Nazare - best way to see the big waves
Discussion
I really want to see some big waves in Nazare. We've tried once before, going to Lisbon in November for a few days and then hiring a car and taking a day trip to Nazare. Whilst it was a nice day out, it was a total failure from a big waves perspective - they were about 4 ft. For the avoidance of doubt, I've got no plans to try and surf them, or even go swimming. I just want to see them.
More googling indicated that January was the best time, but that appears to be a bit uncertain and most websites just say November -> March.
Actual wave forecasts seem to be 16 days in the future maximum.
I don't fancy spending a month in Nazare waiting for the right weather conditions. Likewise, a month in Lisbon in January probably isn't top of my list either.
Hiring the car in Lisbon was a PITA - massive queues on both collection and return, and there was no car rental office convenient to our hotel.
I think I'm down to 2 options:
Option 1 - Take a punt on 5 days at the end of Jan, book flights and accommodation in Lisbon now, and then check the surf forecasts when we're there. Take a bus from Lisbon on the optimal day.
Option 2 - Monitor the surf forecasts from the UK - when it's looking good, make a last minute booking for flights and accommodation, fly out to Lisbon and then fine tune the day to go to Nazare. Using this option we could possibly manage an overnight in Nazare, but availability might be challenging.
I'm leaning towards Option 2 - I would assume that flights to Lisbon at the end of Jan are pretty easy to get - likewise hotels / AirBnb.
Does anyone have any experience of doing this / any useful pointers.
Thanks
More googling indicated that January was the best time, but that appears to be a bit uncertain and most websites just say November -> March.
Actual wave forecasts seem to be 16 days in the future maximum.
I don't fancy spending a month in Nazare waiting for the right weather conditions. Likewise, a month in Lisbon in January probably isn't top of my list either.
Hiring the car in Lisbon was a PITA - massive queues on both collection and return, and there was no car rental office convenient to our hotel.
I think I'm down to 2 options:
Option 1 - Take a punt on 5 days at the end of Jan, book flights and accommodation in Lisbon now, and then check the surf forecasts when we're there. Take a bus from Lisbon on the optimal day.
Option 2 - Monitor the surf forecasts from the UK - when it's looking good, make a last minute booking for flights and accommodation, fly out to Lisbon and then fine tune the day to go to Nazare. Using this option we could possibly manage an overnight in Nazare, but availability might be challenging.
I'm leaning towards Option 2 - I would assume that flights to Lisbon at the end of Jan are pretty easy to get - likewise hotels / AirBnb.
Does anyone have any experience of doing this / any useful pointers.
Thanks
Lisbon flight schedules are nowhere near as seasonal as eg Faro. In my experience it’s usually easier to book flights there during the off season than in the summer months. My sons are actually in there now after flying to Porto & catching the bus because the Lisbon flights were a bit extortionate. Accommodation not hard to find in the winter months either.
I’d be inclined to keep an eye on the surf forecasts & book nearer the time.
I’d be inclined to keep an eye on the surf forecasts & book nearer the time.
Surf conditions are fickle. You need to check the forecast from the UK and then book last minute flights when the conditions align. Even the long range surf forecast is unreliable. The later you can leave it, the better.
You'll need to not only look at the swell, but also the wind strength and direction, as if it's absolutely howling in the wrong direction then it's likely that nobody will be surfing it (assuming you actually want to see someone riding it).
You'll need to not only look at the swell, but also the wind strength and direction, as if it's absolutely howling in the wrong direction then it's likely that nobody will be surfing it (assuming you actually want to see someone riding it).
The submarine canyon of Nazare which causes the huge upswell runs about South by West for about 25 miles out to the main continental shelf, so you'll need a good westerly blow for a few days to build up the transatlantic waves above the canyon. Wind in other directions means the sea is "relatively" benign but still oceanic. BTW I'm not a surfer, I've sailed the area albeit in early summer
I live out that way, I was on Nazare beach yesterday.
There’s this website but you may have seen it already. Seems it can’t be easily predicted
https://nazarewaves.com/
Yes, flights will be a lot cheaper over winter but of course the weather will be colder too although ice on a car in the morning is very rare. I’ve done Lisbon to Gatwick many times with either TAP or easyjet.
