Surf Camps in Peniche & Baleal, Portugal: 18 Compared (2026)
Compare 18 surf camps in Peniche & Baleal, Portugal: rated 4.6/5, 5-8ft swell. Learner waves: All year. Ratings, surf conditions and season side by side.
Praia do Baleal (10) · Supertubos (3) · Praia da Consolação (2) · Baleal (1) · Praia do Lagide (1) · Praia da Almagreira (1)
Meals included at 10 of the 12 camps that state it. Yoga offered at 11 camps. Video analysis of your surfing at 12 camps. As stated on each camp’s own website.
Peniche is where Portuguese surf tourism started: the country's first surf camp opened at Baleal in 1993, and the World Surf League still runs its Portuguese event at Supertubos. The peninsula points in two directions at once, which is the practical reason to come. When one side is blown out or too big, the other usually is not, and the camps run vans between them.
Baleal or Peniche town
The peninsula points in two directions at once — where you sleep decides which side you walk out onto.
Baleal · Best for learning
A sand isthmus with a sheltered bay on one side and an exposed beach on the other — walk out of the camp and be waist-deep in whitewater in two minutes. Where most of the camps are · Sheltered beginner bay.
Peniche · Closer to Supertubos
The town itself: closer to Supertubos and Consolação, further from the beginner scene — for people who already surf. Supertubos & Consolação · More town, fewer courses.
When to go: waves by month
How often each surf town here has waves for each level, month by month, 1995–2025. First lessons happen in the whitewater near the shore, so they are said in words; the other levels are named by what you can do and the size of the wave on the body. What’s my level? · How we calculate this
Peniche · 18 camps
First lessons (whitewater near the shore): Almost every day, all year.
| % of days | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First lessons | 98% | 98% | 99% | 99% | 100% | 99% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 98% | 99% |
| Too small | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Too big | 2% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| Beginner (green waves) | 66% | 65% | 68% | 77% | 86% | 91% | 94% | 93% | 86% | 75% | 65% | 67% |
| Intermediate | 90% | 89% | 90% | 82% | 73% | 61% | 57% | 54% | 68% | 83% | 87% | 90% |
| Advanced | 83% | 83% | 79% | 64% | 47% | 35% | 29% | 30% | 45% | 67% | 77% | 83% |
Beginner (green waves) (knee to chest high): most days, all year · Intermediate (chest high to just overhead): most days, all year · Advanced (head high and up): most days in Oct–Apr
Checked against the Monican01 buoy, 30 km away, over 2022-2025: the days for first lessons differ by 1 point a month on average.
Days that miss first lessons are too small when every learner spot is under 0.5 m, and too big when none is in the 0.5–2 m band and one is above it. The other levels are read on the face of the wave at its peak: beginner on green waves 0.6–1.2 m, intermediate 1.2–2 m, advanced 1.5 m and up.
What a surf week costs in Peniche
From €340 to €599 per person, median €495, across the 5 of 18 camps that publish a week with surf lessons included (each camp’s lowest).
Lowest published surf weeks
- G3Store Surf Center · from €340 (7 nights · shared room · 5 surf lessons · board and wetsuit)
- Ethic'Surf House · from €430 (stay €315 + surf course €115 · 7 nights · private room · not included (self-catering) · 3 surf lessons (6 h) · board and wetsuit)
- PKSC Peniche Kite & Surf Center · from €495 (7 nights · shared room · 8 surf lessons · board and wetsuit)
Figures from each camp’s own site, with the date on its page. Room, season and what is included differ, so compare the package, not only the price.
1. G3Store Surf Center
★ 5/5 (394 reviews) · Supertubos
Surf centre on Avenida Monsenhor Bastos in Peniche, combining a shop, school and camp close to Supertubos.
2. Ethic'Surf House
★ 4.5/5 (64 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Small surf house in Ferrel, about fifteen minutes' walk from the main Baleal beaches, run on an eco-conscious model.
3. PKSC Peniche Kite & Surf Center
★ 4.2/5 (205 reviews) · Supertubos
Kite and surf centre on Peniche's Cerro bay, teaching both disciplines depending on wind and swell.
4. PURE Peniche
★ 4.8/5 (102 reviews) · Baleal
A surf house beside Baleal in Peniche. Breakfast included. Yoga, SUP, video analysis, excursions and a gym run alongside the surfing. Stays run as fixed weekly packages.
Half board · Suite · Yoga · SUP · Video analysis · Excursions · Fitness
5. Boa Onda Guesthouse
★ 4.8/5 (259 reviews) · Praia da Consolação
Guesthouse in Atouguia da Baleia, inland from the Peniche peninsula, with surf packages covering the area's beaches.
