Portugal surf guide
Surfing Ribeira d'Ilhas & Coxos
The world-class points that put Ericeira on the map
- Spots3
- LevelsAdvanced, Intermediate, Pro
- Best seasonSep-Apr
- RegionEriceira
The waves at Ribeira d'Ilhas & Coxos
Ribeira d'Ilhas
- Right Point
- Intermediate / Advanced / Pro
- 2-8 ft
- Sep-Apr
- Crowd 5/5
Ericeira's flagship wave, and the reason this stretch of coast became Europe's only World Surfing Reserve. Ribeira d'Ilhas is a long, workable right point breaking over a flat reef shelf, peeling in fast, punchy sections that reward a surfer who can generate speed and link turns down the line. It is consistent almost year-round and holds a genuine WSL Challenger Series event, which tells you everything about its quality.
The wave has multiple take-off zones depending on size: a mellower inside section near the beach for building confidence, and a longer, more powerful outside peak for the experienced crew when the swell has real size. Best from about waist-high to well overhead, it handles most of what the Atlantic throws at it without losing shape.
Come on a solid NW or W groundswell with light offshore or cross-shore wind, expect a serious local crowd on any good day, and treat the reef with respect at lower tides. Ribeira d'Ilhas is the wave every visiting surfer to Ericeira wants to tick off, and it rarely disappoints.
38.9825, -9.4239 · NW swell, offshore E wind
Coxos
- Right Point/Reef
- Advanced / Pro
- 3-10 ft
- Oct-Mar
- Crowd 4/5
Ask any well-travelled surfer for Europe's best wave and Coxos comes up fast. A long, powerful right-hand reef and point combination just north of Ribeira d'Ilhas, it links a hollow, punchy take-off to a series of walled-up sections that can run for a genuinely long ride when it's on. This is a wave built for high-performance surfing, not for finding your feet.
It needs a real swell to wake up properly, and when a solid NW groundswell lines up with light offshore wind, Coxos turns into one of the most complete righthanders in Europe: fast, hollow, and demanding constant speed management down the reef. The paddle and the line-up both require local knowledge, and the crowd here is famously tight-knit and skilled.
This is advanced-to-pro territory only, over a shallow, unforgiving reef. Watch it from the cliff first, learn where the locals sit, and only paddle out once you're certain you can handle the consequences of a mistake. When Coxos fires, it is genuinely world class.
38.99, -9.43 · Big NW swell, offshore wind
São Lourenço
- Right Rivermouth
- Advanced / Pro
- 2-6 ft
- Oct-Mar
- Crowd 3/5
A short, heavy right-hander breaking off a rivermouth point just north of Ribeira d'Ilhas, São Lourenço is the wave locals send visitors to when they want to see them humbled. It is fast, thick and shallow, throwing a genuine barrel section on its day that has drawn comparisons to a scaled-down Hawaiian wave, more attitude than length, but plenty of it.
The take-off is critical and unforgiving: a steep, sudden drop into a wave that stands up over a shifting sandbar and rock ledge at the river's mouth, with almost no room for hesitation. When it lines up on the right swell and tide it can produce genuinely world-class tube sections, but it rarely stays clean for long.
This is a spot for confident, experienced surfers only, and the line-up is small and territorial. Watch it for a full set from the point before deciding whether to paddle out, and never underestimate how quickly it can go from playful to punishing.
38.99, -9.435 · NW-W swell, low-mid tide
Where to stay near Ribeira d'Ilhas & Coxos
- Ribeira Surf House — Surf Guesthouse: Simple rooms metres from the point, run by locals who know the tide and swell better than any forecast.
- Ericeira Chill Hill — Surf Hostel: Sociable hillside hostel with a pool and shuttle to the points, popular with the travelling surf crowd.
- São Sebastião guesthouses — Guesthouse: Quiet clifftop village between Ribeira d'Ilhas and Coxos, a short walk to both.
Beyond the surf
- Ribeira d'Ilhas boardwalk: A clifftop walking trail overlooking the point, with a small surf-history museum at the beach.
Best time to surf Ribeira d'Ilhas & Coxos
Ribeira d'Ilhas & Coxos works best around Sep-Apr. See the full month-by-month breakdown for Portugal.
One strange surf spot a week
The Lineup: hippos that surf in Gabon, waves under smoking volcanoes in Kamchatka, one weird break in a weird place every week. No spam, always free.