Algarve Surf Camp & Coaching Week in Lagos, Portugal — Villa Stay, Daily Lessons and Video Analysis

A typical day starts early, because the coaches plan sessions around the day's conditions. You eat breakfast at the mansion, load into the vans, and drive to whichever beach is working — the Algarve has both south coast beaches and the bigger, more exposed west coast breaks within reach of Lagos, and where you go depends on swell and wind. Beginners usually get the more sheltered south coast spots; stronger surfers head west.

Lessons run in small groups split by ability. Coaches teach on the beach first — pop-up technique, stance, where to sit in the lineup, how to read a wave — then get in the water with you. The format that comes up again and again in reviews is that instructors give live feedback on each wave while you're still out there, rather than just shouting from the sand. After the water session there are theory classes covering things that are hard to explain in the surf, and video analysis sessions where footage of your own surfing is broken down. One guest described the video analysis as the highlight of the stay.

After surfing, afternoons are free. The villa has a pool, sauna and hot tub, and people drift between those, the beach, and town. A couple of evenings a week the group eats out at restaurants in Lagos, which is also the chance to walk around the old town and duck into the surf shops. On other nights, dinner is cooked at the house — home-made food, with dessert, is something guests consistently mention.

What separates this from a lot of surf camps is how long the school has been running. The Surf Experience has been operating in Lagos since 1995, which is long enough that the coaching framework, the beach choices and the level-splitting are well worked out rather than improvised. They also offer more than just surfing: sunrise stand-up paddleboard tours, sunset yoga sessions and cliff climbing can all be added onto your stay, so you can fill the non-surf hours with something other than lying by the pool.

Accommodation is split across a few options in Lagos. The main one is the Surf Mansion, a villa with hilltop views that forms the centre of the camp's social life. There are also apartments for families and individual travellers, and separate family apartments, if you'd rather have your own space than a shared house. Wherever you stay, transport to the day's surf spot is part of the setup.

What's included

- Surf camp accommodation (Surf Mansion or apartments, depending on package) - Breakfast, lunch and dinner on most days - Two dinners per week at restaurants in Lagos - Daily surf sessions with qualified instructors - Group split by ability level - Surf theory sessions - Video analysis of your surfing - Transport to and from the day's surf beach - Use of the villa's pool, sauna and hot tub - Home-made meals with dessert - Option to add yoga, SUP tours and cliff climbing

What's not included

- Flights to and from Portugal - Airport transfers (unless specified in your package) - Travel insurance - Optional extras such as yoga, SUP tours and cliff climbing - Personal expenses, souvenirs and surf shop purchases - Meals and drinks purchased outside the included programme