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Baleal / Peniche
Leiria · Peniche / Baleal
also known as Praia do Baleal, Baleal Bay, Praia do Baleal Sul, Praia do Baleal Norte
Riding essentials
Season
May–Sep
Months riders and schools name
How windy
12-25 kt
Character: mixed
Room to launch
huge
access rules on record, below
Water
waves
17 °C in summer
Hazards
12
Reported by riders
Level
Intermediate to advanced
With a caveat: see Your level
Crowds
high crowds · busy Jun Jul Aug Sep
Schools
7
named at this spot
From the airport
Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS)
Transfer times under Getting there
When it fills in
No onset time is published for this spot.
Nearbystraight-line distance
Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.
- Lagoa de Obidosno page yet
- Supertubos / Medao Grandeno page yet
- Consolacaono page yet
- Cova da Alfarrobano page yet
- Peniche de Cimano page yet
- Molhe Lesteno page yet
The spot
Summer conditions and restrictions
Winter and water temperature
Learning alternatives
The wind
locals call it Nortada
Direction
Direction to shore
cross-on
Dominant direction
N to NW dominates the summer months, which is the Nortada. W and SW arrive with winter systems and are the stronger, more advanced days; the bay's several orientations mean a direction that is side-on at one beach can be side-off at the next.
Kite sizes
metres · typical quiver highlighted
The quiver, in words
For a 75-85 kg rider, 10-12 m covers most Nortada afternoons and 12-13 m the light early-season days; 8 m once it is over 25 kt, and 7 m or smaller only in strong winter W/SW.
Character
mixed
Average strength
21.3 kt long-run average; a single climate dataset, unconfirmed against any other.
Typical strength
12-25 kt is the normal good-season range, with 15-30 kt days through the heart of the Nortada; the long-run average sits near 21 kt.
Forecast
Live forecast
Month by month
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
riding season from the spot record · the wind series here holds no strength figure
No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
Measured at Windfinder "Peniche" station page (unreachable).
How this was measuredmeasured
The source named below holds no month-by-month figure for this place, so no season is drawn from it. The season is the one the spot record names.
Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.
Windfinder "Peniche" station page (unreachable)
The water
Type
waves
Standing depth
The bathing zone shelves gently and sandbank sections are standable at low and at high water, but this is an open beachbreak rather than a lagoon - deeper gutters run between the bars, and the shorebreak decides whether the walk-out is comfortable.
Tides
Semi-diurnal Atlantic tide with a mesotidal 2-4 m range. The beach rides at all states: mid and low water give cleaner lines off the sandbanks, while high water stacks the shorebreak up the beach and makes launching and landing the awkward part of the session.
Temperature
17 °C summer · 15 °C winter
Wetsuit
Full wetsuit normally useful year-round: 3/2 mm in summer for most riders, 4/3 mm or thicker from autumn through spring; local bathing-water profile lists only 15–17 °C during the bathing season.
Currents
No quantified current figures are published for the bay itself. The drag that matters builds around the rocks at the Baleal point, on bigger Atlantic swell, and at the winter wave spots down the coast such as Supertubos and Consolação.
Conditions
Your level
not for beginners here
The scene
What riders come here for
Launch and rules
three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you
With a school or a boat
7 schools name this spot
On your own
Room to launch: huge
Somewhere else
5 spots nearby
Rescue
Rescue — full text1 min read
Launch
A big sandy launch between Peniche and Baleal, usually entered from the Baleal side. Set up well away from the Prainha and Lagide surf peaks, the swimmers and the rocks at the Baleal point. There is still enough sand at high water, but the shorebreak is stronger then and that is the part that catches people out.
Rules & access
1 min read
Designated uses
Swimming restrictions
Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.
Schools that ride here
Rider tips
- Check the Baleal Bay and the Peniche forecasts both: a 10-minute move changes the wind angle and the usable sea state.
- On N/NW Nortada use the south bay; the north beach turns side to side-off and more technical.
- Plan launches for the lower half of the tide. The range is 2-4 m, and at high water the shorebreak is what makes landings hard.
- Stay well upwind or downwind of the Prainha and Lagide peaks instead of threading through the lineups, and off the marked swimming zone at Baleal Sul.
- Bring a 3/2 full suit for summer and a 4/3 or thicker outside it.
- Keep a car: first lessons run at Obidos Lagoon with a safety boat, and Supertubos, Consolacao and the lagoon are all a short drive when Baleal's angle or crowd is wrong.
Getting there
Airport
Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS)
Route
Drive north from Lisbon on the A8/IP6 to Peniche, then follow the coast road to Baleal. Public transport means a bus to Peniche and a local connection onward; for summer 2026 the municipal CHORA service was extended to make Praia do Baleal and Praia dos Supertubos easier to reach without a car.A car still pays for itself if you want to switch between Baleal, Supertubos, Consolação and Óbidos Lagoon in a single day.
Transfer
72-90 minutes by car from Lisbon Airport; about 2h15-2h30 by bus connections.
Cost level
medium
Staying
Baleal and Ferrel have surf camps, surf houses, guesthouses, apartments and beach hostels; Peniche adds hotels, pensions and fishing-town services. A Lisbon airport transfer starts from 120 EUR one-way in 2026 for a normal car and runs up to 160 EUR for a 9-seater van (2026).
No-wind days
Surf lessons or board rental at Baleal/Peniche, Supertubos surf watching, Peniche Fortress and old town, seafood around the harbor, bike or cliff walks, Berlengas boat trips in suitable sea conditions, Obidos medieval village and golf near Obidos Lagoon.
Photos
FAQ
When is the best time to kitesurf at Baleal / Peniche?
The summer Nortada season runs roughly May to September, while winter brings stronger W/SW winds and much bigger swell that make the area more advanced.
Is Baleal / Peniche suitable for beginners?
This is treated as intermediate-plus water because the normal surface is waves and chop with shorebreak on landing; true beginners are better directed to the nearby Lagoa de Óbidos.
What is the wind like at Baleal / Peniche?
The summer Nortada blows N to NW, cross-onshore, typically 12-25 knots, with occasional stronger synoptic wind from other directions outside summer.
Are there rules at Baleal / Peniche?
The 2026 official bathing season runs 1 June to 15 September, and a spot directory reports no kitesurfing inside marked swimming zones during July and August.
What hazards should riders know about at Baleal / Peniche?
Hazards include punchy, shifting wave peaks, rocky outcrops near the Baleal point, busy surf peaks at Prainha and Lagide, and shorebreak that intensifies around high tide.
The bigger pictureEverything about Peniche / Baleal
Last updated: August 2026