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Ribeira Dilhas, Portugal

Stay in Ericeira: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

Also within 20 km of Ericeira

All 22 on Ericeira's map

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Praia de Ribeira d'Ilhas 01
Ribeira Dilhas. Photo: GualdimG, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Ribeira Dilhas

Facing, offshore wind, exposure, level and swell range are estimated. Facts: verified, surf details estimated.

The spot faces W (269°), so it takes swell from the W. The wind blows offshore from the E (89°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up, because of a steep sea floor. It works in 2–8 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves very steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 8). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 15°C in January, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 18°C in June, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually January, with about 2 good days in 7. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Ericeira, 2.7 km away (about 5 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 14 surf spots and 1 wind sports spot.

Water about 18°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 13 h 30 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS), direct. About 4 flights a week that month.

    See flights ORD → LIS · Skyscanner from about £400 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 55 min from the airport to Ribeira Dilhas, 44 km.

    By train and bus: Metro de Lisboa, Carris Metropolitana. Time from the operators and travel guides, checked by hand.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in EriceiraAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire and lessons.

    Surf lessons in Ericeira · GetYourGuideAdBoard and wetsuit hire in Ericeira · GetYourGuideAd

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Ribeira Dilhas on Google Maps · Directions

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Forecast

The score for experts, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoorToo bigToo small

DayScoreSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct447 ft8 shollow577kJ23°C
Mon 19Oct285 ft7 shollow276kJ20°C
Tue 20Oct285 ft11 shollow573kJ17°C
Wed 21Oct296 ft9 shollow460kJ19°C
Thu 22Oct498 ft9 shollow1,043kJ18°C
Fri 23Oct398 ft9 shollow1,004kJ19°C
Sat 24Oct407 ft9 shollow756kJ17°C
Sun 25Oct537 ft9 shollow728kJ19°C
Mon 26Oct557 ft8 shollow530kJ20°C
Tue 27Oct436 ft10 shollow610kJ18°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Energy is the swell's power in kJ per metre of wave, from its height and interval: it grows with the square of each, so a long-period swell hits far harder than a short one the same size. The word under the swell is the wave's shape, our estimate from the sea floor. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to; offshore wind, blowing from the land out to sea, is green and says so.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago, for expert surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight ORD to LIS, then 55 min by road (or about 1h 45 by train and bus, one change). About 13h 30 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Rest day

    Nothing worth paddling out for: the best window scores 30 of 80.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Ribeira Dilhas

    Best 16:00 to 19:00 local time: 6 ft at 9 s, wind 12 kn (22 km/h).

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Praia Da Vigia

    Best 16:00 to 19:00 local time: 8 ft at 9 s, wind 3 kn (5 km/h).

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Praia do Sul

    Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 8 ft at 9 s, wind 9 kn (16 km/h).

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Sanguessuga

    Best 13:00 to 16:00 local time: 7 ft at 9 s, wind 12 kn (23 km/h).

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to LIS, then 55 min by road (or about 1h 45 by train and bus, one change). About 13h 30 door to door

The plan picks the best of 19 spots near Ericeira each day: Backdoor, Cave, Coxos, Crazy Left, Foz do Lizandro, Furnas, Limipicos, Malhadinha, Matadouro, Papuços, Pedra Branca, Praia Da Vigia, Praia do Norte, Praia do Sul, Reef, Ribeira Dilhas, Sanguessuga, São Julião, Sao Lourenco.

The trip from Ericeira, with every spot near it

Rough cost

About £890–£1,685 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to LIS, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag£400–£830
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£75–£130
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£160–£265
Food7 days eating out£150–£280
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£70–£115
Total£890–£1,685

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Places to eat near Ericeira

Within 2 km of the town centre, listed by how complete the listing is (website, opening hours, cuisine) and whether two sources name it. Not a judgement of the food: we have no reviews. Listings © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Overture Maps Foundation. Credits

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

Where to stayAd

Places to stay · Booking.com

In the waterAd

Surf lessons · GetYourGuide Board and wetsuit hire · GetYourGuide

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