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Julias 47.1

#4254 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇵🇹 Portugal · Faro · near Faro

Wind is the enemy here, peaks in November, gentle enough to learn.

Beginner friendlyRemoteBeginner
Julias, Portugal
Photo: Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL · CC BY-SA 2.0 · source
Surf score47.1 /100
Surfable days65% of the year
Clean days11% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell15% period 11 s+
Typical size0.7 m 2.3 ft median
Water18°C a 3/2 wetsuit

Best time to surf Julias

The best time to surf Julias is March, November, December. It rarely works. In November the water sits around 19°C, so pack a 3/2 wetsuit, and the typical wave is 0.8 m. The nearest airport is LIS (215 km) and the nearest town is Faro (11 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan74%14%0.8 m15°C4/3
Feb78%18%0.8 m14°C4/3
Mar86%22%0.9 m15°C4/3
Apr78%9%0.8 m17°C3/2
May62%3%0.7 m18°C3/2
Jun60%0%0.6 m20°C2mm
Jul42%1%0.6 m21°C2mm
Aug31%0%0.5 m21°C2mm
Sep34%1%0.5 m19°C3/2
Oct61%10%0.7 m20°C2mm
Nov85%26%0.8 m19°C3/2
Dec90%22%0.9 m16°C3/2

What is under Julias

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor falls away into open ocean, 614 m, deep right up to the door, so swell arrives with its energy intact. Alongside the bank the survey finds a channel, 896 m against 614 m, deep enough to bend swell onto one peak instead of spreading it along the beach.

Depth 8 km out614 m
Depth 4 km out398 m
Channel beside it896 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 47.1

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%
15.0
Best days 22.4%
5.8
Clean days 18.4%
4.9
Consistency 10.2%
7.6
Season spread 4.1%
3.0
Water comfort 6.1%
2.2
Access 4.1%
2.4

The detail

Faces 215° with 44% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 75% of days. Mean peak period 9.4 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.2 m, with a peak period of 13 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 81%. Months that work: 9 of 12. Coordinates 37.039, -8.051 (OpenStreetMap).

Live here

20 homes for sale within 30 km of Julias, up to 60,000 euro. Houses and flats you can move into, never plots of land. Cheapest right now €3,000. Checked 2026-09-13. Listings from Imovirtual and the agents themselves; we take no part in the deal.

€4,000Flat · 40 m² · 1 roomQuarteira7 km from the spot →€4,500House · 18 m² · 2 roomsAlmancil4 km from the spot →€7,500House · 27 m² · 1 roomQuarteira7 km from the spot →€10,000Flat · 47 m² · 1 roomQuarteira7 km from the spot →€25,000Flat · 52 m² · 1 roomQuarteira7 km from the spot →€45,000House · 26 m² · 8 roomsQuarteira7 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.

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