Surfing in Portugal in March

Conditions in March

Water temp. : 14 °C
Wetsuit : 4/3 mm, boots advised

March still gets Atlantic groundswell and has not yet met the summer wind. The nortada does not start until the end of April, so a March morning and a March afternoon are the same proposition, which is not true again until September.

That opens the whole country rather than one region. The central coast around Peniche and Ericeira is working, the Algarve has both of its coasts in play, and the north around Porto, Matosinhos and Espinho is at its best of the year. The water is still at 14°C, tied with February for the coldest, so the wetsuit does not change: a 4/3 and boots.

Learning in March

Possible, in the right place. Baleal at Peniche is the sheltered side and it is where every school goes when the swell is up.

Where a beginner goes in March

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

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Very good

The best of the winter half. Full swell window, no wind season, and the north is worth the drive in March and almost no other month.

How March 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.