Surfing in Portugal in October

Conditions in October

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

October is the middle of the autumn window, and the autumn is the prime season here for a reason: the west swells out of the Atlantic are consistent again and the winds are predominantly favourable, which is the combination the rest of the year struggles to produce.

The water is still at 18°C, level with September and August, so the wetsuit is a 3/2 and the days are still long enough to surf twice. It is also when Nazaré starts, a little north of Peniche, and the swells that make that wave are the same ones filling every beach further south. The crowds are those of the shoulder season rather than the summer.

Learning in October

Getting harder. The swell has size now, so the sheltered side at Baleal is where a lesson happens.

Where a beginner goes in October

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

For an experienced surfer

Surf : Excellent

Autumn at its best, and the last month before winter weather becomes the deciding factor. Nazaré is worth watching from the fort.

How October 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.