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Fajã Grande
Surf spot · Portugal
Is it worth the trip?
31Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Tue 3: 6 ft swell at 9 s, onshore wind, 12 kn (23 km/h)
Tue 3 · 44 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft9 scrumbling
- Energy
- 570kJ
- Wind
- NNE 12 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Wed 4 · 43 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft8 scrumbling
- Energy
- 404kJ
- Wind
- NNE 4 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Thu 5 · 21 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 109kJ
- Wind
- W 3 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Fri 6 · 29 out of 100
- Swell
- 6 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 449kJ
- Wind
- SW 8 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Sat 7 · 28 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 199kJ
- Wind
- WNW 4 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Sun 8 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 171kJ
- Wind
- N 19 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Mon 9 · 14 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft7 smushy
- Energy
- 194kJ
- Wind
- N 8 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 261, good
- Tue 344, poor
- Wed 443, too small
- Thu 521, too small
- Fri 629, too small
- Sat 728, too small
- Sun 89, too small
- Mon 914, too small
- Tue 107, too small
The spot in five facts
- Faces Wtakes swell from the W
- Offshore: Ewind from the land
- Expertwho it suits
- Works 3–20 ftof swell
- Water 19 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 61, good | 6 ft9 shollow8 ft at break (est.) | 638kJ | wind from the south, 3 knots | 21°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 44, poor | 6 ft9 scrumbling8 ft at break (est.) | 570kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 12 knots | 17°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 43, too small | 6 ft8 scrumbling7 ft at break (est.) | 404kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 4 knots | 19°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 21, too small | 4 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.) | 109kJ | wind from the west, 3 knots | 18°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 29, too small | 6 ft9 shollow7 ft at break (est.) | 449kJ | wind from the south-west, 8 knots | 18°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 28, too small | 4 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 199kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 4 knots | 16°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 9, too small | 4 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 171kJ | wind from the north, 19 knots | 18°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 14, too small | 5 ft7 smushyunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 194kJ | wind from the north, 8 knots | 16°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 7, too small | 2 ft10 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 69kJ | wind from the west-south-west, 8 knots | 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
- Mon 2 NovLow 00:26 −0.3 mHigh 06:59 +0.4 mLow 13:39 −0.3 mHigh 19:44 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 01:52 −0.3 mHigh 08:17 +0.4 mLow 14:56 −0.4 mHigh 21:00 +0.3 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 03:07 −0.3 mHigh 09:23 +0.4 mLow 15:55 −0.4 mHigh 22:00 +0.3 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 expert surfers, from 2016 on (history scored the same way).
- Jan1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May0of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 Nov
- Dec1of 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
Fajã Grande 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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About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Fajã Grande
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces W (278°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (98°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits expert surfers. It works in 3–20 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 16). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 16°C in March, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 24°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Fajã Grande, 0 km away (about 5 min by car).
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$945–US$1,770 each
about US$945–US$1,770 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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to HOR, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$368–US$764 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$100–US$174 |
| 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$945–US$1,770 |
For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: Fajã Grande
1 min by car · 11 places to stay
about US$67/nightcountry average
About Fajã Grande 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 22h 30m
About 22h 30m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → HOR, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 4h 30m by road
Flights ORD → HOR on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.