Portugal's windsurfing spots are not trivial. They require a deep knowledge of the different elements: wind, tides, swells, morphology of the coast, which, added together, allow the session, sometimes with epic conditions. In this article, we talk about Lourinha (Areia Branca), and the spots of Ericeira, Portugal.

 

Windsurfing, spots reviews: Lourinha (Areia Branca), and Ericeira, Portugal

 

Portugal is not only Viana do Castelo (Praia do Cabedelo) and Praia do Guincho. Undoubtedly, these two are the best known and most popular spots. But in addition to the Sagres spots, which we have already mentioned in another article, there are many other spots that are worthy, but which require detailed knowledge to enjoy them at the best.

 

Lourinha

In my last trip, I discovered Praia de Areia Branca, in Lourinha, more or less halfway between Peniche and Cascais.

After passing from Praia da Consolação, immediately south of Peniche, another possible spot, relatively easy, but where, however, I did not find (at high tide) really surfable waves but only shorebreaks, I reached the Lourinha spot, which a friend of mine had painted me as a "Funtana Meiga" (the popular Sardinian spot). The spot immediately struck me, first of all for the logistics at the beach, which are almost perfect.

 

 

 

 

Finally, south of the town of Ericeira, there is the easiest spot for windsurfing, Foz do Lisandro, which is also characterized by excellent logistics. In fact, close to the beach, there is a free asphalted car park, public toilets, welcoming bars and restaurants, and the ever-present surf school.

We have seen the spot, with an important swell and high tide. The waves almost never became steep and surfable with windsurfing, except in front of the beach, where in fact they formed a shorebreak even higher than a meter and a half. Therefore, we didn't think it is an interesting spot for waveriding, but still a good spot for relatively easy sessions, provided you know how to manage the important shorebreak in and out. Nortada enters the spot side-on rather well, and always less strong than Guincho. The beach is sandy (formed by the river), with no hidden rocks, and with a cliff that overhangs the sea on the southern side (but the beach is almost half a kilometer long).

Foz do Lisandro and Ribeira d'Ilhas are magnificent beaches, worthy even just to spend a few pleasant hours at the sea, and which can be admired in all their beauty from their respective Miradouros, from which the photos in this article were taken.

Ericeira is a modern and equipped town, which offers many accommodation options. Ericeira Camping seemed very pleasant to us from the outside, but we have not tried it, and therefore we cannot give you any particular feedback.

Hang Loose. Fabio

 

Click here, to enjoy a slidegallery of our recent trip to Portugal, with images of the spots

 

 

The video of our recent trip