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Madalena do Mar - Portugal
Madalena do mar. Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Madalena do mar

Surf spot · Portugal

Is it worth the trip?

29Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Mon 2: 5 ft swell at 10 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 48 out of 100

Swell
5 ft10 shollow
Energy
385kJ
Wind
WSW 0 kn
Temp
19°C

Tue 3 · 18 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 shollow
Energy
109kJ
Wind
NNE 1 kn
Temp
19°C

Wed 4 · 13 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 shollow
Energy
61kJ
Wind
N 2 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 20 out of 100

Swell
3 ft10 shollow
Energy
161kJ
Wind
SSE 5 kn
Temp
19°C

Fri 6 · 32 out of 100

Swell
4 ft4 smushy
Energy
55kJ
Wind
S 4 kn
Temp
19°C

Sat 7 · 30 out of 100

Swell
4 ft4 smushy
Energy
45kJ
Wind
SE 5 kn
Temp
18°C

Sun 8 · 10 out of 100

Swell
5 ft7 smushy
Energy
199kJ
Wind
SSW 9 kn
Temp
18°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, too big
  2. Mon 248, fair
  3. Tue 318, too small
  4. Wed 413, too small
  5. Thu 520, too small
  6. Fri 632, too small
  7. Sat 730, too small
  8. Sun 810, poor
  9. Mon 911, poor
  10. Tue 1057, fair

The spot in five facts

  • Faces SWtakes swell from the SW
  • Offshore: NEwind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 5–19 ftof swell
  • Water 22 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number

Madalena do mar does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Madalena do mar, each day
DayScorefor Inter­mediateSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 1Nov0, too big7 ft11 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)926kJwind from the south-east, 8 knots17°C
Mon 2Nov48, fair5 ft10 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)385kJwind from the west-south-west, 0 knots19°C
Tue 3Nov18, too small3 ft9 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)109kJwind from the north-north-east, 1 knot, offshore19°C
Wed 4Nov13, too small2 ft9 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)61kJwind from the north, 2 knots, offshore20°C
Thu 5Nov20, too small3 ft10 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)161kJwind from the south-south-east, 5 knots19°C
Fri 6Nov32, too small4 ft4 smushy4 ft at break (est.)55kJwind from the south, 4 knots19°C
Sat 7Nov30, too small4 ft4 smushy4 ft at break (est.)45kJwind from the south-east, 5 knots18°C
Sun 8Nov10, poor5 ft7 smushy5 ft at break (est.)199kJwind from the south-south-west, 9 knots18°C
Mon 9Nov11, poor6 ft7 smushy4 ft at break (est.)306kJwind from the south-west, 4 knots16°C
Tue 10Nov57, fair5 ft6 smushy6 ft at break (est.)144kJwind from the south-south-east, 1 knot18°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 06:08 +0.7 mLow 12:40 −0.6 mHigh 19:01 +0.5 m
  • Mon 2 NovLow 00:58 −0.5 mHigh 07:29 +0.7 mLow 14:08 −0.6 mHigh 20:28 +0.5 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 02:28 −0.5 mHigh 08:50 +0.7 mLow 15:28 −0.7 mHigh 21:42 +0.6 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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More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Madalena do mar

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

The spot faces SW (214°), so it takes swell from the SW. The wind blows offshore from the NE (34°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 5–19 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 150 m out (1 in 15). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 19°C in January, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Madalena do Mar, 0 km away (about 5 min by car).

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

Closest

Madalena do Mar

1 min by car · 18 places to stay

about US$67/nightcountry average

See 18 places to stay in Madalena do Mar · Booking.com

About Madalena do Mar 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

About 18h door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → FNC, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 55 min by road

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