Carrapateira

Carrapateira is a small village on the west coast of the Algarve, in the municipality of Aljezur and inside the Costa Vicentina natural park. There is not much to it: a square, a few cafés and a small museum of the sea and the land. What it has is two of the best surf beaches in southern Portugal on either side of a clifftop headland, the Pontal.

Where to surf, by level

Praia do Amado, at the end of a valley just south of the village, is where nearly everyone surfs. A sand-bottom beach break that handles everything from small summer days to around double overhead in winter, with surf and bodyboard schools running lessons all year. Sitting south of the headland, it is often sheltered from a light northerly.

Praia da Bordeira, to the north, is a long, wild beach where a stream reaches the sea through wide dunes. At low tide a long left winds off the cliffs; from mid to high tide, fast rights run towards the rivermouth. It is for intermediates: the currents are strong, there is a shorebreak, and help is a long walk away. The rips on the rivermouth side tend to drag you north.

The dirt road over the Pontal between the two beaches has some of the best views on this coast.

When to go

NW swell with an E wind is the classic. Autumn and spring bring the most reliable days. Summer is smaller and fine for learning, with the north-westerly blowing in the afternoon. Winter brings size, and the big north-westerly storms are what shut Amado down.

Getting there

Carrapateira is on the coast road between Aljezur and Vila do Bispo. Buses are thin, so a car is the practical way to get around, unless you stay at a surf camp that drives you to the beach.