Atlantic Surf Escape: Ericeira Surf Camp with Yoga Add-On

The camp sits on top of a cliff overlooking the beach and the Atlantic, a 20-minute walk from Ericeira's cobblestone streets, cafés, seafood restaurants and surf shops. It's the original and biggest Lapoint camp, and the setup is simple: shared and private rooms, a pool, a skate bowl, a yoga shala, and a terrace built for sunsets. You eat breakfast here, surf from here, and generally end up back here in the evening.

Surf lessons run for levels 1 through 4, with separate guiding for experienced surfers. Instructors are local and split groups by ability, so first-timers get whitewash and basics while level 4 surfers get pointed at the better banks. Boards are available to rent if you're not on a lesson. The beaches around Ericeira cover most conditions — the town is a World Surfing Reserve for a reason — so the daily call on where to surf is usually about wind and swell, not about driving far.

You can build the trip around what you actually want. The standard surf package is lessons plus stay. The yoga-and-surf package adds sessions in the shala, which moves to the beach in summer. The work-and-surf package fixes your lesson times so you can plan around calls. And there's a stay-only option if you just want a bed and to surf on your own. Fixed arrival dates keep the group turning over together, which is a big part of why it feels social rather than like a hotel.

Optional add-ons include extra yoga, excursions, and equipment rental. The camp arranges day trips during the week — Lisbon is the usual big one, but there are also local beaches and viewpoints depending on conditions and the group. Evenings are informal: dinner, sangria, music, and whoever's around. There's a beer pong tournament, a skate bowl that gets used, and a general expectation that you'll talk to people.

Lapoint runs this camp with a stated sustainability commitment — beach clean-ups and recycling are part of the weekly rhythm, and trips are carbon compensated. For European visitors it's a short flight, which is part of the pitch. The original four founders met on a surf trip in Ericeira, and the camp still carries that origin story rather than feeling like a franchise.

If you want a quieter version of the same coastline, the operator also runs a camp in Alentejo, a 2-hour drive south, with near-empty lineups and a more traditional Portuguese setting.