5 Aveiro Beaches for Surfing and Just Chilling

Aveiro is a charming town. They call the Venice of Portugal, but I’m going to have to beg to differ on that one. Apart from the cute little painted boats that look a little like gondolas on the canals, this is nothing like that bank-account-killing Italian city.

It’s kinda’ more a chill mid-sized Portuguese town with one foot in the Silver Coast – a great surf region – and the other in the wetter, more remote northern half of Portugal – Porto is about half an hour’s train ride away.

People come for the fascinating Dominican convent from the 1400s, which has some relics of one of the great national saints, to enjoy the seafood restaurants, and for the beaches.

Now, here’s an interesting thing: Aveiro isn’t even on the coast. It sits about 5 miles inland from the Atlantic on the eastern edge of the vast Aveiro Lagoon.

You’ll need to cross the lagoon to get to the sands, which is okay because there’s a road going right there, and it’s a pretty drive, with boats and birds to spot as you go.

The key thing to remember is that the lagoon eventually splits the coast at the town of Praia da Barra. No road goes across the water to the north of that; only ferries. Ferries can carry cars but space is limited and its faff. That means beaches to the north of town tend to be trickier to reach, while those to the south of town are easier. That said, northern beaches will also be quieter and more remote.

Anyway here’s the pick of the bunch folks…

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Beaches to the north of Aveiro

Furadouro

The town of Furadouro is the gateway to one of the most consistent (in terms of surf) bits of the Porto coast. Like a lot of the town here, it juts out onto a bit of a breakwater, with beaches to the north and the south, which means there’s often good protection from whatever wind happens to be blowing.

The beaches themselves are exactly what you’d expect of the north Portugal part of the central coast. They are wide, open, backed by dunes or seawalls, and often quite windy, though when the wind dies down they can be great for sunbathing and hanging.

Praia do Furadouro Sul (the south beach) is the less busy and prettier part of the stretch here. It has a nice right-hander shape on the wave at its north end, dunes behind, and is really, really long.

The surf? Furadouro really does deserve a whole surf guide of its own. It’s one of the most consistent beaches in the Porto orbit, yet never as busy as Espinho et all. It’s big, regional beach break stuff, with some lefts and rights off jetties. Classic Portugal: Beginner friendly in summer, can be huge in winter. Rips when its big. Head along to Maceda, a bit to the north, for beach breaks under the pine forests.

São Jacinto Beach

Of all the beaches listed here, São Jacinto Beach is likely to be the hardest to reach. You have two options: Either drive north and then around the lagoon to reach it by just car (the drive is pretty and will take you through some of the other top beaches around Aveiro, like Furadouro, for example), or drive to Barra and then take the ferry from there.

The payoff for all that effort is one unbelieveably wild run of sand. It’s actually a part of a huge nature reserve that spreads over the pine forests and the dunes here, which host unique sea plants and bird life.

For that reason, and because this one’s about an hour’s drive out of Aveiro center, São Jacinto Beach is likely to be the least busy of all the spots.

The surf? Not many people surf in São Jacinto Beach, probably because of access, because there are beach break peaks the whole way up and down – just be wary of rips around there, since there aren’t many people about to help. Can be popular with kitesurfers.

Beaches south of Aveiro

Praia da Barra

The big, wide beach at Praia da Barra is the first one that will greet you as you leave the main road leading from Aveiro to the coast.

It’s kinda all you need for a lot of travelers – families in particular usually like it because it’s got good shelter from swells and winds, parking right beside the sand, and is the quickest to reach from town (think like 15 mins).

Expect open swathes of golden-tinged sand that roll between various breakwaters, with the longest breakwater of all reaching out into the mouth of the lagoon, which cuts through the north end of the beach.

There are two main sections to Praia da Barra. The north part is the built up area that has the surf (see below). The south part is where the town gives way to dunes and the occasional sandbar beach break, which won’t be busy. AKA go south if you like to escape the crowds.

The surf? A decent right hand wall can appear at the Praia da Barra breakwater on big NW swells. The bonus on this one is that there’s N wind protection. At lower tides, it can really hollow and suck off the sandbanks, making it an advanced wave, on mid tides and smaller swells, it will mellow a lot to something more cruisy and friendly.

Costa Nova

Costa Nova is a lovely little seaside village that is famed for its stripey cottages. They front up along the promenade here but not on the ocean-facing side of town. They actually line the water of the lagoon area, along cobbled lanes that, I will say, are an absaloute joy to walk – there are coffee joints and little restaurants to get through.

On the far side of town is where you get the beach. At first glance, it looks like nothing more than a continuation of Praia da Barra, but there are some nuances.

For one, there are more big reef sections at Costa Nova, and, occasionally, some big sandbar areas that change the shape of the bay complete. Secondly, this area is even quieter than Barra. Yea, there’s a town right there behind, but there’s so much space on the beach that you can always find a spot to enjoy on your own.

Access to the beach is either directly off the coast road, or via a series of classic PT boardwalks that navigate the dunes.

The surf? There are some spots here between the reefs, but knowing where to get in requires a bit of local knowledge because the rocks can be tricky. When you do find that sweet spot, expect highly regional north Portugal sandbar breaks; sometimes great, most of the time mediocre. Can get good in the summer for learners, and some schools are starting to come by here.

>>We have a complete guide to surfing in Costa Nova

Praia da Vagueira

Super-long Praia da Vagueira runs for like 3 mile in total, if you start counting from its northernmost end, which starts just a little south of Costa Nova.

The main town, also Praia da Vagueira, is the hub of it all. It lords over a big run of boardwalk that peaks and troughs across the dune landscapes to offer access to all parts of the beach.

This one can get busy in peak summer with sunbathers, but for most of the rest of the year, it’s really empty and spacious.

What’s really nice is just how massive it all is. Yes, there’s that sandy bit by town that’s good for people who want cafes on the side. But the main lagoon road runs north and south from here to open up loads of big, open beach areas where you sometimes won’t find another soul.

The surf? There are loads of beach breaks around here. Vagueira has its own if the winds are playing ball, but Praia do Labrego to the south is often more protected.