Camper Vans & Surfing the Coast of Portugal
We Spent 2 Weeks Driving and Surfing up the Coast of Beautiful Portugal!
Quick video disclaimer… videos start at the beginning of week 2 as our hard drive crapped itself after week 1 and before we had a chance to back it up lol
Driving though Portugal, stopping and surfing some of the best waves at all of the beautiful beaches we found (basically, all of them along the entire western coast we drove up), and eating delicious food while camper vanning with good friends. Each morning, waking up to check the surf report and likely finding sunshine and good news and getting into the surf for an entire day. The invigorating feeling of the waves, sun, exercise and freedom. As usual, along the way we saw new sights, experienced new things, met a few new people and of course, pet all the new furry friends we could find.
Personally… I can’t imagine a better time.
Even for the non-surfers of our group (Hannah 😊), moving from beautiful place to next beautiful beach with the flexibility of a camper van proved pretty delightful!
Living Out of a Camper Van
So, our videos start about a week in as we arrive in Lisbon. But, the beginning of the trip before that was quite an adventure with the camper van we had… The type of adventure that had me reminiscing about driving a rickshaw across India… Most of the outlets didn’t work. The Wi-Fi wasn’t available even though we had ordered it (small thing for some, but definitely an issue for the full-time digital nomad!). The shower was a slight gurgle… You know, small things for the van you’ve rented to live out of… Just headache after headache after headache…
But, enough about that. It was a hassle we run into, but couldn’t ruin our time!
Things to expect from a fully functioning camper van:
- Power outlet plug on the outside of the van for charging the interior power sources and outlets
- Handy little spaces for your phone and USB devices etc. (some of these are actually quite clever)
- A seat and table for working or eating on – including a fun orange knob on the bottom of the drivers seat so it can turn around and be an extra chair at the table
- Different overhead and possibly under compartments for storage
- At least one or two overhead ventilation openings (be careful not to keep these open in case of rain so your electronics don’t get wet like ours did…)
- A fridge / electronic cooler (ours didn’t work… pretty certain it heated things up instead of cooling them down… the one in our friend’s van worked beautifully though)
- Various light switches – these typically run off an extra battery separate from the one that runs the van itself.
- Kitchen sink with running water tap
- Shower (ours barely dribbled at full pressure, so this mainly doubled as surf board storage)
- Bedroom setup – our camper van could sleep 4 and the main bed area was right up against the back door, with a bunk bed style mattress on top of it for another person.
- Various outlets and USB plugs for your electronics (majority of our didn’t work in our short straw van…)
- Wi-fi and other accessories like solar showers, bike racks, etc. (though when we turned up, they told us the wifi wasn’t available even though we ordered it. Yeah we got unlicky this time)
Pro Tip: Make sure to pay attention to whether your van takes petrol or diesel… don’t want to blow the van up!
Overall, we really were loving the camping experience!
Sights and Sounds on Portugal Week 1
Faro Island
First thing, Hannah and I flew into Faro in the south of Portugal with plans to drive up the coast towards Porto. After getting through the airport, we grabbed our camper vans and headed to Faro Island. Drove straight over the bridge and right into parking on the beach to catch the sunset.
Our first of many beaches in Portugal, so we jumped out of the van with some chairs, towels, and beers to sink in and full on enjoy the long stretch of sand. Once it got dark we moved the van to a closer spot on the beach and tucked in for our first night camping, and ready to get some surfing in the next day.
Needless to say, beautiful sunset!
The Algarve Coast
From Faro, we started making our way up the Algarve Coast towards Alvor, Portugal. A hurricane came through Spain and Ireland during this time so the swell along this coast got a bit dangerous. There were some activities along the way we were hoping to see but had to skip. Gotta stay safe!
We did get some spectacular views and interesting sights along the way though. Plus, getting used to our new (though, could be improved) camper vans.
All the beaches were beautiful, and we took advantage of walking along them and through the rock formations every chance we could. Even found a few beach bars hidden in the rocks!
Driving towards Figueira, Portugal
As we headed out from Alvor, we made our way along the Carrapateira Cliff Drive towards Amado beach. Highly recommend the cliff drive! Standing at the top looking out over the ocean is quite a sight to see.
And from there, we continued on our hunt for waves for good surf and body boarding. The popular Amado beach did not disappoint. They have things for beginners and seasoned surfers, and it was quite a cool place to hang out.
After spending a bit of time there, we moved on to Sagres. Another popular surf spot (the main theme of our Portugal trip). It also has a nice little town and fortress to scope out.
