Staying Home Sucks, home
Ribeira da Janela (Madeira, Portugal), Ilheus da Janela -- 2025 -- 1584
Ribeira da Janela. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Ribeira da Janela

Surf spot · Portugal

Is it worth the trip?

50Fair out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Best on Thu 5: 3 ft swell at 9 s, 4 hours of offshore wind, sheltered (estimated): holds up in a blow

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Tue 3 · 48 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 shollow
Energy
115kJ
Wind
NE 3 kn
Temp
20°C

Wed 4 · 66 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 shollow
Energy
134kJ
Wind
ESE 3 kn
Temp
20°C

Thu 5 · 68 out of 100

Swell
3 ft9 shollow
Energy
173kJ
Wind
S 9 kn
Temp
21°C

Fri 6 · 36 out of 100

Swell
2 ft9 shollow
Energy
88kJ
Wind
SSW 17 kn
Temp
22°C

Sat 7 · 53 out of 100

Swell
4 ft6 shollow
Energy
97kJ
Wind
SSW 20 kn
Temp
21°C

Sun 8 · 16 out of 100

Swell
3 ft8 shollow
Energy
124kJ
Wind
SSW 16 kn
Temp
22°C

Mon 9 · 0 out of 100

Swell
9 ft9 shollow
Energy
1,057kJ
Wind
WSW 21 kn
Temp
21°C

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

Forecast: next 9 days

Full forecast
  1. Tue 348, fair
  2. Wed 466, good
  3. Thu 568, good
  4. Fri 636, too small
  5. Sat 753, fair
  6. Sun 816, poor
  7. Mon 90, too big
  8. Tue 1019, poor
  9. Wed 110, 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.

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Ribeira da Janela, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Tue 3Nov48, fair3 ft8 shollow4 ft at break (est.)115kJwind from the north-east, 3 knots20°C
Wed 4Nov66, good3 ft8 shollow5 ft at break (est.)134kJwind from the east-south-east, 3 knots20°C
Thu 5Nov68, good3 ft9 shollow4 ft at break (est.)173kJwind from the south, 9 knots, offshore21°C
Fri 6Nov36, too small2 ft9 shollow1 ft at break (est.)88kJwind from the south-south-west, 17 knots, offshore22°C
Sat 7Nov53, fair4 ft6 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)97kJwind from the south-south-west, 20 knots, offshore21°C
Sun 8Nov16, poor3 ft8 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)124kJwind from the south-south-west, 16 knots, offshore22°C
Mon 9Nov0, too big9 ft9 shollowunder 1 ft at break (est.)1,057kJwind from the west-south-west, 21 knots21°C
Tue 10Nov19, poor4 ft8 shollow3 ft at break (est.)189kJwind from the south-west, 15 knots, offshore20°C
Wed 11Nov0, too big9 ft9 shollow6 ft at break (est.)1,132kJwind from the west-north-west, 11 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

  • 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
  • Thu 5 NovLow 04:49 −0.7 mHigh 11:00 +0.9 mLow 17:24 −0.9 mHigh 23:32 +0.8 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 intermediates: 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 Ribeira da Janela

Ribeira da Janela (Madeira, Portugal), Ilheuzinho und Ilheus da Rib -- 2025 -- 1575
Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Madeira em Abril de 2011 IMG 1498
Photo: jad99 from Graz, Austria, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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More surf near here

5 places

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 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

Ribeira da Janela

about 5 min by car · 1 place to stay

about US$67/nightcountry average

See 1 place to stay in Ribeira da Janela · Booking.com

About Ribeira da Janela 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.

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