Punta da Caldeira
Surf spot · Portugal
Is it worth the trip?
19Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: too small (3 ft swell at 8 s), sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Tue 3 · 17 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 163kJ
- Wind
- SE 5 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Wed 4 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 175kJ
- Wind
- ESE 7 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Thu 5 · 24 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 112kJ
- Wind
- WSW 7 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 43kJ
- Wind
- SSW 5 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Sat 7 · 8 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 35kJ
- Wind
- WNW 9 kn
- Temp
- 14°C
Sun 8 · 5 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft5 shollow
- Energy
- 46kJ
- Wind
- WNW 12 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Mon 9 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft10 sslab
- Energy
- 1,172kJ
- Wind
- NNW 25 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 220, too small
- Tue 317, too small
- Wed 422, too small
- Thu 524, too small
- Fri 618, too small
- Sat 78, too small
- Sun 85, too small
- Mon 922, poor
- Tue 1058, fair
The spot in five facts
- Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
- Offshore: SWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–14 ftof swell
- Water 19 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
| Day | Score for experts | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 20, too small | 4 ft6 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 98kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 11 knots | 19°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 17, too small | 3 ft9 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 163kJ | wind from the south-east, 5 knots | 18°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 22, too small | 4 ft9 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 175kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 7 knots | 18°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 24, too small | 3 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 112kJ | offshorewind from the west-south-west, 7 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 18, too small | 2 ft7 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 43kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-west, 5 knots, offshore | 18°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 8, too small | 2 ft7 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 35kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 9 knots | 14°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 5, too small | 3 ft5 shollow1 ft at break (est.) | 46kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 12 knots | 18°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 22, poor | 8 ft10 sslab11 ft at break (est.) | 1,172kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 25 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 58, fair | 6 ft8 sslab8 ft at break (est.) | 442kJ | offshorewind from the west-south-west, 4 knots, offshore | 17°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 00:46 −0.4 mHigh 07:17 +0.5 mLow 13:54 −0.4 mHigh 20:05 +0.3 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 02:11 −0.4 mHigh 08:35 +0.5 mLow 15:10 −0.5 mHigh 21:19 +0.4 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 03:23 −0.4 mHigh 09:41 +0.6 mLow 16:11 −0.5 mHigh 22:18 +0.5 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).
- 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
- Sep0of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct0of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov0of 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
Punta da Caldeira 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
2 places
- Caldeira 0 km away
- Faja dos Cubres 3.6 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Punta da Caldeira
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NE (30°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (210°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 3–14 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 3). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hard and thick, like a slab. 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 Ribeira Seca, 5.7 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots.
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 PIX, 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: 2 towns
about 10 min by car
about US$67/nightcountry average
About Ribeira Seca its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Calheta on Booking.com
about 15 min by car · 7 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 19h 05m
About 19h 05m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → PIX, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 1h 05m by road
Flights ORD → PIX on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.