Cova da Alfarroba

Best Surf Season (October - March)

The North Atlantic's storm track is the engine that drives Cova da Alfarroba, and the best surf of the year arrives between October and March. Average swell heights run from 7ft (2.1m) to 9ft (2.8m) with periods often exceeding 12 seconds. This is when extratropical cyclones spinning up off Greenland and Newfoundland aim long-period NNW, NW and WNW groundswell at Portugal's west coast. The beach is directly exposed to the north, so these are the angles that shape the best waves. Wind is the critical filter: ideal offshore flow from the south/southwest flows between 21% and 27% of the time, usually ahead of cold fronts. Those frontal windows produce the classic firing days - big, lined-up, heavy surf under autumn-winter skies.