Sines

Best Surf Season (October - March)

Sines is primed for the big stuff when the North Atlantic engine shifts into high gear. From October through March, average open-ocean swell heights run from 5.9ft (1.8m) in October up to 7.9ft (2.4m) in January, while average periods hold solidly in the 12-13 second range. The dominant deep-water direction is actually NW/WNW, but because the beach faces south, the standout days arrive when low-pressure systems tracking across the Atlantic push more S/SW and WSW groundswell toward the Portuguese coast. With offshore N/NNE/NE and NNW winds blowing roughly 50 percent of the time, there are plenty of windows with clean, lined-up surf. When the NAO index turns negative and storms are forced south into Iberia, Sines can fire at pumping, heavy winter standards.