Beginner group lesson
Twenty minutes of theory on the sand, then two hours in the white water with someone pushing you into waves. You will stand up. Most people manage it inside the first hour.
€45 per person
Book thisSurf school & ocean guiding · Praia da Espadana, Algarve
Learn to surf on the coast we grew up on.
Six people to an instructor, boards chosen for the person standing next to them, and a beach we check at first light before we tell you where to meet. Lessons run all year. We simply move to whichever cove the swell is being kind to.
First lesson €45 · Board and wetsuit included · We teach in Portuguese, English and German
This morning at Espadana
- Water
- 21°C
- Swell
- 1.1 m at 11s
- Wind
- NW 8 kt
- Low tide
- 13:40
Checked at 07:10. We post the meeting point in the group message by 08:00, because it is not always this beach.
-
Six to an instructor
Group lessons cap at six. Above that number you are queuing for a wave rather than learning to catch one, and we would rather run a second van.
-
We move beaches
Four coves inside twenty minutes of the shed. Which one we use depends on swell direction and wind, never on where the van happens to be parked.
-
Everyone gets in the water
You do not need to be sporty and you do not need to be young. Our oldest first-timer this year was sixty-eight and stood up on the second morning.
What we run
Four ways to spend a morning
Everything below includes a board, a wetsuit and insurance. If you book the wrong one we will move you, at no cost, the moment we see you in the water.
Improver coaching
For people who can stand up and have been stuck there for two summers. We film every session from the beach and go through it over coffee afterwards, which is where the progress actually happens.
€65 per person
Book thisPrivate guiding
You already surf. We know which reef works on a spring low and which one wastes a morning every time. Bring your own board or take one of ours.
€95 one person
Book thisSurf & yoga day
Two sessions in the water, an hour of mobility work on the terrace between them, and lunch that is not a sandwich. Tuesdays and Saturdays, April to October.
€120 per person
Book thisThe coast
Four coves, twenty minutes apart
A wind that ruins one beach makes another one perfect. This is the whole reason we do not have a fixed meeting point, and the reason a lesson here is worth booking in November.
-
Praia da Espadana
Our home beach. Wide, sandy, and forgiving on a small swell. Every beginner lesson starts here and most of them finish here too.
-
Enseada de Alvarim
A sheltered cove ten minutes west. Where we go when the nortada is blowing everything else to pieces after lunch.
-
Praia da Rocheira
Sand-bottom peaks that hold a bigger swell without closing out. Improver sessions run here from September onwards.
-
Ponta do Vidigal
A right-hand point over reef. Guiding only, on the right tide, and we will tell you plainly when it is not that day.
Season & conditions
What the ocean does, month by month
The Algarve does not have a season and an off-season. It has two different oceans. Here is honestly what to expect, so you book the month that suits what you want out of the week.
Swell scale: knee-high and glassy, up to headland days for experienced surfers only.
- January Water15°C Swell Biggest swells of the year. Guided sessions only. SuitsExperienced
- February Water15°C Swell Cold, clean and empty, with long lulls between storms. SuitsExperienced
- March Water16°C Swell Swell eases, wind stays light. Our best coaching month. SuitsImprovers
- April Water16°C Swell First warm days. Beginner groups start running twice daily. SuitsAll levels
- May Water17°C Swell Small, clean and forgiving. The month to learn in. SuitsBeginners
- June Water19°C Swell Long evenings, but the wind arrives after lunch. We go early. SuitsBeginners
- July Water20°C Swell Glass until ten, nortada after. Book the 08:00 group. SuitsBeginners
- August Water21°C Swell Warmest water, busiest sand. We use the western coves. SuitsBeginners
- September Water21°C Swell The locals' month. Warm sea, first autumn lines, no crowd. SuitsAll levels
- October Water20°C Swell Best all-round month. Shorty weather with real waves. SuitsImprovers
- November Water18°C Swell Atlantic season proper. Two-hour windows, checked at dawn. SuitsImprovers
- December Water16°C Swell Powerful and often blown out. We move the day or postpone it. SuitsExperienced
Water temperatures are the monthly average at Espadana. Wetsuits are included in every price on this page: 3/2 shorty from June to September, 4/3 steamer with boots the rest of the year.
Prices
Everything in euros,
everything included
No booking fee, no equipment surcharge, no separate insurance line. The number you see is the number you pay at the shed.
