September Surf Lesson in Ericeira at Ribeira d'Ilhas

Why September is the right month to learn to surf in Ericeira

July and August bring crowds to Ribeira d'Ilhas: surf schools jostling for space in the water, cars queued along the access road, towels pitched shoulder to shoulder on the sand. September is a different story. The water is still warm, around 19°C, the wind drops off after midday, and the summer tour groups have gone home. What's left is the essential part: a reference wave inside the World Surfing Reserve, clean water, and fewer people competing for the same wall.

I went to try a lesson with Ericeira Waves Surf School, a school certified by the Portuguese Surf Federation that has been operating in the area since 2014, right at Ribeira d'Ilhas, the most consistent and most photographed beach on the stretch of coast between Ericeira and São Lourenço. It's not the only school in town, but it's one that keeps class sizes small by choice, not for lack of demand, and that makes a real difference when you're learning to read a wave for the first time.

How the lesson works

The group lesson runs about two hours and caps at five or six students per instructor, which means nobody stands around for ten minutes waiting their turn while the instructor helps someone else out in the water. It starts on dry sand, with a quick warm-up and an explanation of the paddling technique and the pop-up, the movement of jumping from lying on the board to standing. It looks simple from the beach. In practice, it's the part most people get wrong in the first few minutes, and it's also the part where a good instructor makes more difference than any video watched before the trip.

Then it's into the water. Ribeira d'Ilhas has a sandy bottom in the section where the schools usually teach, which makes it safer for beginners than some of the region's rockier peaks, and a swell that tends to arrive organized, in predictable sets, which helps whoever is catching their first waves lying down or standing up. Instructors push the board at the right moment and correct posture wave after wave. It's repetitive by nature, you fall a lot, you swallow saltwater, but the progression curve over a two-hour lesson tends to be real: most beginners leave the water having stood up on at least a few waves, even if shakily.

What's included

• Surfboard suited to the student's level
• Wetsuit
• Federation-certified instructor
• Water safety supervision
• Insurance
• Shower access after the lesson

You don't need to bring your own gear, which is a real advantage for anyone traveling and not keen on hauling a surfboard on a flight. Just swimwear underneath the wetsuit and a towel.

The best time to book, and what to skip

If you can choose the time slot, the morning session tends to pay off more: fewer people in the water, softer light on the sea, and in September, no thermal wind yet, which usually picks up from mid-afternoon and messes up the waves. The school doesn't lock in exact times too far in advance, precisely because of tides and sea conditions, and typically confirms the exact hour during the week of the lesson. Worth keeping in mind, and worth not booking your lesson for the last morning before catching a flight, since a last-minute schedule shift can complicate the logistics.

One thing worth skipping is booking a private lesson just because it sounds more efficient. The group lesson, priced from €45 per session, already gives plenty of individual attention thanks to the small class size, plus the benefit of learning alongside other people going through the same struggles. The private lesson, from €120, makes more sense for someone who already knows how to catch waves and wants to work on specific technique, or for families who'd rather have the instructor to themselves.

How to get there

Ribeira d'Ilhas is about a ten-minute drive from Ericeira's historic center, worth spending the afternoon in after the lesson, near the Pelourinho da Ericeira and the old town's streets. There's parking by the beach, but on days with good conditions it fills up fast even outside peak season, so it's worth arriving about twenty minutes before your slot. Without a car, a taxi or Uber from the center gets you there without much trouble.

After the lesson

After two hours in the water, even in September's milder sea, the body genuinely wants food. The town has good options a few minutes away, and Mar das Latas Wine & Food is a solid choice for anyone who wants to eat well without much formality, salty hair and all. For anyone wanting to stretch the day, it's worth checking our guide to where to eat in Ericeira or exploring the old town on foot with our architectural walk through the historic center.

The surf lesson itself doesn't change anyone's life, and it would be a stretch to claim otherwise. But there's something genuine about spending two hours trying, falling, trying again, on one of Europe's most respected waves, without having to fight fifty other people for space in the water. In September, with the water still warm and the town gradually emptying out, it's probably the best window of the year to try this without the stress.

To confirm availability, current schedules and prices, contacting the school directly is always the safest route: through ericeirawaves.com, by phone, or via WhatsApp.