Surfing in Portugal in August

Conditions in August

Water temp. : 18 °C
Wetsuit : 3/2 mm, 4/3 mm for long sessions

August is the peak of the summer, in every sense except the surf. The nortada is unchanged, the swell is unchanged, and the west coast beaches from Caparica to Baleal are at their fullest. On the water that means the same early morning window shared with more people.

The Algarve is still the answer for the wind, and the far north around Porto holds up better than the centre when a rare summer swell arrives. What August genuinely has going for it is the water at 18°C and the certainty: nothing will surprise you, in either direction. The season starts again in three weeks.

Learning in August

Every school is running and every school is full. Book weeks ahead, take the eight o'clock group, and expect company.

Where a beginner goes in August

These spots are reachable all year. What the month changes is the size of the waves, not the access.

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Good

Wait for September. It is three weeks away, the water is the same, and the coast becomes a different place.

How August compares

All twelve months, side by side

Where these figures come from

Air, rain and sunshine: WMO / NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Agadir Al Massira, a station some twenty kilometres inland and so a little warmer than the coast in summer. Swell, period and share of workable wind: Swell Archive and surf-forecast. Water temperature: seatemperature.org and weather-and-climate. Crowds and prices are an editorial judgement, not a measurement.