Surfing Peniche & Baleal

Beach Break · Best Oct-Mar · 3-10 ft · Crowd 5/5

SW-W swell, NE offshore wind, mid tide

Supertubos is the beach break on the south side of the Peniche peninsula, at Praia do Medão, and the wave that brought the World Tour to Portugal. On its day it throws short, very hollow barrels onto shallow sand, and people compare it to a beach-break Pipeline.

It faces south-west, so it works when the north of the country is too big or blown out: a south-west to west swell with a north-east wind is ideal. The sandbanks move after storms, and the best peaks change from one winter to the next.

The shorebreak is heavy and the crowd is good and competitive. It isn't a wave to learn on. On smaller days the peaks further down the beach are friendlier.

Beach Break · Best Oct-Mar · 2-8 ft · Crowd 4/5

SW swell, NE-E offshore wind, mid tide

Molhe Leste breaks next to the eastern breakwater of Peniche harbour, at the north end of the same stretch of sand as Supertubos. The jetty holds the sand in place, so the banks here are often better shaped than on the open beach.

It needs a south-west swell and a north-east or east wind. When it lines up you get fast, hollow peaks right beside the wall, and the crowd is mostly local surfers who know exactly where to sit. It is often flat in summer.

Keep clear of the rocks at the base of the jetty, and expect to wait your turn.

Right Point · Best Oct-Mar · 2-8 ft · Crowd 2/5

SW swell, NE offshore wind, low to mid tide

Consolação is a small village just south of Supertubos, with a rocky point and reefs at the end of the beach. The rights off the point can be long and good on a south-west swell, and there are lefts on the reefs as well.

It's best from low tide on the push, with a north-east wind, and it's a lot less crowded than Supertubos a kilometre up the coast. The bottom is rock with urchins, so booties help, and it suits surfers who are comfortable on reef.

Beach Break · Best Year-round · 1-6 ft · Crowd 4/5

N-NW swell, SE offshore wind, all tides

Baleal is the long bay between Peniche and the little island of Baleal, which is joined to the mainland by a sandy strip. The bay faces north-west and is sheltered from the biggest swells, so it has small, rideable waves most days of the year.

That makes it one of the busiest learning beaches in Portugal. Dozens of surf schools work along the sand, and the softer peaks at the Cantinho da Baía end are where most of them go. Further towards the island the waves get stronger.

It works on any tide. In summer, when the rest of the coast is flat, there is usually still something here.

Left Reef · Best Sep-Apr · 2-8 ft · Crowd 4/5

NW swell, S offshore wind, mid tide on the rise

Lagide is a reef on the north side of Baleal, a short walk from the island. The main wave is a left that peels over a flat rock shelf, with a right that works on some swells too.

It likes a north-west swell and a southerly wind, and it's best on the rising tide around mid tide. When it's good, the locals and the Baleal surf schools' better students all want it, so it gets crowded.

The reef is shallow at low tide and full of urchins. Booties are a good idea.