In the 2000s, Portugal became one of the world’s great surfing destinations. And in 2010, Peniche became the destination for ASP’s professional surfing tour (now the World Surf League). The calming coastal town sees a crowd of 35,000 on the sand on a number of game days.

The world-famous surfing competitions continue to be held at beaches stretching in Portugal. Since then, the country has also been named one of the largest surfing destinations in the world.

In just three years, the number of companies dedicated to the surfing business doubled to 800. The World Surf League is also planning to soon move its European headquarters to Portugal.

Portuguese Tourism Minister Ana Mendes Godinho said: We believe that Portugal is the best destination, not only for surfing, but also to live, to study, to create a life. better. We want the world to remember Portugal is one of the best surfing countries. We will endeavor to link this sport to the sustainable development of the tourism industry.

10 reasons Portugal is one of the third largest surfing destinations in the world and the largest in Europe are as follows.

Climate

Portugal has an average of 300 sunny days per year. Even areas with a bit more rain are almost guaranteed to have plenty of sunshine during the long summer. The mild climate means that local and international surfers can enjoy waves year-round.

Clean beaches

Portugal is still preserving many of the most wild nature scenes in Europe. In 2015, 299 beaches and 15 marinas in Portugal were awarded the Blue Flag title, the most widely recognized standard for water quality, sustainable tourism, safety and environmental responsibility. Generally speaking.

Long coastline

In Portugal, the farthest you can go from the coast is about 200km to the east border with Spain, meaning a surfable beach is always quite close. And with a continental coastline of almost 950km, not including more than 900km of coastline on Madeira and the Azores – you can try countless surfing spots.