A typical day starts with a home-baked breakfast at the hostel before the van loads up boards and heads to whichever beach is working best. You do two surf lessons a day, with a packed beach lunch in between, so most of the day is spent on the sand and in the water. Beginners start with the basics on the beach: paddling, standing up, and reading white water. Then they move into the shallows. Intermediates work on getting into green waves and on positioning. Instructors give individual feedback within the group, and past guests single this out as the part that helped them improve fastest.

The week has a simple shape: seven nights, five surf days. You check in Sunday and surf Monday to Friday. Saturday is free for a sixth session on a rental board, a trip to Cabo de São Vicente lighthouse, a walk along the Sagres cliffs, or just a day by the pool. You leave the following Sunday. From April to November, two yoga sessions a week are included, which help after a few days of paddling.

What sets this camp apart from many other Algarve surf camps is location and track record. Sagres sits on a corner of coastline facing both south and west. When the wind blows one way, one side is clean. When the swell is too big on the west coast, the south side is usually manageable. The team has been working these beaches for about 30 years, and they choose the spot each day on that basis rather than going to the same beach whatever the conditions. The school also runs its own surf shop in Sagres and a second shop at Praia do Amado, so gear is never an issue.

The instructors are ASI-certified. Guests regularly name Tomas, Julia, Miguel, Ficho, Mika and Meren as coaches they surfed with. Reviewers describe them as properly professional about safety and technique, but also silly and fun in the water. Families have had kids as young as six standing up on their first day.

Sagres itself is small and relaxed. It has a handful of cafés and bars, the old fortress on the headland, and sunset at Cabo de São Vicente, often called the edge of Europe. Lagos, with its old town and bigger choice of restaurants, is about 40 minutes away and is where the free transfer picks you up. The weather is mild most of the year, which is why the surf week runs all year round.

There's also a New Year's Eve version of the surf week for 2026, with the same five-day course and seven nights, plus the hostel's celebrations at the turn of the year.

What's included

- 7 nights in a shared or private room - Complimentary transfer from Lagos to the surf camp - Home-baked breakfast every morning - Daily beach lunch packs - 5-day surf course with 2 surf lessons per day - Surfboard and wetsuit - Transport to and from the beach - Two weekly yoga sessions (April - November) - Sports insurance - Linen - Free high-speed Wi-Fi - Use of the guest kitchen, pool and BBQ area

What's not included

- Flights - Evening meals - Transfers other than Lagos to the surf camp - Travel insurance - Extra board rental on free days - Excursions and personal expenses