Praia da Ribeira d'Ilhas

Most days, especially in the summertime, beautiful waves keep rolling in at Riberia. Their clean lines caring surfers of all different skill-levels. If you are lucky you can catch a ride all the way from the northern point to the most southern point of the beach. It’s a long ride that will leave you completely stoked, wanting more. And hopefully with enough energy for the long paddle back out.  

In the north end of the beach the cliff bottom is flat and at mid-tide this spot is great for beginners. You can sit on a rock and watch different surf schools take students out for their first wave.

The beach is spectacularly beautiful, with many cool rock formation, dramatic cliffs and a dark turquoise blue sea.

 It doesn’t matter if the swell is small or big, Ribeira usually has something worth getting wet for. The beach hosts various surf competitions throughout the year, most notably, a round off the ASP World Tour Surf Championship.

If you don’t surf Ribeira d’Ilhas is still a great place. The laid-back surf atmosphere is unparalleled. Surfers of all ages change into wetsuits and grab their boards, some of them even running towards the waves.  

Hanging out here, even if you never caught a wave, you will still feel like a cool surfer.

A huge, but charming, wooden structure hosts two surf schools, surf rental, a restaurant, showers, bathrooms, with plenty of space to spare. This construction won an architecture competition regarding what should be built on this particular beach. Everything you need is here and the structure itself feels like a prolonged part of the beach. Sand being replaced by smooth wood, a bridge over the (mostly) dried out river.

There is plenty of space around to relax and enjoy the ocean view. You can climb the wooden stairs up the cliffs, where a statue of a surfer watches over the waves. To the north there are lovely walking trails with breathtaking views over Ericeira and the coast.