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Boca do rio 81.3

#947 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇵🇹 Portugal · Faro · near Portimão

Works almost every day, no off season, a mission to reach.

Works all yearRemoteIntermediate
Boca do rio, Portugal
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Surf score81.3 /100
Surfable days93% of the year
Clean days38% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell48% period 11 s+
Typical size1.2 m 3.8 ft median
Water17°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Boca do rio

The best time to surf Boca do rio is January, March, November. The season runs Jan to Mar. In November the water sits around 19°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 1.7 m. The nearest airport is XXC (190 km) and the nearest town is Portimão (26 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan97%54%1.5 m15°C4/3
Feb96%51%1.7 m14°C4/3
Mar97%52%1.6 m15°C4/3
Apr99%36%1.4 m16°C3/2
May94%28%1.0 m17°C3/2
Jun93%13%0.9 m19°C3/2
Jul85%7%0.8 m19°C2mm
Aug79%6%0.8 m20°C2mm
Sep83%24%0.9 m18°C3/2
Oct95%35%1.2 m19°C2mm
Nov97%67%1.7 m19°C3/2
Dec99%38%1.8 m16°C3/2

Why 81.3

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
21.4
Best days 22.4%
12.9
Clean days 18.4%
17.5
Consistency 10.2%
10.2
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
1.9
Access 4.1%
2.4

The detail

Faces 170° with 47% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 79% of days. Mean peak period 11.1 s. Days over 3 m: 3%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 2.3 m, with a peak period of 14 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 51%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 37.065, -8.810 (OpenStreetMap).

Live here

4 homes for sale within 30 km of Boca do rio, up to 60,000 euro. Houses and flats you can move into, never plots of land. Cheapest right now €19,900. Checked 2026-09-13. Listings from Imovirtual and the agents themselves; we take no part in the deal.

€19,900House · 24 m² · 2 roomsBarão de São Miguel6 km from the spot →€21,500Flat · 63 m² · 2 roomsPortimão28 km from the spot →€23,000House · 37 m² · 3 roomsSão Gonçalo de Lagos13 km from the spot →€25,000House · 24 m² · 1 roomBarão de São Miguel6 km from the spot →

What it costs to be here

Living here
€1,150/ month
typically €1,010 – €1,280
Rent, one bedroom€604
Groceries€242
Eating out€136
Getting around€81
Phone + internet€85
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€2,240/ month
typically €1,970 – €2,500
Somewhere to stay€1,320
Eating out€472
Car, transfers, fuel€306
Data + extras€144
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Portugal (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

Our own project · Sumba, Indonesia
Own a cabin on a surf coast in Sumba

Sumba has eight spots in this ranking, the best of them inside the world top 50. A cabin is €11,500. The land it sits on is separate, from €6,500 (€9,950 oceanfront), on an 80-year lease that extends at the end. Water, septic and electricity are another €6,500, and furniture is on top, so a finished cabin lands around €28,000 plus the land, payable in instalments.

Eco Beach City is run by the same people as SurfRanking, so treat this as our own advert, not a recommendation. It is an off-plan property in Indonesia: take your own legal and financial advice before paying anything.

Spots nearby

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