Portugal’s hostess with the mostess Joana Rocha

Planning on a wave riding trip to the happy sunny shores of Portugal this summer? Former competitive Portuguese pro Joana Rocha who now holds a surf camp in Ericeira offers five helpful tips to bear in mind.

1. STICK TO ENGLISH

In contrast to other southern European countries like Italy or Spain, most Portuguese people speak really good english, so you don’t need to know much Portuguese to be understood. Of course, if you would like to be polite then throwing a few simple words like ‘Obrigado’ (thank you) can’t do any harm! But whatever you do just don’t start speaking broken Spanish to everyone thinking that it’s kind of the same. It’s not!

2. COME EARLY

As with summer pretty much everywhere, the coast gets super crowded as soon as school hols kick in so try to come early in the season if you can. One other thing to watch out for are summer water temperatures. Due to upwelling, the water is considerably cooler than say France so make sure you come equipped with the right rubber.

3. EXPLORE

As Europe’s most southerly Atlantic-facing nation, Portugal gets all kinds of swells from all kinds of angles. And there are more spots to surf than the ones on the map, so make sure you put plenty time aside to explore the coastline. You will be nicely surprised by some epic right-handers. But get your hands on a good road map as road signs aren’t always that clear in these parts.

4. ENJOY THE FOOD

I may be a little biased but the food in Portugal is wonderful. Ok, we’ve not got the reputation of the Italians or the French but as a result most people are always pleasantly surprised by Portuguese cuisine. And even if you’re not that keen on fish you will find plenty of other tasty eats to try.

5. STAY AT CHILL IN ERICEIRA

This might be stating the obvious but hey Chill In Ericeira Surfhouse is where you’ll meet some of the most entertaining characters in town. For all booking enquiries, feel free to visit LUEX – Chill in Ericeira Surfhouse. :)))).