Contendas
Surf spot · Portugal
Is it worth the trip?
18Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 2: 4 ft swell at 6 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Mon 2 · 25 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 shollow
- Energy
- 105kJ
- Wind
- ENE 5 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Tue 3 · 12 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 91kJ
- Wind
- ENE 2 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Wed 4 · 17 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 141kJ
- Wind
- S 2 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Thu 5 · 13 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 143kJ
- Wind
- NNE 8 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Fri 6 · 4 out of 100
- Swell
- 1 ft11 shollow
- Energy
- 33kJ
- Wind
- SW 12 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Sat 7 · 15 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft5 shollow
- Energy
- 70kJ
- Wind
- S 6 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Sun 8 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 shollow
- Energy
- 118kJ
- Wind
- N 16 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 115, poor
- Mon 225, too small
- Tue 312, too small
- Wed 417, too small
- Thu 513, too small
- Fri 64, too small
- Sat 715, too small
- Sun 823, too small
- Mon 931, too small
- Tue 1049, fair
The spot in five facts
- Faces SEtakes swell from the SE
- Offshore: NWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–12 ftof swell
- Water 19 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 15, poor | 7 ft9 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 613kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 20 knots | 20°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 25, too small | 4 ft6 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 105kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 5 knots | 19°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 12, too small | 2 ft9 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 91kJ | wind from the east-north-east, 2 knots | 19°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 17, too small | 3 ft8 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 141kJ | wind from the south, 2 knots | 19°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 13, too small | 4 ft7 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 143kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 8 knots | 18°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 4, too small | 1 ft11 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 33kJ | wind from the south-west, 12 knots | 18°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 15, too small | 4 ft5 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 70kJ | wind from the south, 6 knots | 19°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 23, too small | 4 ft6 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 118kJ | offshorewind from the north, 16 knots, offshore | 18°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 31, too small | 6 ft7 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 327kJ | offshorewind from the north, 21 knots, offshore | 18°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 49, fair | 6 ft7 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 311kJ | offshorewind from the north-north-west, 9 knots, offshore | 18°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
- Sun 1 NovHigh 06:01 +0.5 mLow 12:33 −0.4 mHigh 18:44 +0.3 m
- Mon 2 NovLow 00:51 −0.4 mHigh 07:21 +0.5 mLow 13:59 −0.4 mHigh 20:11 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 02:15 −0.4 mHigh 08:39 +0.5 mLow 15:14 −0.5 mHigh 21:25 +0.4 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.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good days in a typical week, each month, for intermediate surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar0of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun1of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug1of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov0of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast.
Map
the spot and its town
Contendas on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for experts: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
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More surf near here
5 places
- Porto Martins 4.5 km away
- Santa Catarina 7.6 km away
- Praia da Vitoria 10 km away
- Baixa da Vila Nova 17 km away
- Baia das Quatro Ribeiras 21.2 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Contendas
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces SE (147°), so it takes swell from the SE. The wind blows offshore from the NW (327°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 3–12 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 6). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 16°C in February, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 24°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Praia da Vitória (Santa Cruz), 9.6 km away (about 20 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.
Water about 19°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$871–US$1,640 each
about US$871–US$1,640 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to TER, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$375–US$777 |
| Taxi | airport and back, shared | about US$20–US$33 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$181–US$301 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$201–US$375 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$94–US$154 |
| Total | about US$871–US$1,640 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: 2 towns
17 min by car · 14 places to stay
about US$67/nightcountry average
About Praia da Vitória (Santa Cruz) its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Angra do Heroísmo on Booking.com
22 min by car · 44 places to stay
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 15m
About 18h 15m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → TER, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 25 min by road
Flights ORD → TER on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.