
Contreira
Surf spot · Portugal
Is it worth the trip?
33Poor out of 100 for your dates
Best on Mon 9: 9 ft swell at 9 s, 4 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow
Tue 3 · 20 out of 100
- Swell
- 3 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 95kJ
- Wind
- NE 4 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Wed 4 · 29 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 158kJ
- Wind
- E 1 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Thu 5 · 31 out of 100
- Swell
- 4 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 138kJ
- Wind
- S 6 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Fri 6 · 14 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft7 shollow
- Energy
- 36kJ
- Wind
- SSW 16 kn
- Temp
- 22°C
Sat 7 · 9 out of 100
- Swell
- 2 ft10 shollow
- Energy
- 41kJ
- Wind
- SW 19 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Sun 8 · 26 out of 100
- Swell
- 5 ft8 shollow
- Energy
- 254kJ
- Wind
- WSW 18 kn
- Temp
- 20°C
Mon 9 · 68 out of 100
- Swell
- 9 ft9 shollow
- Energy
- 1,144kJ
- Wind
- SW 19 kn
- Temp
- 21°C
Tap a day for waves, wind and the temperature. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Mon 240, too small
- Tue 320, too small
- Wed 429, too small
- Thu 531, too small
- Fri 614, too small
- Sat 79, too small
- Sun 826, too small
- Mon 968, good
- Tue 1060, good
- Wed 1152, fair
The spot in five facts
- Faces NEtakes swell from the NE
- Offshore: SWwind from the land
- Intermediate +who it suits
- Works 3–10 ftof swell
- Water 22 °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 | 40, too small | 5 ft11 sslab5 ft at break (est.) | 543kJ | wind from the north-north-east, 3 knots | 21°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 20, too small | 3 ft7 shollow4 ft at break (est.) | 95kJ | wind from the north-east, 4 knots | 20°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 29, too small | 4 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 158kJ | wind from the east, 1 knot | 20°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 31, too small | 4 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.) | 138kJ | offshorewind from the south, 6 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 14, too small | 2 ft7 shollow3 ft at break (est.) | 36kJ | offshorewind from the south-south-west, 16 knots, offshore | 22°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 9, too small | 2 ft10 shollow2 ft at break (est.) | 41kJ | offshorewind from the south-west, 19 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 26, too small | 5 ft8 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 254kJ | offshorewind from the west-south-west, 18 knots, offshore | 20°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 68, good | 9 ft9 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 1,144kJ | offshorewind from the south-west, 19 knots, offshore | 21°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 60, good | 10 ft9 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.) | 1,422kJ | offshorewind from the south-west, 10 knots, offshore | 19°C |
| Wed 11Nov | 52, fair | 11 ft10 shollow9 ft at break (est.) | 1,901kJ | wind from the west-north-west, 9 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 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 and its town
Contreira 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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PORTO MONIZ NATURAL POOLS WEBCAM, 4 km away
Porto Moniz Cam, Madeira, 4 km away
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More surf near here
5 places
- Ribeira da Janela 1.5 km away
- Porto Moniz 3.7 km away
- Achadas da Cruz 7.2 km away
- São Vicente 10.4 km away
- Faja da Areia 11 km away
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About Contreira
Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated.
The spot faces NE (32°), so it takes swell from the NE. The wind blows offshore from the SW (212°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 3–10 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 50 m out (1 in 4). 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 Porto Moniz, 3.7 km away (about 10 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 2 surf spots, 2 wind sports spots, 1 kayak 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 2 November 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$436–US$913 |
| 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$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
Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn
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 10 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 2 November 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 · 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.