Map › Portugal › Algarve - Lagos/Alvor › Praia da Bordeira

Algarve · Aljezur / Costa Vicentina · Faro · Carrapateira

Praia da Bordeira

also known as Carrapateira, Bordeira Beach, Praia da Carrapateira

advanced onlymedium crowds

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

On this page

Wind
- Month by month
Forecast
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
- Rescue
Hazards
Rules & access
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Nearby Praia do Amado 4 km · Praia de Monte Clérigo 16 km · Praia do Martinhal 20 km · Praia do Tonel 22 km · Praia de Porto de Mós 23 km · Meia Praia 24 km · Ria de Alvor (Alvor Lagoon) 26 km · Praia da Rocha 34 km · Praia Grande de Pêra 51 km · Praia dos Salgados 53 km · straight-line distance

SeasonJan to Decthe months riders and schools name How windy13-25mixed Launchhugeaccess rules on record, below Watermixed19°C in summer · 15 things riders flag LevelIntermediate to advancedwith a caveat, in the Level section Schools3named at this spot From the airport90 minFaro Airport (FAO)

When it fills in

The summer Nortada usually fills in during the early afternoon along this coast and can blow to sunset. Winter and shoulder-season wind is frontal and can be up at any hour. A Bordeira-specific onset time is unconfirmed.

Praia da Bordeira is the wide Atlantic beach north of Carrapateira, in Aljezur, on the Costa Vicentina. About 3 km of sand at the mouth of the Ribeira da Bordeira, dunes and cliffs behind, open ocean in front.

The wind that works is N/NW, cross-onshore, 13-25 kt, and the riding is wave riding over sandbanks that move between visits, with shorebreak and rips to match. A shallow lagoon forms on the southern side and is calmer when it exists, but treat it as a bonus rather than as a beginner spot.

Intermediates who already ride waves and can self-rescue will get a lot out of the place; if you are still working on staying upwind, go somewhere else. It feels remote once you are on the water: no kite rescue, patchy phone signal, and a long walk back if you land down the beach.

Lifeguards cover the bathing season, 1 June to 30 September 2026, which is also when the sand fills with swimmers and surfers. Season advice for kiting conflicts, so read swell and tide alongside the wind before you drive out.

The wind

locals call it Nortada

Direction

cross-onN to NW

Kite sizes

567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

mixed

fills in: The summer Nortada usually fills in during the early afternoon along this coast and can blow to sunset. Winter and shoulder-season wind is frontal and can be up at any hour. A Bordeira-specific onset time is unconfirmed.

Typical strength

13-25

NW flow is generally stable and clean here, though wave size and tide, plus gusts on the beach at launch, can make it a demanding session.

N/NW is the working direction all year, and the season people name for Bordeira splits three ways: winter, spring to autumn, or a long December-to-September stretch. None of it is settled.

September, modelled from a node 24 km offshore, comes out at roughly 13 percent calm and 23 percent offshore, with about three days in the 16-22 kt band and nothing above that, which is worth holding against the 13-25 kt range usually quoted for the spot.

Thermal or synoptic

synoptic

The quiver, in words

For 75-85 kg: 9 m through most of the working 16-22 kt window, 12 m when it is only 13-15 kt, 7 m when the Nortada tops out. Indicative sizing worked from the reported wind range, with no local rider survey to check it against.

Direction to shore

cross-on

Forecast

Month by month

Jan, riders' month60
Feb, riders' month56
Mar, riders' month70
Apr, riders' month70
May, riders' month75
Jun, riders' month83
Jul, riders' month88
Aug, riders' month83
Sep, riders' month67
Oct, riders' month59
Nov, riders' month48
Dec, riders' month46

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.

13Jan16°
13Feb16°
14Mar16°
13Apr16°
14May16°
14Jun18°
15Jul17°
15Aug16°
13Sep18°
12Oct19°
11Nov18°
11Dec17°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Month	Force 4+	Knots	From	Air	Water
Jan	60%	12.6 kt	ESE	13.5°C	16°C
Feb	56%	13.3 kt	ESE	14.1°C	15.8°C
Mar	70%	13.7 kt	N	14.7°C	15.5°C
Apr	70%	13.4 kt	NNW	16.6°C	16.1°C
May	75%	13.8 kt	NNW	18.7°C	16.4°C
Jun	83%	14.1 kt	NNW	20.5°C	18.3°C
Jul	88%	14.6 kt	NNW	21.7°C	17.4°C
Aug	83%	14.5 kt	NNW	21.6°C	16.4°C
Sep	67%	12.7 kt	NNW	20.7°C	17.7°C
Oct	59%	12.4 kt	SE	20.2°C	19.2°C
Nov	48%	11.4 kt	N	16.9°C	17.8°C
Dec	46%	11 kt	ESE	14.3°C	16.8°C

modelled

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2022-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2022-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Standable only in the river estuary or lagoon when it forms. The main riding area is exposed Atlantic beach-break, not a standing-depth lagoon.

Tides

Semi-diurnal, two highs and two lows a day, and the swing is big enough to redraw the beach: an early-September 2026 week ran from 0.25 m at low water to 2.47 m at high. Mid tide is usually the best of it, high tide puts more punch into the shorebreak, and low tide uncovers sandbanks and sudden depth changes.

Temperature

19°C summer · 15°C winter

Wetsuit

3/2 mm in warmer months; 5/4 mm, often with boots, for late autumn through early spring/winter sessions.

Currents

Strong current on the main beach. It runs harder on the north side, near the lagoon and river outlet, along the cliffs, and when swell and tide line up.

