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Madeira west coast - panoramio (4)
Near Achadas da Cruz. Photo: Богдан Митронов-Слоб…, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Achadas da Cruz

Surf spot · Portugal

Is it worth the trip?

42Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: 3 ft swell at 8 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 45 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 shollow
Energy
117kJ
Wind
NE 3 kn
Temp
20°C

Wed 4 · 51 out of 100

Swell
4 ft8 shollow
Energy
134kJ
Wind
E 2 kn
Temp
19°C

Thu 5 · 67 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 shollow
Energy
141kJ
Wind
S 3 kn
Temp
22°C

Fri 6 · 36 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 shollow
Energy
89kJ
Wind
SSE 7 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 29 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 shollow
Energy
50kJ
Wind
SSW 12 kn
Temp
21°C

Sun 8 · 14 out of 100

Swell
4 ft7 shollow
Energy
147kJ
Wind
S 24 kn
Temp
21°C

Mon 9 · 0 out of 100

Swell
7 ft8 shollow
Energy
557kJ
Wind
SW 23 kn
Temp
21°C

Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 278, good
  2. Tue 345, fair
  3. Wed 451, fair
  4. Thu 567, good
  5. Fri 636, too small
  6. Sat 729, poor
  7. Sun 814, poor
  8. Mon 90, too big
  9. Tue 100, too big

The spot in five facts

  • Faces NWtakes swell from the NW
  • Offshore: SEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 22 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.

Achadas da Cruz does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Achadas da Cruz, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov78, good4 ft10 shollow6 ft at break (est.)348kJwind from the east-north-east, 2 knots20°C
Tue 3Nov45, fair3 ft9 shollow4 ft at break (est.)117kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots20°C
Wed 4Nov51, fair4 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.)134kJwind from the east, 2 knots, offshore19°C
Thu 5Nov67, good3 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.)141kJwind from the south, 3 knots, offshore22°C
Fri 6Nov36, too small2 ft9 shollow4 ft at break (est.)89kJwind from the south-south-east, 7 knots, offshore22°C
Sat 7Nov29, poor3 ft5 shollow3 ft at break (est.)50kJwind from the south-south-west, 12 knots21°C
Sun 8Nov14, poor4 ft7 shollow4 ft at break (est.)147kJwind from the south, 24 knots21°C
Mon 9Nov0, too big7 ft8 shollow8 ft at break (est.)557kJwind from the south-west, 23 knots21°C
Tue 10Nov0, too big13 ft9 smushy14 ft at break (est.)2,248kJwind from the west-south-west, 15 knots20°C

Energy is the swell's power, in kJ per metre of wave. Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to; green is offshore. More

Tide

  • Mon 2 NovLow 01:02 −0.5 mHigh 07:33 +0.7 mLow 14:12 −0.6 mHigh 20:31 +0.5 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 02:32 −0.5 mHigh 08:54 +0.8 mLow 15:32 −0.7 mHigh 21:46 +0.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 03:48 −0.6 mHigh 10:03 +0.8 mLow 16:34 −0.8 mHigh 22:44 +0.7 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Map

the spot and its town

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for beginners: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Live webcam

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Live webcam

In Porto Moniz, the nearest town, 6 km away

In Porto Moniz, the nearest town, 6 km away

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More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Achadas da Cruz

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.

The spot faces NW (317°), so it takes swell from the NW. The wind blows offshore from the SE (137°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 5). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hard and thick, like a slab. The sea is about 18°C in March, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in September, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Porto Moniz, 6 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

Water about 22°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$1,010–US$1,920 each

about US$1,010–US$1,920 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, stay, food, board and wetsuit.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to FNC, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$435–US$911
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$100–US$174
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$181–US$301
Food7 days eating outabout US$201–US$375
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$94–US$154
Totalabout US$1,010–US$1,920

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: 3 towns

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Ribeira da Janela

about 10 min by car · 1 place to stay

about US$67/nightcountry average

See 1 place to stay in Ribeira da Janela · Booking.com

About Ribeira da Janela its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$67 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 18h 05m

About 18h 05m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → FNC, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 1h by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.