6. Silver Coast Surf School
★ 5/5 (252 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Surf school in Casais do Baleal with lessons and accommodation, holding one of the highest Google ratings in Peniche.
7. SoulSurfcamp Portugal
★ 4.8/5 (135 reviews) · Praia do Lagide · from €40 per night
Apartments with their own kitchen, breakfast included, on Lagide Beach at the tip of the Baleal peninsula, with sea views and direct beach access. Guests book a whole apartment, a private room or a single bed in a bunk room; breakfast is included and every apartment has its own kitchen. The camp runs four-day small-group surf courses and private lessons, with boards and wetsuits for hire.
8. Baleal Surf Camp
★ 4.7/5 (272 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Portugal's first surf camp, running since 1993 on the Baleal campsite road. Lessons on the sheltered Baleal beach with hostel and apartment accommodation.
9. Alex Surf School
★ 4.7/5 (129 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Surf school and hostel on Baleal's Avenida do Mar, running multi-day camps with twice-daily lessons on the beach across the road.
10. Peniche Surf Lodge
★ 4.7/5 (94 reviews) · Supertubos
Surf lodge in Peniche's old town, a short walk from Papoa beach and within reach of Supertubos when it breaks. Lessons, accommodation and rentals.
11. Baleal Guest House
★ 4.7/5 (80 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Relaxed surf hostel two minutes from Baleal beach, aimed at people who want a base rather than a full camp programme.
12. Freesurf Camp & Hostel
★ 4.6/5 (88 reviews) · Praia da Almagreira
Family-run guest house and certified surf school in the village of Ferrel, 1.2 km from Almagreira Beach, with an outdoor pool, a fireplace lounge and a sea-view dining room. Private rooms only, from doubles to family rooms with bunk beds, and a buffet breakfast with every booking. Surf packs include board, wetsuit and a transfer to the beach; the advanced pack adds video analysis and surf-skate sessions. Arrival days are flexible.
Skateboarding · Video analysis
13. Shark's Lodge
★ 4.5/5 (174 reviews) · Praia da Consolação
Surf lodge set back from the coast between Peniche and Consolação, with transport to whichever beach is working that day.
14. Ferrel Surf House
★ 4.5/5 (264 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Family-run surf house 50 metres from Baleal beach, moved to its current seafront spot in 2024. Small groups and a quiet, home-style base.
15. Surfers Lodge Peniche
★ 4.5/5 (616 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Design-led surf hotel on Baleal's seafront with a pool and rooftop terrace, the most hotel-like option in the area.
16. RIDE Surf Resort & Spa
★ 4.5/5 (302 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Surf resort with a spa in Ferrel, a step up in comfort from the area's hostels while staying within reach of Baleal.
17. Peniche Surfcamp
★ 4.5/5 (320 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
Long-running camp on Baleal's main seafront, teaching on the beginner-friendly north side of the isthmus with surf, accommodation and board rental in one place.
18. The Salty Peniche
★ 4.3/5 (125 reviews) · Praia do Baleal
The Salty's Peniche house, on the Baleal seafront. Surf, yoga and a social-wellness format; sister property to their Ericeira and Cascais locations.
Supertubos is not a beginner wave
Supertubos breaks on a shallow sandbar and throws a hollow, fast barrel. It is the reason the WSL comes here and it is also the reason people get hurt. If you are in your first season, you will surf Baleal Norte and Praia do Baleal, and that is the right call. Even the camps closest to Supertubos teach somewhere else.
When to go
The camps flag September and October first, then April to June. Autumn brings the swell back while the water is still holding summer warmth, and the crowds thin after August. Winter works but is a different trip: bigger, colder, and more days when only the sheltered side is surfable. The water sits at 15-19°C: a 3/2 covers late summer and autumn, and you want a 4/3 from roughly November to May.
Getting there
Lisbon airport is about 75 minutes by road and most camps will arrange a transfer. There is a direct bus from Lisbon to Peniche if you would rather not pay for one. Once you are here, a car is optional at Baleal - the beach is at the end of the street - but useful if you want to chase conditions along the coast rather than surf whatever is in front of you.
Common questions
Is Peniche good for complete beginners?
Yes, at Baleal specifically. The north side of the isthmus is sheltered sand with a gentle gradient, and it is where every school here teaches. Supertubos, five kilometres away, is the opposite and is not part of a beginner course.
Peniche or Ericeira?
Ericeira has more consistent quality and a World Surfing Reserve's worth of reef; Peniche has two coasts to choose from on any given day, which matters more than it sounds when a week-long trip meets a bad forecast. Peniche is also the easier place to learn.
Do I need a car?
Not at Baleal, where the camps are a short walk from the beach. In Peniche town it is more useful. Most camps run vans to whichever beach is working, which is the point of staying at one rather than booking a hotel.