Care hire: I used these a lot when visiting to prepare to live here. Never had a problem. They will pick you up at the airport and only a five minute drive. Very near. Of course make sure you have a car hire insurance policy taken out in the UK to avoid paying extra expensive insurance.
https://www.driveonholidays.com/en/home
There’s this website but you may have seen it already. Seems it can’t be easily predicted
https://nazarewaves.com/
Yes, flights will be a lot cheaper over winter but of course the weather will be colder too although ice on a car in the morning is very rare. I’ve done Lisbon to Gatwick many times with either TAP or easyjet.
Care hire: I used these a lot when visiting to prepare to live here. Never had a problem. They will pick you up at the airport and only a five minute drive. Very near. Of course make sure you have a car hire insurance policy taken out in the UK to avoid paying extra expensive insurance.
https://www.driveonholidays.com/en/home
Updating this thread because we're now planning to re-attempt this in Jan / Feb 2026.
We started out thinking of a roadtrip in our own car, but then I looked into flight and car hire prices and flying fairly quickly became the plan. It's £200 return for 2 people with one 26Kg suitcase and £340 for a VW Polo or similar for 1 month including "full insurance".
Rather than sit and watch the surf forecast, we're planning to just be there for a month from mid Jan to mid Feb and live a hybrid life somewhere between "home from home" and "being on holiday". For some apartments on AirBnb booking them for a whole month is the same price as two weeks.
The question that I have for those more familiar with Nazare than I am is where is the best place to stay. I've narrowed it down to a smaller apartment near the beach or a larger apartment at the top of the hill in Sitio. I am aware that the funicular is closed (they all are in Portugal) and I don't expect it to re-open before Jan. I think Sitio is closer to the ideal spot for watching the waves, but being closer to the beach at the bottom of the hill might be better day-to-day.
We started out thinking of a roadtrip in our own car, but then I looked into flight and car hire prices and flying fairly quickly became the plan. It's £200 return for 2 people with one 26Kg suitcase and £340 for a VW Polo or similar for 1 month including "full insurance".
Rather than sit and watch the surf forecast, we're planning to just be there for a month from mid Jan to mid Feb and live a hybrid life somewhere between "home from home" and "being on holiday". For some apartments on AirBnb booking them for a whole month is the same price as two weeks.
The question that I have for those more familiar with Nazare than I am is where is the best place to stay. I've narrowed it down to a smaller apartment near the beach or a larger apartment at the top of the hill in Sitio. I am aware that the funicular is closed (they all are in Portugal) and I don't expect it to re-open before Jan. I think Sitio is closer to the ideal spot for watching the waves, but being closer to the beach at the bottom of the hill might be better day-to-day.
Stay down in Nazare. There will be more going on, or at least more options. Parking up à sítio can be a bit tight on a big wave day but there are places if you don’t mind a little walk. However, a taxi won’t cost much. There are also busses but I don’t know their frequency.
Nazare is not that exciting but it has plenty of bars n restaurants and sometimes live music can be found. Depends what you want to do otherwise.
Nazare is not that exciting but it has plenty of bars n restaurants and sometimes live music can be found. Depends what you want to do otherwise.
Hi
This is a site most surfers use to check out the likely conditions before deciding if it’s worth the trip but it’ll never be a 100% accurate.
https://www.surfline.com/surf-report/nazare/58bdfa...
You do have to pay for this though or try following Surfline on instagram as they sometimes “flag” good conditions on there.
If you wanted to do it yourself take a look at other sources to find the best conditions coming up.
Probably similar to the surf forecasting for the south west here: low pressure tracking across the Atlantic with a high pressure over Europe. The low generates the winds far offshore to create the waves and the offshore winds over Europe “clean” them up in to lines of waves as they approach shore.
Hope that helps!
This is a site most surfers use to check out the likely conditions before deciding if it’s worth the trip but it’ll never be a 100% accurate.
https://www.surfline.com/surf-report/nazare/58bdfa...
You do have to pay for this though or try following Surfline on instagram as they sometimes “flag” good conditions on there.
If you wanted to do it yourself take a look at other sources to find the best conditions coming up.
Probably similar to the surf forecasting for the south west here: low pressure tracking across the Atlantic with a high pressure over Europe. The low generates the winds far offshore to create the waves and the offshore winds over Europe “clean” them up in to lines of waves as they approach shore.
Hope that helps!
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