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Ribeira da Janela
Surf spot · Portugal
Is it worth the trip?
46Fair out of 100 for your dates
Best on Thu 5: 3 ft swell at 9 s, 4 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Tue 3 · 44 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 113kJ
- Wind
- NNE 4 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Wed 4 · 60 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 123kJ
- Wind
- S 3 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Thu 5 · 67 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 158kJ
- Wind
- S 6 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Fri 6 · 41 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft5 shollow
- Energy
- 39kJ
- Wind
- S 10 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Sat 7 · 41 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft5 shollow
- Energy
- 46kJ
- Wind
- SSW 17 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Sun 8 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft6 shollow
- Energy
- 162kJ
- Wind
- SSW 24 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Mon 9 · 0 out of 100
- Swell
- 7 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 530kJ
- Wind
- SW 22 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 9 days
Full forecast- Mon 271, good
- Tue 344, poor
- Wed 460, good
- Thu 567, good
- Fri 641, poor
- Sat 741, poor
- Sun 823, poor
- Mon 90, too big
- Tue 100, too big
The spot in five facts
- Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
- Offshore: SWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–12 ftof swell
- Water 22 °C2 mm shorty
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know rips, currents, rocks or your skill.
Ribeira da Janela does not suit beginners. This is the forecast for intermediates, so you can see what it does.
| Day | Scorefor Intermediate | Swell | Energy | Wind | Temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2Nov | 71, good | 4 ft10 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 340kJ | wind from the north, 2 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 44, poor | 3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 113kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 4 knots | 20°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 60, good | 3 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 123kJ | wind from the south, 3 knots | 20°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 67, good | 3 ft9 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 158kJ | offshorewind from the south, 6 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 41, poor | 3 ft5 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 39kJ | offshorewind from the south, 10 knots, offshore | 22°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 41, poor | 3 ft5 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 46kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-west, 17 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 23, poor | 5 ft6 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 162kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-west, 24 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 0, too big | 7 ft8 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 530kJ | wind from the south-west, 22 knots | 20°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 0, too big | 13 ft8 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 2,152kJ | wind from the north-west, 12 knots | 19°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 01:03 −0.5 mHigh 07:33 +0.7 mLow 14:12 −0.7 mHigh 20:31 +0.5 m
- Tue 3 NovLow 02:31 −0.5 mHigh 08:54 +0.8 mLow 15:31 −0.7 mHigh 21:45 +0.6 m
- Wed 4 NovLow 03:48 −0.6 mHigh 10:03 +0.8 mLow 16:33 −0.8 mHigh 22:44 +0.7 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
- Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov1of 7: a trip from Tue 3 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, its town, photos
Ribeira da Janela on Google Maps · Directions
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.
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One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Photos of Ribeira da Janela
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Live webcam
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Live webcam
PORTO MONIZ NATURAL POOLS WEBCAM, 3 km away
Porto Moniz Cam, Madeira, 2 km away
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More surf near here
5 places
- Contreira 1.5 km away
- Porto Moniz 2.5 km away
- Achadas da Cruz 5.9 km away
- Ponta do Pargo 10.7 km away
- São Vicente 11.9 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Ribeira da Janela
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NE (42°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (222°). 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 5). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hard and thick, like a slab. The sea is about 18°C in March, its coldest month (2 mm shorty), and 24°C in September, its warmest (no wetsuit). The town to stay in is Ribeira da Janela, 0 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots, 1 wind sports spot and 1 mountain bike area.
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
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to FNC, estimated from distance and season, changing at LIS, full-service airlines, with a hold bag | about US$435–US$911 |
| 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$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
about 5 min by car · 1 place to stay
about US$67/nightcountry average
About Ribeira da Janela its beds, food and every spot near it
- Beds in Porto Moniz on Booking.com
about 5 min by car · 16 places to stay
- Beds in São Vicente on Booking.com
about 20 min by car · 20 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 05m
About 18h 05m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → FNC, changing at Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), then 1h by road
Flights ORD → FNC on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.