To end the day, we took the 15 min drive to Figueira to park the vans for the night. We were also able to stop in at the ‘Restaurante O Sapinho’ for some delicious dining, and a local flavor feel.
Lagos, Portugal
We decided to spend 2 nights in Lagos, and ended up at a campsite with not the best reviews but turned out to be alright. Sometimes going to a spot in the off vs busy season can really make a difference, and we were there at a slower time. Main odd thing, no seats on the toilets… but that’s a travel oddity that’s more common than you think and doesn’t ruffle our feathers.
Now Lagos is a town with traditional charm and beautiful beaches, but is also more than a little famous for it’s nightlife. And for us, it did not disappoint! Thankfully… the day after our full on night out it rained and so we didn’t feel too guilty about our extended recovery time in the camper…
Do be sure to take some time to see the town though. We walked about the next morning and explored a bit, and it’s a great example of the traditional Portuguese style but with it’s own history and character. Would definitely recommend giving Lagos at least a couple days.
Praia de Sao Torpes
FYI Praia is beach in English
As we headed out of Lagos, we went on an escapade for a secret beach that a connection of Hannah’s told her about. But, we were sworn to secrecy so can’t disclose 😉
When we got there though, we couldn’t for the life of us figure out how to get down the cliffs to the actual beach… But hey, we were in a beautiful spot on the coast of Portugal with not another soul around! So we sat down and had a picnic on the edge of a cliff. If you’re in Portugal (or anywhere really) and have a chance to trek out and explore on your own, definitely recommend taking the chance to do so!
From there, we headed to Praia de Sao Torpes and more surfing and body boarding. Camped here for the night. Great place to end a great day.
Quick stop: Praia de Santo in Antonio da Caparica
Here if the swell is good and you’re able to stop by, it’s highly recommended. As surfing was one of the main things for our trip we made sure to stop for a couple hours before continuing on to Lisbon. The beach is long and broken up with rock walls every couple hundred metres that help with the breaks of the waves. For our non-surfers on the trip, it has many restaurants and cafes lining the shore to choose from.
Portugal Week 2
Lisbon
Once we had driven and surfed our way up from the south coast of Portugal to the capital of Lisbon, we stopped in at one of the fancier campsites we’ve stayed at. Time for the proper washing of clothes, and catching up on a few necessary things. After a week on the road it was refreshing to take a solid shower, clean up all our clothes (we took up all the washers for a bit), and get smelling nice 😉
One of the first necessary things of course, is pancakes. You can’t go camping without making pancakes!
Then, we headed off into Lisbon for a walk about and to see the sights as it was a gorgeous sunny day. After a nice walk around the city, we ended up finding a good roof top bar. At moments the city reminded me of San Francisco, and the view from the bar included a bridge reminiscent of the Golden Gate bridge… I haven’t seen the Golden Gate Bridge in person, but it sure looks like the pictures.
Overall, Lisbon is a cool and artsy city. It’s bigger than we were expecting, and is busy with a lot of traffic. Apparently, it’s one of the new havens for digital nomads (and hipsters). Our general consensus, would be up for coming back and staying for about a week but it’s not on our personal list of cities we would live in for a month or so. For the more long term, we tend towards the more low key spots.
By the end of the night, we ended up in an Irish pub. Having just been in Ireland, a shot and a Guinness was not what we were expecting to do in Lisbon… but we were definitely not complaining! Ireland, we already miss ya. Lisbon, you’re a great city!
All in all, great time in Lisbon. But first, we had to get picked up…
Using Uber (or any rideshare service) in a foreign country…
Needless to say, it can get tricky… The apps are the same and simple overall, but it can be a little hectic when you don’t have a phone number that corresponds to the country that you’re currently in.
If the driver can’t find you right away, they’re likely to call. But since your number isn’t based in the same country they’re calling from they can’t get through. Plus, trying to connect and find a place to meet in a place you may be in for the first time so you’re not familiar with the streets.
So we get rides canceled on us quite a bit… and confused on our own quite a bit… but it’s still super handy and works out in the end 🙂
Waves in Lisbon
Lisbon isn’t just great for the in-town life, we were also there for surfing! Pretty much each day we ate some food, searched for waves, had afternoon beers. And repeat. And the swell looked good too, waves all week!
There was even a WCT, one of the leagues where some of the best surfers in the world join and travel around the world with, competition not too far from us that we thought about checking out in the next few days. Just to give you an idea of how great the surfing can get in Portugal.
