# Costa da Caparica surf guide Lisbon's surf beach: 20+ km of sand and jetty-groomed peaks 20 minutes from the city centre, lined with surf schools and beach bars. - **Location:** Setúbal District, Portugal (38.6400, -9.2380) - **Best season:** Sep – Apr (September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April) - **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/costa-da-caparica - **Feed (new YouTube surf videos and Instagram posts from Costa da Caparica):** https://swellcabin.com/town/costa-da-caparica?feed ## Live surf cams - [Costa da Caparica](https://beachcam.meo.pt/livecams/costa-da-caparica/): MEO Beachcam, free - [São João / Cova do Vapor](https://beachcam.meo.pt/livecams/costa-de-caparica-sao-joao-cova-do-vapor/) (Cova do Vapor): MEO Beachcam, free - [Lagoa de Albufeira](https://beachcam.meo.pt/livecams/lagoa-de-albufeira/): MEO Beachcam, free ## Surf spots - **Costa da Caparica**: Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at all tides. Suits all levels. (38.6410, -9.2418) - **Cova do Vapor**: Beach break, left-hander, advanced surfers, best at all tides (38.6618, -9.2623) - **Lagoa de Albufeira**: Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at all tides (38.5088, -9.1848) ## What's on Costa da Caparica's social life is its beach bars: in summer many host sunset DJ sets along the long strip of beaches toward Fonte da Telha. Out of season it is much quieter, and no reliable fixed weekly nights could be confirmed; Lisbon is across the river. _Updated 2026-11-03._ ## Where to stay 378 places to stay within 10 km. Surf camps: Naga Laut Surf Villa, Caparica Surf Villa, SurfRoots SurfHouse, Pure Surfcamp Caparica, Lisbon Waves Surf Lodge, Kali Vice Surf Villa, Geckosurfhouse, Surfblend SURFinn Caparica. Hostels: INCOSTA- Hostel- sea, surf & sand, Aloha, Natural Mystic Hostel, Pátio Tropical, Quinta de Vale Mourelos, Pousada da Juventude de Almada. ## FAQ ### When is the best time to surf in Costa da Caparica? The best surf season in Costa da Caparica is Sep – Apr (September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April). The sea ranges from 14°C to 20°C over the year. ### Which months have the most good surf days in Costa da Caparica? Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Costa da Caparica's best spot were good or better most often in December (76% of days, 26% great), March (65% of days, 27% great) and February (60% of days, 27% great), and least often in July (3%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast. ### Do I need a wetsuit in Costa da Caparica? Water temperature in Costa da Caparica is 14–20°C: 3/2 mm (warmest) to 4/3 mm (coldest). ### Is Costa da Caparica good for beginner surfers? Yes. Costa da Caparica suits beginner and intermediate surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Costa da Caparica. ### What are the surf spots in Costa da Caparica? Costa da Caparica has 3 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Costa da Caparica (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces SW (offshore wind from the NE), best at all tides); Cova do Vapor (Beach break, left-hander, advanced surfers, best at all tides); Lagoa de Albufeira (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at all tides). ### Where should surfers stay in Costa da Caparica? Swell Cabin lists 378 places to stay within 10 km of Costa da Caparica, including 21 surf camps such as Naga Laut Surf Villa, Caparica Surf Villa, SurfRoots SurfHouse and Pure Surfcamp Caparica, 25 hostels, 54 guesthouses and homestays, 35 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot. ### What is the nightlife like in Costa da Caparica? Costa da Caparica's social life is its beach bars: in summer many host sunset DJ sets along the long strip of beaches toward Fonte da Telha. Out of season it is much quieter, and no reliable fixed weekly nights could be confirmed; Lisbon is across the river. ### What is the surf forecast for Costa da Caparica this week? Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Costa da Caparica and each of its 3 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/costa-da-caparica: 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 Costa da Caparica? 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 Costa da Caparica 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 (17 km away). ### How accurate is the surf forecast for Costa da Caparica? Swell Cabin checks it against the Sines coastal buoy (84 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 Costa da Caparica surf forecast checked against measurements? Yes. The open water off Costa da Caparica 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 54 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 Costa da Caparica? Trust in this page's data is low (48/100): the town has not been verified against sources in the last 12 months; 0 of 3 spots fully verified, 3 with a researched tide; season and water temperature checked against measured data; 2 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 Costa da Caparica? Yes: Costa da Caparica on MEO Beachcam (free); São João / Cova do Vapor (Cova do Vapor) on MEO Beachcam (free); Lagoa de Albufeira on MEO Beachcam (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly. ### Where can I take surf lessons in Costa da Caparica? Surf schools in and around Costa da Caparica include Lufi Surf School, Lisbon Surf & Sup, Lombok paradise surfschool, BIG Surf School, Gota D'Agua Surf School Portugal and MAR Surf School - Costa da Caparica.