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Praia de Cortegaça - Portugal
Cortegaça. Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Cortegaça

Surf spot · Portugal

Is it worth the trip?

45Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 2: 4 ft swell at 9 s

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 77 out of 100

Swell
4 ft9 ssoft
Energy
272kJ
Wind
NE 3 kn
Temp
15°C

Tue 3 · 20 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
22kJ
Wind
ENE 10 kn
Temp
17°C

Wed 4 · 36 out of 100

Swell
2 ft11 ssoft
Energy
82kJ
Wind
ENE 5 kn
Temp
14°C

Thu 5 · 53 out of 100

Swell
3 ft10 ssoft
Energy
118kJ
Wind
W 4 kn
Temp
14°C

Fri 6 · 44 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 ssoft
Energy
72kJ
Wind
SSE 3 kn
Temp
15°C

Sat 7 · 20 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 ssoft
Energy
36kJ
Wind
SE 7 kn
Temp
16°C

Sun 8 · 12 out of 100

Swell
1 ft9 ssoft
Energy
31kJ
Wind
SSE 13 kn
Temp
17°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 158, fair
  2. Mon 277, good
  3. Tue 320, too small
  4. Wed 436, too small
  5. Thu 553, fair
  6. Fri 644, too small
  7. Sat 720, too small
  8. Sun 812, too small
  9. Mon 949, fair
  10. Tue 1061, good

The spot in six facts

  • Faces Wtakes swell from the W
  • Offshore: Ewind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 16 °C3/2 wetsuit
  • Best Jan, Sep, Nov2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Cortegaça, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov58, fair6 ft10 ssoft8 ft at break (est.)546kJwind from the south-east, 3 knots, offshore16°C
Mon 2Nov77, good4 ft9 ssoft6 ft at break (est.)272kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots, offshore15°C
Tue 3Nov20, too small1 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)22kJwind from the east-north-east, 10 knots, offshore17°C
Wed 4Nov36, too small2 ft11 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)82kJwind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore14°C
Thu 5Nov53, fair3 ft10 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)118kJwind from the west, 4 knots14°C
Fri 6Nov44, too small2 ft9 ssoft4 ft at break (est.)72kJwind from the south-south-east, 3 knots15°C
Sat 7Nov20, too small2 ft9 ssoft3 ft at break (est.)36kJwind from the south-east, 7 knots16°C
Sun 8Nov12, too small1 ft9 ssoft2 ft at break (est.)31kJwind from the south-south-east, 13 knots17°C
Mon 9Nov49, fair4 ft6 smushy5 ft at break (est.)132kJwind from the south, 12 knots17°C
Tue 10Nov61, good5 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)191kJwind from the south-south-east, 9 knots17°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 NovLow 00:40 −0.9 mHigh 07:05 +1.1 mLow 13:33 −1.0 mHigh 19:54 +0.8 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 01:55 −0.8 mHigh 08:24 +1.0 mLow 14:56 −0.9 mHigh 21:19 +0.7 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 03:20 −0.8 mHigh 09:45 +1.0 mLow 16:16 −1.0 mHigh 22:36 +0.8 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, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates, a surf spot for intermediates: 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.

Photos of Cortegaça

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Cortegaça

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

The spot faces W (276°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (96°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very gently: 10 m deep about 2.3 km out (1 in 233). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would spill softly. The sea is about 14°C in January, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 18°C in July, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, September and November, with about 2 good days in 7; in July, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ovar, 9.6 km away (about 20 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots and 1 mountain bike area.

Water about 16°C: 3/2 wetsuit. 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$1,030–US$1,930 each

about US$1,030–US$1,930 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 OPO, estimated from distance and season, changing at JFK, full-service airlines, with a hold bagabout US$449–US$925
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$1,030–US$1,930

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

Closest

Esmoriz

7 min by car · 5 places to stay

about US$67/nightcountry average

See 5 places to stay in Esmoriz · Booking.com

About Esmoriz 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 16h 50m

About 16h 50m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → OPO, changing at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), then 55 min by road

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