Staying Home Sucks, home
Madeira - 003
Near Ponta do Pargo. Photo: Xosema, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ponta do Pargo

Surf spot · Portugal

Is it worth the trip?

14Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Tue 3: 3 ft swell at 8 s, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 19 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 shollow
Energy
87kJ
Wind
ENE 5 kn
Temp
21°C

Wed 4 · 13 out of 100

Swell
2 ft12 shollow
Energy
128kJ
Wind
SSE 7 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 15 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 shollow
Energy
180kJ
Wind
SE 12 kn
Temp
21°C

Fri 6 · 12 out of 100

Swell
3 ft5 shollow
Energy
49kJ
Wind
S 14 kn
Temp
21°C

Sat 7 · 3 out of 100

Swell
2 ft5 shollow
Energy
12kJ
Wind
S 19 kn
Temp
21°C

Sun 8 · 18 out of 100

Swell
6 ft9 sslab
Energy
513kJ
Wind
W 13 kn
Temp
20°C

Mon 9 · 0 out of 100

Swell
10 ft9 sslab
Energy
1,512kJ
Wind
SW 16 kn
Temp
21°C

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

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Mon 251, fair
  2. Tue 319, too small
  3. Wed 413, too small
  4. Thu 515, too small
  5. Fri 612, too small
  6. Sat 73, too small
  7. Sun 818, poor
  8. Mon 90, too big
  9. Tue 100, too big
  10. Wed 110, too big

The spot in five facts

  • Faces Wtakes swell from the W
  • Offshore: Ewind from the land
  • Intermediate +who it suits
  • Works 2–8 ftof swell
  • Water 22 °C2 mm shorty

Full forecast

every day, every number
Forecast and score for expert surfers at Ponta do Pargo, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Mon 2Nov51, fair5 ft11 sslab6 ft at break (est.)604kJwind from the south-east, 2 knots, offshore22°C
Tue 3Nov19, too small3 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.)87kJwind from the east-north-east, 5 knots, offshore21°C
Wed 4Nov13, too small2 ft12 shollow3 ft at break (est.)128kJwind from the south-south-east, 7 knots20°C
Thu 5Nov15, too small3 ft9 shollow4 ft at break (est.)180kJwind from the south-east, 12 knots21°C
Fri 6Nov12, too small3 ft5 shollow4 ft at break (est.)49kJwind from the south, 14 knots21°C
Sat 7Nov3, too small2 ft5 shollow2 ft at break (est.)12kJwind from the south, 19 knots21°C
Sun 8Nov18, poor6 ft9 sslab8 ft at break (est.)513kJwind from the west, 13 knots20°C
Mon 9Nov0, too big10 ft9 sslab12 ft at break (est.)1,512kJwind from the south-west, 16 knots21°C
Tue 10Nov0, too big11 ft9 sslab12 ft at break (est.)1,776kJwind from the west-south-west, 6 knots20°C
Wed 11Nov0, too big12 ft9 sslab11 ft at break (est.)2,152kJwind from the north-west, 9 knots19°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 01:02 −0.5 mHigh 07:33 +0.7 mLow 14:12 −0.6 mHigh 20:31 +0.5 m
  • Tue 3 NovLow 02:32 −0.5 mHigh 08:54 +0.8 mLow 15:32 −0.7 mHigh 21:46 +0.6 m
  • Wed 4 NovLow 03:48 −0.6 mHigh 10:03 +0.8 mLow 16:34 −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.

Map

the spot, its town, photos

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.

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.

Photos of Ponta do Pargo

Madeira - West Coast and Plateau DSC 0467
Photo: Michael Gaylard from Horsham, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

More surf near here

5 places

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Ponta do Pargo

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

The spot faces W (270°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (90°). It is sheltered to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 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 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 Jardim do Mar, 9.8 km away (about 20 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

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 
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$436–US$913
Hire car6 days, sharedabout US$101–US$174
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$181–US$302
Food7 days eating outabout US$201–US$376
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

Ad Links marked Ad may pay us if you book. You pay the same, and they never change a score. How we earn

Closest

Jardim do Mar

about 20 min by car · 26 places to stay

about US$67/nightcountry average

See 26 places to stay in Jardim do Mar · Booking.com

About Jardim 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 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

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

Saved: this link opens the same trip

Email itRemind me to book

The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.