesirable temporal, makes “Arrifana” the most perfect beach in the whole “Costa Vicentina”. We can say that this beach meets the most relevant factors of a popular beach in the Portuguese South Coast and at the same time unusual factors of comfort that only the Portuguese West Coast can offer. It’s probably the only beach on the Portuguese West Coast that can offers between 250-300 days per year of enjoyable weather and utilisation. Given its natural conditions, Arrifana beach is ideal for surfing, with great waves throughout the year.. August is a difficult month to travel because of the crowd and in the winter few places are open to receive you. But you can always relax and enjoy a beach day in December or January.

Completely surrounded of dozens of other paradisiacal beaches, a incredible variety of flora and fauna, mountains and fields where you can be lost in pleasure with all your senses, your only concern when you get here, will be to decide what to do each day. If you are a surfer, ok, you already know what you are going to do everyday…”

Tips while surfing in Portugal?

“There is a lot to do and see. If you visit us we can provide with some local surf schools some classes . If you are an expert you can book a guiding also with us. Lots of cafes and bars for you to relax and enjoy after your hiking or surf experience. Just ask us and we will plan for you to have an amazing day.”

Where to get surf boards?

“You can rent boards to beginners in a lot of spaces. However is more difficult to rent boards for experts. Because I‘m connected with the surf industry and I supply a lot of stores with surf products we can always email me and ask me rates for a really good board. If you also want to buy you can have a very good board for a fair amount of money. And you can even choose from Aloha to Soul surfboards.”