16–19°C water

Long, wide Atlantic sand beach, about 3 km of it at the mouth of the Ribeira da Bordeira, with a river estuary and lagoon on the southern side. The lagoon is calmer and shallow when it forms; the kiteable ocean section is a wave spot.

It faces exposed NW Atlantic swell, with strong rips, shorebreak, rocks or sand-covered rock formations, and sandbanks that shift.

Your level

not for beginners hereintermediateadvanced

Rated intermediate to advanced, and advanced-only in places, because of the Atlantic waves, the current and the shorebreak. The small lagoon gives easier water when it forms, but that is not enough to call Bordeira a reliable beginner teaching spot.

The scene

What riders come here for

wave ridingfreeridebig beach sessions

Wild and spacious rather than resort beach. Tourist numbers climb in summer; the winter wave sessions are local and serious.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

access rules on record

Somewhere else

Praia do Amado, 4 km

Praia do Amado Praia de Monte Clérigo Praia do Martinhal

Every spot within 40 km is on the map at the top of this page, with its distance under it.

Rescue

Lifeguards cover the bathing season, 1 June to 30 September (2026). Outside those dates there is nobody. Kite-specific rescue is unconfirmed year-round, the beach is remote and phone coverage is patchy, so plan on getting yourself out.

Launch

Wide sandy beach with plenty of rigging room, dunes and cliffs behind it. Access is by road from Carrapateira, then a wooden boardwalk and steps, or a crossing of the dune and river depending on which parking you use and the tide; both beach accesses can mean wading the shallow river on foot.

Space

huge

Hazards riders report 15

cross-onshore wind can push riders toward shore
punchy shorebreak at high tide
variable current near the lagoon outlet
rocky patches near the cliffs
no on-site rescue service
spotty cell coverage
Powerful Atlantic swell and large waves
Punchy shorebreak, especially around high tide or stronger swell
Strong currents and rip currents
Cross-onshore N/NW wind can push riders back toward the beach and shorebreak
Rocks or sand-covered rock formations, especially toward headlands/cliffs and at low tide
Changing sandbanks and depth changes at low tide
River/lagoon outlet current and tide movement
Remote feel and limited kite-specific rescue facilities
Summer beach users and bathing zones require extra separation

Rules & access

2026: Praia da Bordeira is a supervised bathing beach from 1 June to 30 September, rated Gold quality, with a lifeguard post, parking, bathing support and a beach bar. The municipality's own beach page describes it as heavily used for watersports and names kitesurfing among them, but publishes no kite permit, launch corridor, kite zone or seasonal kite restriction, and nothing found sets a minimum distance from the marked bathing area. Check with the lifeguards or the Capitania do Porto de Lagos before launching in bathing season.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Rider tips

Read the swell forecast next to the wind: clean N/NW at 13-25 kt means nothing if the shorebreak is over your head.
Use the estuary lagoon only when it has actually formed and the flow is walkable; the sandbars move.
Stay well clear of the river mouth, the dunes and the marked bathing zone between 1 June and 30 September 2026.
Bring a 3/2 mm for the warm months and a 5/4 mm with boots from late autumn to early spring; water is about 20 C in summer and 12-16 C in winter.
Pack a smaller kite, 7 m if you have one, for the top of the 13-25 kt range, and a board you can actually ride waves on.
Kite with someone. There is no on-site kite rescue and cell coverage is spotty.
Do not count on warm water in summer. Monthly means only reach 18-19 C from August to October, and upwelling on this coast can knock a July day back toward 15 C.
Faro to Aljezur is about 1h13 by car and roughly another quarter of an hour to the beach. The bus gets you to Aljezur in 3h20 and no further, so a car is the practical answer.

Getting there

Airport

Faro Airport (FAO), cited as 110 km from the spot.

Route

Faro is the airport: 108.7 km and about 1h13 of driving to Aljezur (2026), then roughly another quarter of an hour south through Bordeira village to Carrapateira and the signed beach road.By bus it is Faro to Lagos, then a local bus on to Aljezur, about 3h20 for 9-18 EUR (2026), and you still need to cover the last stretch.There is parking by the beach and at the upper viewpoint on the southern cliff; both accesses use a wooden boardwalk and can mean wading the shallow riverbed to reach the sand.

Transfer

90 min

Staying

Carrapateira has guesthouses and small local stays: Casa da Horta, Carrapateiramar Guest House, Casa de Estela, Monte da Vilarinha. Lagos holds the bigger kite camps and watersports accommodation.

No-wind days

Surf at Bordeira or Amado, walk the Pontal da Carrapateira loop, look around Carrapateira village and its museum, mountain bike, ride horses, or drive on to Sagres, Lagos and the other Costa Vicentina beaches.

Photos

On the beach (9422537212) — Paulo Valdivieso from Lisboa, Portugal, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

FAQ

Is it suitable for beginners?

No, most sources rate the main spot intermediate to advanced because of Atlantic waves, current and shorebreak, though a small seasonal lagoon can offer easier water.

What is the wind like?

The working direction is N to NW at 13-25 knots, blowing cross-onshore, though sources disagree on whether winter, spring-autumn or a long December-September window is the prime season.

Are there rules?

The beach is a supervised bathing beach from 1 June to 30 September 2026; no kite-specific permit or zoning rule was confirmed, so check locally before launching in season.

What are the hazards?

Powerful Atlantic swell, punchy shorebreak, strong currents and rocky patches near the cliffs are all reported, with no on-site rescue and limited cell coverage.

Last updated: August 2026