And something especially exciting… we got a NEW VAN! Same company, but we had been having a lot of problems so when we brought it into the depot they upgraded our van. This was basically moving house and a significant upgrade to a functional home. Now we’ve got plugs that work, Wifi on board, a shower that has actual water pressure… living the high life!
We took our brand new shiny van right to a car park straight on a beach with 34 ft ocean lumps and a great day of surfing. The waves did not disappoint, we had such a good surf!
Afterwards, we used our new in-van wifi to get some work done, and have a nap. Another good day surfing Portugal 🙂
Carcavelos
This spot seemed to be a little more commercial than some of the beaches we had been to, but the surf was great! We ended up going out multiple times throughout the day and had the best time and waves. Since the surfing was great all day, decided to stay overnight and set up camp in a dirt car park on the other side of the street.
Next morning, got up bright and early. However, the spot where we parked the waves had died down unexpectedly. So, the thing to do (especially since no one was awake yet)? Get in the van, and start driving! (that should wake them up, right?).
Made it to the next beach, found some great waves, chased some seagulls, and got some footage of my mate bodyboarding 🤙
Ericeira via Sintra
Next, off we were to Ericeira, Portugal. On the way the waves were a bit rough as we went along and were looking for a place to paddle out for a bit. But all the reports were saying to expect good waves for the week so we weren’t worried.
One thing about driving in some of these towns in Portugal in a camper van though, is they can be a tight fit. There were a few spots where I was just hoping a train wasn’t going to jump out from around the corner. Also, some “not sure if we’re going to make it” scenarios when another car was coming in the opposite direction… We didn’t know if squeezing by without any damage was going to work… but thankfully, came out alright!
On the way to Ericeira, we stopped off in Sintra for a bit to get something to eat. Getting into Sintra and finding a place to park proved especially hectic, but we made it! And this was a town Hannah was keen on stopping in, so we took a quick look. Plus, we were hungry. And we needed some groceries and supplies.
At least we found a cat.
Then… we arrived at Ericeira…
We immediately loved it. The colours and architecture reminded us of the Greek islands. High contender for a spot where we spend a month or more in the coming year. Hannah even said it was one of her favourite places of the trip so far! – That’s saying something.
We drove around, had a long walk on the beach and through town, and found a car park at the edge of the cliff right next to the beach and with an amazing view where we were able to stay for the night.
Weren’t 100% sure if we were allowed to camp there for the night, so we pulled up into the corner to be a bit inconspicuous and cooked up a chicken dinner. Overall, Portugal has been good to us and we’ve rarely been told to bugger off, but always good to keep it low key.
One thing I learned to do while camping, is how to make a S’more. I’d never heard of it before this trip! Apparently I had been missing out… and now I want s’more. (pun)
The next day, the waves in Ericeira did not disappoint…
At the end of the day we were sitting on the beach waiting for the sunset… We ate some delicious cheese and crackers… made sausages for dinner… and all at the end of a great day of surfing.
One of those moments in life where you have to sit back and appreciate how great things are!
Over the trip, our dinner meals rotated from chicken to pasta, to sausages, and back to chicken. Gotta keep it simple while in a camper van. Or we just eat out. But I’m definitely not complaining!
Peniche, Nazare & the End of the Portugal Surf Trip
By this point, we loved the camper van and seriously considered getting one for ourselves and living out of it.
After an early morning surf in Peniche, Portugal we walked around the beach for a bit and got some good eats.
From there, we drove around an island that was mostly a one way street on the beach and over the sand. Narrow streets by houses all on the cliff side overlooking the beaches. I bet staying there would be pretty sick, but also likely pricey. As we were driving down the section across the sandbank, I kept wondering if they ever had a big swell that came through and washed the cars off…
Though, I wouldn’t complain about being stranded on the island for a bit…
Then we made our way to Nazare
This is one of the best big wave spots in the world and where some of the best surfers in the world come to. Some of them were out there for a competition while we were there, putting on a show!
Waves were a little bit out of my league though… but so good to watch! They were some of the biggest waves we had ever seen!
So here’s to Portugal – sunshine, big waves, and pasta!
More Reading & Resources:
- How To Start A Blog For The Price Of A Coffee
- Camera, Drone and Gear List I Use
- How I Earn A Living While Traveling Full-Time
- Verdon Gorge, France – Relaxation + Adventure!
- Additional Travels and Suggestions
If you enjoyed this, please share it! 🤙
6 Comments
Leave your reply.