Swell Cabin › Europe › Portugal

Peniche & Baleal surf guide

A peninsula that faces every direction: Supertubos fires heavy barrels on the south side while Baleal's sheltered bay keeps beginners in waves almost every day of the year.

Location
Leiria District, Portugal (39.3600, -9.3780)
Best season
Sep – Apr: September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April
Water temperature
14–19°C (3/2 mm (warmest) to 4/3 mm (coldest))
Waves
Beach break, Reef break
Suits
Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced surfers

Live surf cams in Peniche & Baleal

Surf clips from Peniche & Baleal

Surf spots in Peniche & Baleal

What's on in Peniche & Baleal

Peniche and Baleal are busy with surfers but low-key at night: surf-camp bars and restaurants in Baleal and the town centre, livelier in summer and during the October pro contest. In November the town runs its 'Mês do Mar' (Month of the Sea) programme of concerts and talks.

Upcoming events

Updated 2026-11-07.

Where to stay in Peniche & Baleal

276 places to stay within 12 km: 119 hotel, 41 holiday rental, 37 surf camp, 25 hostel, 23 guest house, 10 resort, 7 camp site, 6 bed and breakfast, 4 apartment, 2 caravan site, 1 chalet, 1 villa. Compare them by distance to the nearest surf spot on the interactive map.

Surf camps: PKSC - Peniche Kite & Surf Camp, Peniche Surf Lodge, Nika Paddle Surf Camp, Next Level Surf Camp, Pineapple Surf House, Baía de Peniche Surf Camp&School, Baleal Surf Camp-Peniche, Portugal, RIDE Surf Resort & Spa.

Hostels: WOT Hostel Peniche, Aktion Peniche Hostel Apartments, Peniche Hostel backpackers, Casa do Campo, Deck Lodge, SwordFish Houses - Alojamentos em Peniche.

Cafés, food and surf shops

73 cafés and bakeries, 181 restaurants and bars, 28 surf schools and 13 surf shops nearby. Surf schools: G3 Surfschool, Go4Surf School Peniche, Escola de Surf de Peniche, SurfPort, Special Surf 78, Centro de Alto Rendimento de Surf de Peniche, Super Tubos, Surfing Baleal.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to surf in Peniche & Baleal?

The best surf season in Peniche & Baleal is Sep – Apr (September, October, November, December, January, February, March, April). The sea ranges from 14°C to 19°C over the year.

Which months have the most good surf days in Peniche & Baleal?

Measured over the last three years (2023-11-01 to 2026-10-31), the waves at Peniche & Baleal's best spot were good or better most often in December (66% of days, 29% great), October (68% of days, 18% great) and March (57% of days, 27% great), and least often in July (9%). From each day's swell and wind (Open-Meteo), rated like Swell Cabin's forecast.

Do I need a wetsuit in Peniche & Baleal?

Water temperature in Peniche & Baleal is 14–19°C: 3/2 mm (warmest) to 4/3 mm (coldest).

Is Peniche & Baleal good for beginner surfers?

Yes. Peniche & Baleal suits beginner, intermediate and advanced surfers; spots that work for beginners or all levels include Cantinho Da Baia, Praia Da Areia Branca and Foz do Arelho.

What are the surf spots in Peniche & Baleal?

Peniche & Baleal has 4 surf spots on Swell Cabin: Supertubos (Beach break, lefts and rights, advanced surfers, faces WSW (offshore wind from the ENE), best at mid to high tide); Cantinho Da Baia (Beach break, lefts and rights, beginner surfers, faces WNW (offshore wind from the ESE), best at high tide, rising); Praia Da Areia Branca (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces W (offshore wind from the E), best at mid to high tide); Foz do Arelho (Beach break, lefts and rights, all levels, faces NW (offshore wind from the SE), best at all tides).

Where should surfers stay in Peniche & Baleal?

Swell Cabin lists 276 places to stay within 12 km of Peniche & Baleal, including 37 surf camps such as PKSC - Peniche Kite & Surf Camp, Peniche Surf Lodge, Nika Paddle Surf Camp and Next Level Surf Camp, 25 hostels, 23 guesthouses and homestays, 42 rentals and villas. Each one shows its distance to the nearest surf spot.

What is the nightlife like in Peniche & Baleal?

Peniche and Baleal are busy with surfers but low-key at night: surf-camp bars and restaurants in Baleal and the town centre, livelier in summer and during the October pro contest. In November the town runs its 'Mês do Mar' (Month of the Sea) programme of concerts and talks.

What is the surf forecast for Peniche & Baleal this week?

Swell Cabin shows a live 7-day surf forecast for Peniche & Baleal and each of its 4 surf spots on https://swellcabin.com/town/peniche: 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 Peniche & Baleal?

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 Peniche & Baleal weighs each spot's tide hour by hour and shows the best window each day with the high and low tide times (approximate: there is no tide gauge near the town).

How accurate is the surf forecast for Peniche & Baleal?

Swell Cabin checks it against the Monican02 buoy (27 km away, E.U. Copernicus Marine Service): over 297 hours from 2026-10-23 to 2026-11-05 the forecast wave height was within 20% of the buoy 98% of the time. Last checked 2026-11-05.

Is the Peniche & Baleal surf forecast checked against measurements?

Yes. The open water off Peniche & Baleal is checked against the satellite altimeters (Copernicus Marine's near-real-time wave heights): 53 satellite passes within 100 km since 2026-09-23, typically 41 km out, put the forecast wave height within 20% of the measurement 100% 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 Peniche & Baleal?

Trust in this page's data is medium (55/100): 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; no 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 Peniche & Baleal?

Yes: Supertubos on MEO Beachcam (free); Baleal panorama (Cantinho Da Baia) on MEO Beachcam (free); Areia Branca (Praia Da Areia Branca) on MEO Beachcam (free); Foz do Arelho on MEO Beachcam (free); Lagide on MEO Beachcam (free). Swell Cabin checks these cams regularly.

Where can I take surf lessons in Peniche & Baleal?

Surf schools in and around Peniche & Baleal include G3 Surfschool, Go4Surf School Peniche, Escola de Surf de Peniche, SurfPort, Special Surf 78 and Centro de Alto Rendimento de Surf de Peniche.

Nearby surf towns

This page in other languages: Português · Español · Français · Deutsch · עברית