# Carcavelos surf guide Train-accessible beach break on the Lisbon–Cascais line that comes alive on big winter swells; the classic after-work session for Lisbon surfers. - **Location:** Lisbon (Cascais line), Portugal (38.6795, -9.3355) - **Best season:** Oct – Mar (October, November, December, January, February, March) - **Water:** 14–20°C (3/2 mm (warmest) to 4/3 mm (coldest)) - **Waves:** Beach break - **Suits:** Beginner, Intermediate surfers - **Interactive map, stays and what's on:** https://swellcabin.com/town/carcavelos - **Feed (new YouTube surf videos and Instagram posts from Carcavelos):** https://swellcabin.com/town/carcavelos?feed ## Live surf cams - [Carcavelos](https://beachcam.meo.pt/livecams/praia-de-carcavelos/): MEO Beachcam, free - [Santo Amaro](https://beachcam.meo.pt/livecams/santo-amaro/) (Santa Amaro): MEO Beachcam, free - [Paço de Arcos](https://beachcam.meo.pt/livecams/paco-de-arcos/): MEO Beachcam, free - [Guincho](https://beachcam.meo.pt/livecams/praia-do-guincho/) (Praia do Guincho): MEO Beachcam, free - [Carcavelos (Calhau)](https://www.surftotal.com/camaras-report/linha-de-cascais-estoril/carcavelos-calhau) (Carcavelos): Surftotal, free ## Surf spots - **Carcavelos**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at mid tide. Suits all levels. (38.6785, -9.3375) - **Santa Amaro**: Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at mid to high tide (38.6819, -9.3138) - **Paço de Arcos**: Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, best at high tide, rising (38.6899, -9.2957) - **Praia do Guincho**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at low to mid tide. Suits all levels. (38.7348, -9.4753) ## What's on Carcavelos is a busy Lisbon-line beach town where evenings mean the bars and restaurants along the beachfront and Avenida Marginal. No reliable fixed weekly nights could be confirmed; for a bigger night out, Cascais and Lisbon are a short train ride away. Upcoming: 2026-11-07 National Adaptive Surfing Meet (Encontro Nacional de Surf Adaptado) at Praia de Carcavelos _Updated 2026-11-03._ ## Where to stay 365 places to stay within 10 km. Surf camps: Maori Surf Camp, Lisbon Surf Camp, Carcavelos Surf Hostel, byseacle Lisbon Bike Surf Camp, Carcavelos Surf Camp, Lisbon Surf House, Barefoot Surf House - Cova do Vapor House, Nzs, Surf House & Adventure. Hostels: Help Yourself Hostels Carcavelo Coast, HI Oeiras - Pousada de Juventude, Lisbon Blue House, Get Inn Hostel, Wanderlust Hostel, BLUE Boutique Hostel & Suites. ## FAQ ### When is the best time to surf in Carcavelos? The best surf season in Carcavelos is Oct – Mar (October, November, December, January, February, March). The sea ranges from 14°C to 20°C over the year. ### Which months have the most good surf days in Carcavelos? Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Carcavelos's best spot were good or better most often in December (83% of days, 40% great), February (62% of days, 36% great) and November (62% of days, 29% great), and least often in July (5%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast. ### Do I need a wetsuit in Carcavelos? Water temperature in Carcavelos is 14–20°C: 3/2 mm (warmest) to 4/3 mm (coldest). ### Is Carcavelos good for beginner surfers? Yes. Carcavelos suits beginner and intermediate surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Carcavelos and Praia do Guincho. ### What are the surf spots in Carcavelos? Carcavelos has 4 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Carcavelos (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SSW (offshore wind from the NNE), best at mid tide); Santa Amaro (Reef break, right-hander, advanced surfers, faces ESE (offshore wind from the WNW), best at mid to high tide); Paço de Arcos (Point break, right-hander, advanced surfers, best at high tide, rising); Praia do Guincho (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at low to mid tide). ### Where should surfers stay in Carcavelos? Swell Cabin lists 365 places to stay within 10 km of Carcavelos, including 20 surf camps such as Maori Surf Camp, Lisbon Surf Camp, Carcavelos Surf Hostel and byseacle Lisbon Bike Surf Camp, 19 hostels, 59 guesthouses and homestays, 32 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot. ### What is the nightlife like in Carcavelos? Carcavelos is a busy Lisbon-line beach town where evenings mean the bars and restaurants along the beachfront and Avenida Marginal. No reliable fixed weekly nights could be confirmed; for a bigger night out, Cascais and Lisbon are a short train ride away. ### What is the surf forecast for Carcavelos this week? Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Carcavelos and each of its 4 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/carcavelos: each spot rated hour by hour (Flat, Poor, Fair, Good, Great or Epic) from the way its coast faces, the swell, its period, the wind and the tide, with the best time each day and why, the size in surfers' words (e.g. "chest to head high, clean"), tides, and how sure the forecast is (three wave models compared). It is checked live against the nearest buoy and airport wind reports where there are any, and refreshed every few hours (waves from Open-Meteo, wind from MET Norway). ### When is the best tide to surf in Carcavelos? It depends on the spot: shallow reefs usually want mid to high tide, most beach breaks work best around mid tide. Swell Cabin's forecast for Carcavelos weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times, predicted from the Cascais tide gauge (7 km away). ### How accurate is the surf forecast for Carcavelos? Swell Cabin checks it against the Sines coastal buoy (91 km away, E.U. Copernicus Marine Service): over 287 hours from 2026-10-23 to 2026-11-05 the forecast wave height was within 20% of the buoy 86% of the time. Last checked 2026-11-05. ### Is the Carcavelos surf forecast checked against measurements? Yes. The open water off Carcavelos is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 49 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 55 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 94% of the time. Of the three wave models compared, Météo-France has been the closest to the satellites here. Nearer the coast, the buoy above decides the correction. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information (https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00179). Last checked 2026-11-05. ### How reliable is Swell Cabin's information about Carcavelos? Trust in this page's data is low (45/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 4 spots fully verified, 4 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; 4 open audit warnings. How we check: https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-accuracy.md Last checked against sources on 2026-11-05. Every value comes from measured data (Open-Meteo, buoys), open databases (OpenStreetMap, Wikidata) or a published page we opened, never from visitor reports; a daily audit compares them and a weekly evaluation measures the error rate (https://github.com/danielgalam/swellcabin/blob/main/docs/data-quality.md). ### Is there a live surf cam in Carcavelos? Yes: Carcavelos on MEO Beachcam (free); Santo Amaro (Santa Amaro) on MEO Beachcam (free); Paço de Arcos on MEO Beachcam (free); Guincho (Praia do Guincho) on MEO Beachcam (free); Carcavelos (Calhau) (Carcavelos) on Surftotal (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly. ### Where can I take surf lessons in Carcavelos? Surf schools in and around Carcavelos include Pineapple Surf School, Carcavelos Surf School, Surf in Carcavelos With 7ª Essência SurfSchool, Escola de Surf Grande Onda, Tricana Surf Experience and Sal Surfing School.