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Baixa da Viola, Portugal

No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Ribeira Grande, 13 km away, is the nearest town we list.

Watch this spot We email you when Baixa da Viola is worth the trip.

About Baixa da Viola

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

The spot faces N (346°), so it takes swell from the N. The wind blows offshore from the S (166°). It is exposed to the open swell. It suits intermediate surfers and up. It works in 2–9 ft of swell. The sea floor shelves steeply: 10 m deep about 200 m out (1 in 18). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 16°C in March, its coldest month (3/2 wetsuit), and 24°C in August, its warmest (no wetsuit). For intermediate surfers the best month is usually August, with about 3 good days in 7; in January, February and March, about 0. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. No stay checked for this site yet: Ribeira Grande, 13 km away, is the nearest town we list.

Water about 22°C: 2 mm shorty. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

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From Chicago: about 15 h 10 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to PDL, changing at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

    See flights ORD → PDL · Skyscanner from about £335 returnAd
  2. Getting there. 50 min from the airport to Baixa da Viola.

  3. Accommodation.

    No town nearby

    No stay checked for this site yet: Ribeira Grande, 13 km away, is the nearest town we list.

  4. Hire and lessons.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Surf spot

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Forecast

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

Forecast and score for intermediate surfers at Baixa da Viola, each day
DayScore for intermediatesSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct51, good4 ft13 shollow445kJwind from the north-north-east, 6 knots20°C
Mon 19Oct7, poor5 ft7 smushy296kJwind from the east-north-east, 9 knots18°C
Tue 20Oct33, poor5 ft7 smushy214kJwind from the north-west, 6 knots18°C
Wed 21Oct14, poor6 ft8 scrumbling409kJwind from the south-south-east, 5 knots, offshore19°C
Thu 22Oct11, poor5 ft9 scrumbling399kJwind from the north-west, 5 knots19°C
Fri 23Oct51, good4 ft8 scrumbling230kJwind from the north-north-east, 4 knots19°C
Sat 24Oct56, good5 ft9 shollow331kJwind from the south-west, 3 knots20°C
Sun 25Oct63, good4 ft8 shollow163kJwind from the south-south-west, 6 knots, offshore20°C
Mon 26Oct41, fair3 ft8 shollow77kJwind from the south-south-west, 10 knots, offshore20°C
Tue 27Oct37, fair4 ft9 shollow209kJwind from the north-east, 10 knots18°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 intermediate surfers. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Fly ORD to PDL, changing at JFK, then 50 min by road. About 15h 10 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Surf Baixa da Viola

    Best 15:00 to 18:00 local time: 5 ft at 7 s, wind 6 kn (11 km/h).

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Surf Baixa da Viola

    Best 18:00 to 21:00 local time: 6 ft at 8 s, offshore wind.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Baixa da Viola

    Best 18:00 to 21:00 local time: 5 ft at 9 s, wind 5 kn (9 km/h).

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Baixa da Viola

    Best 18:00 to 21:00 local time: 4 ft at 8 s, wind 4 kn (8 km/h).

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Baixa da Viola

    Best 18:00 to 21:00 local time: 5 ft at 9 s, wind 3 kn (6 km/h).

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Fly ORD to PDL, changing at JFK, then 50 min by road. About 15h 10 door to door

Rough cost

About £665–£1,290 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book. No town nearby, so no stay is in it.

Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to PDL, estimated from distance and season, changing at JFK, full-service airlines, with a hold bag£335–£700
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Hire car6 days, shared£75–£130
Food7 days eating out£150–£280
Board and wetsuit5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£70–£115
Total£665–£1,290

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

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