Back to results

Malhão, Portugal

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

Also within 20 km of Porto Covo

Watch this spot We email you when Malhão is worth the trip.

Porto Covo - Portugal 🇵🇹
Porto Covo, the nearest town, 7 km away. Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About Malhão

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 steeply: 10 m deep about 100 m out (1 in 12). On a typical 5 ft, 11 s swell the waves here would break hollow. The sea is about 15°C in February, its coldest month (4/3 wetsuit and boots), and 19°C in August, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For intermediate surfers the best months are usually January, September, October and November, with about 2 good days in 7; in July, about 0. From the weather of past years. The town to stay in is Porto Covo, 7.2 km away (about 15 min by car). Within 5 km we also list 1 surf spot.

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

Saved: this link opens the same trip

Email itRemind me to book

The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.

Book the trip

From Chicago: about 14 h 50 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. 2 h 20 from the airport to Malhão.

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Porto CovoAd

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

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

    See all places to stay in Porto Covo (ad) 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.

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Forecast

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

Forecast and score for expert surfers at Malhão, each day
DayScore for expertsSwellEnergyWindTemp
Sun 18Oct46, fair6 ft8 shollow392kJwind from the east, 10 knots, offshore25°C
Mon 19Oct16, too small3 ft7 shollow105kJwind from the east-north-east, 4 knots, offshore21°C
Tue 20Oct28, too small4 ft12 shollow468kJwind from the north-west, 5 knots19°C
Wed 21Oct23, too small4 ft10 shollow246kJwind from the north-west, 3 knots20°C
Thu 22Oct41, fair6 ft9 shollow549kJwind from the north-north-east, 2 knots18°C
Fri 23Oct44, fair6 ft9 shollow555kJwind from the south-west, 2 knots20°C
Sat 24Oct38, fair7 ft9 shollow644kJwind from the north, 10 knots17°C
Sun 25Oct32, too small5 ft9 shollow405kJwind from the north, 6 knots20°C
Mon 26Oct49, good6 ft9 shollow554kJwind from the north, 3 knots23°C
Tue 27Oct28, too small5 ft8 shollow250kJwind from the north-west, 4 knots22°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 2h 20 by road. About 14h 50 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Rest day

    Too small: 4 ft at best.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Surf Malhão

    Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 6 ft at 9 s, wind 2 kn (4 km/h).

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Surf Malhão

    Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 6 ft at 9 s, wind 2 kn (3 km/h).

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Surf Sao Torpes

    Best 10:00 to 13:00 local time: 7 ft at 9 s, offshore wind.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight ORD to LIS, then 2h 20 by road. About 14h 50 door to door

The plan picks the best of 7 spots near Porto Covo each day: Aivados, Baia, Malhão, Porto Covo, Praia da Vieirinha, Sanguessuga, Sao Torpes.

The trip from Porto Covo, 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.

Rough cost per person for this trip
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 Porto Covo

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

Links marked Ad may pay us a small commission if you book. You pay the same price, and it never changes a score.