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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), 3 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Tue 3 · 18 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 272kJ
- Wind
- E 8 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Wed 4 · 22 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 188kJ
- Wind
- SE 10 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Thu 5 · 23 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 110kJ
- Wind
- SSW 9 kn
- Temp
- 19°C
Fri 6 · 21 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 182kJ
- Wind
- WNW 1 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Sat 7 · 13 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 139kJ
- Wind
- NW 7 kn
- Temp
- 16°C
Sun 8 · 8 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft6 shollow
- Energy
- 103kJ
- Wind
- NW 19 kn
- Temp
- 18°C
Mon 9 · 14 out of 100
- Swell
- 8 ft10 sslab
- Energy
- 1,037kJ
- Wind
- NW 20 kn
- Temp
- 17°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 216, too small
- Tue 318, too small
- Wed 422, too small
- Thu 523, too small
- Fri 621, too small
- Sat 713, too small
- Sun 88, too small
- Mon 914, poor
- Tue 1023, poor
- Wed 1129, poor
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 | 16, too small | 3 ft6 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 66kJ | wind from the east-south-east, 10 knots | 19°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 18, too small | 4 ft10 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 272kJ | wind from the east, 8 knots | 18°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 22, too small | 4 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 188kJ | wind from the south-east, 10 knots | 18°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 23, too small | 3 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 110kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-west, 9 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 21, too small | 4 ft8 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 182kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 1 knot | 17°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 13, too small | 3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 139kJ | wind from the north-west, 7 knots | 16°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 8, too small | 4 ft6 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 103kJ | wind from the north-west, 19 knots | 18°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 14, poor | 8 ft10 sslab10 ft at break (est.) | 1,037kJ | wind from the north-west, 20 knots | 17°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 23, poor | 10 ft10 sslab12 ft at break (est.) | 1,788kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 18 knots | 16°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 29, poor | 11 ft10 sslab13 ft at break (est.) | 2,126kJ | wind from the north-north-west, 14 knots | 16°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
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
- Punta da Caldeira 0 km away
- Faja dos Cubres 3.6 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About 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$946–US$1,770 each
about US$946–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 2 November 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$369–US$765 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$101–US$174 |
| Stay | 6 nights, a mid-range double, shared | about US$181–US$302 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$201–US$376 |
| Board and wetsuit | 5 days, or about US$114 to fly your own | about US$94–US$154 |
| Total | about US$946–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
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
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 2 November 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 · AviasalesAdeSIM for your phone · Search on AiraloAd
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.