Three-day beginner course
€125 per person
- Three consecutive mornings, 2h 30 each
- Same instructor, same group of six
- Board, wetsuit and insurance
- Beach photographs on the last day
Most booked
Five-day beginner course
€195 per person
- Five mornings, 2h 30 each
- One video review session on day four
- Board, wetsuit and insurance
- Free board loan for the afternoons
Five-session improver pack
€290 per person
- Five coaching sessions of 2h, max four people
- Filmed and reviewed every session
- Use them across any twelve months
- Two people may share one pack
Single sessions
- Beginner group lesson, 2h 30€45
- Improver coaching, 2h€65
- Private guiding, one person, 2h€95
- Private guiding, two people, 2h€130
- Surf & yoga day, with lunch€120
Hire and extras
- Board and wetsuit, full day€25
- Board and wetsuit, half day€15
- Ten-session pass, any lesson type€400
- Airport transfer, up to four with boards€55 each way
- Ding repair, collected and returnedFrom €20
Families and groups of four or more take 10% off any pack. Say so in the message and we will apply it before you pay anything. Cash, card and MB WAY all work at the shed.
Who is teaching
Four instructors, and you will get to know all of them
Everyone here holds a current lifesaving certificate. Two of us grew up in the village and the other two have stayed long enough to stop calling it a season.
Marta Vilaça
Grew up in Vila Cardosa and has taught here since 2011. Level 2 surf coaching certificate. She is the one who decides at 07:00 which beach we use, and she is right more often than the forecast.
Rui Estêvão
Eight years as a beach lifeguard before this, which is why he stays calm about things that worry everybody else. Runs the filming and the coffee that goes with it.
Sanne de Wit
Yoga teacher first, surfer second, and considerably better at both than she admits. Leads the Tuesday and Saturday day trips and cooks the lunch.
Tiago Mourão
Knows every reef between the point and the river mouth, including the three that are never worth the walk. Your ding comes back fixed the following morning.
Before you come
What we provide,
and what you bring
In the price
- A board matched to your height, weight and first morning, not whatever is left in the rack
- Wetsuit: 3/2 shorty in summer, 4/3 steamer with boots from October
- Rash vest, leash and wax
- Fresh-water shower and a changing tent at the top of the beach
- Insurance for every person in the water
- Tea afterwards, which people take far more seriously than we expected
In your bag
- Swimwear to wear under the wetsuit, put on before you arrive
- A towel, and a second one in winter
- Reef-safe sun cream, factor 50, applied at the car park
- Water. Two hours of paddling is thirstier than it looks
- Something warm for afterwards. The wind off the Atlantic is colder than the sea
- Contact lenses if you wear glasses. Glasses do not survive the first wipeout
Getting there
Look for the blue container
We are at the top of the Espadana car park, above the ramp. The container has our name painted on the seaward side and a hosepipe coiled by the door. If the car park is empty, we are at Alvarim and the sign on the container will say so.
- AddressRua do Farol Velho 12, 8650-114 Vila Cardosa
- Phone+351 289 000 168
- Emailbom.dia@alvamar.example
- By car45 minutes from Lagos, 1h 20 from Faro
- ParkingFree and unsurfaced. Full by 10:00 in August
- By busThe 47 stops at the church; 15 minutes down the track
- Transfers€55 each way from Faro, up to four with boards
Booking
Tell us when you are coming
This is an enquiry, not a payment. We reply within a day and usually the same evening. If the week you have picked is the wrong week for what you want, we will say so rather than take the booking.
- No deposit until we have agreed the dates
- Free cancellation up to 48 hours before
- If the ocean is the reason, it is always free
Would you rather talk? +351 289 000 168
Marta usually answers, unless she is in the water.
Before you ask
The seven questions we get every week
I am not a strong swimmer. Can I still book?
You need to be comfortable in water out of your depth, because the ocean will put you there eventually. Beginner lessons stay in waist-deep white water and there is always an instructor within a few metres. We will ask you honestly when you book, and we would rather say no than give you a bad morning.
What happens if there are no waves?
In summer there is nearly always something small enough to learn on, which is exactly the point. If a day is genuinely unsurfable we move you to another day or refund it in full. We decide by 08:00 and we message you either way, so you are never standing in a car park wondering.
How old do children need to be?
Eight, and confident in the sea. Under twelves need an adult on the beach for the whole lesson. We run family sessions where a parent and a child learn side by side, which works better than either of them expects.
Do I need to be fit?
Fitter helps with the paddling, but the first morning is mostly standing up and falling over in waist-deep water. Expect to ache across the shoulders and ribs for two days. That is normal and it passes.
Can I hire a board without a lesson?
Yes, if you have surfed before and can tell us where. €25 a day including a wetsuit. We will also tell you where not to paddle out, which is worth more than the board.
What languages do you teach in?
Portuguese, English and German. Marta also gets by in French, which she will deny if you ask her directly.
How does cancellation work?
Free up to 48 hours before. Inside 48 hours we will move you to another day if there is space. If we cancel because of the conditions, you are refunded in full, every time, without a conversation about it.
Come and get salty
Send us your dates. We will tell you what the ocean is likely to be doing that week and which lesson actually fits, before you pay anything.