Home to Europe’s first
World Surfing
Reserve
Portugal has the most reliable beginner surf in Europe, warm weather from May to November and long sandy beaches with space for a whole year group. We run trips at Costa da Caparica, Ericeira, Sintra and Praia da Tocha, each with its own private camp or villa, and build in a day in Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra or Sintra, so students come home having learnt to surf and seen something of Portugal.
WHY CHOOSE PORTUGAL
Gentle waves
for beginners
Varied educational
excursion options
Camps for
20 to 90 students
Flights from
every UK region
Trips from
May to November
SUMMER SURF
Most of our groups come in June and July, and that is Portugal at its best for learning to surf. Expect warm, sunny days, water around 20°C and a summer wetsuit at most, with small, clean waves on the sandbanks morning after morning and a two-hour lesson before lunch each day. The long evenings mean a full afternoon on the beach and beach games after dinner, all in daylight.
WHERE YOU STAY
Four places to choose from, depending on how big the group is and the week you want. There is a surf resort above the sea at Ericeira, three villas side by side at Costa da Caparica, a country villa with a pool near Sintra and a glamping camp under the pines at Praia da Tocha. All are private to the group, all are full board with meals cooked on site, and all have outdoor space where the best evenings happen.
COMBINE SURFING
WITH HISTORY
Combining surfing with the history and culture of Portugal makes the week more than a surf trip, and our Lisbon and Sintra days are built for school groups. Lisbon gives a city tour and free time in a capital rebuilt after the earthquake of 1755. Sintra, a UNESCO World Heritage town in the hills, gives the Pena Palace, the Moorish castle and the tunnels of Quinta da Regaleira.
SURFING IN PORTUGAL
WAVES FOR ALL LEVELS
Affordable and
Less Crowded
THE COAST
ACCOMMODATION: SURF RESORT
Ericeira
The surf resort sits above the sea on the edge of Ericeira, a fishing town turned surf town, with the cobbled streets below it and Foz do Lizandro, the beach the group learns on, the next bay along. It takes up to 90 students and 10 staff on full board, which makes it the option for a whole year group.
Students stay in shared rooms and staff in private rooms or suites. There is an outdoor pool, gardens for yoga and the evenings, and a restaurant that cooks Portuguese dishes alongside the things teenagers will reliably eat.
ACCOMMODATION: SURF VILLA
Costa Da Caparica
At Costa da Caparica, half an hour from Lisbon, the group has three neighbouring villas to itself in the quiet neighbourhood of São João da Caparica, with ensuite twin, triple and dorm rooms for up to 60 students and seven staff. Our staff are on site around the clock, and with the villas side by side the group is never spread out.
The main villa has the living room, a games room and a garden with hammocks and a terrace for the evenings. Breakfast and dinner are cooked there, dietary requirements are catered for once you have sent them to us, and the beach is a ten-minute walk, so boards go down on foot.
ACCOMMODATION: SURF VILLA
Sintra
For a smaller group, up to 24 students and three staff, there is a Portuguese villa in the countryside outside Sintra, with its own gardens, a swimming pool and full board cooked by the villa’s chef. The surf beach, Praia do Magoito, is a lifeguarded bay a 15-minute drive away with a beach break for beginners and a sheltered point break for those who already surf, and Sintra itself is on the doorstep for the day out.
Rooms are twins and dorms, with furnished bell tents in the garden for the rest of the group. There is a games room, a gym and big common rooms, and because the villa is private the group has the run of the place.
ACCOMMODATION: SURF CAMP
Praia da Tocha
Praia da Tocha is a small fishing village on a long, quiet beach halfway between Lisbon and Porto, with the old wooden fishermen’s houses, the palheiros, still along the front. The camp there is glamping under the pines for up to 80 students and staff, with three meals a day cooked on site, and the beach is a ten-minute walk, so it is surf in the morning and beach games at sunset without a coach.
Students sleep in furnished twin, triple and four-bed glamping tents with proper beds, lighting and power. Around them are hammocks, a volleyball court, table tennis, a yoga deck and a restaurant terrace, and the camp is private and self-contained, so staff always know where everyone is.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Four ways to stay
EDUCATIONAL EXCURSIONS
BEYOND THE SURF
FOOD & DRINK
YOGA CLASSES
What’s Included
Our prices cover the flights, transfers and everything from the moment you land: the accommodation, all meals with soft drinks, surfing and equipment, yoga and the day trip. Free staff places, a dedicated Trip Leader, full financial protection and travel insurance are included as standard.
health and safety
We write a risk assessment for every destination and a health and safety audit for everywhere we stay. Before you travel you receive a travel pack with both, so your own paperwork, and the questions from parents, are covered.