Praia do Peixe.

Praia do Peixe sits inside the Ericeira harbour, a sheltered position that largely blocks the region's reliable Atlantic swell. What gets through on ordinary days amounts to little - this beach earns attention only when a heavy, oversized swell overwhelms the exposed breaks further up the coast. On those occasions, slow and shifty sand peaks form across the beach, best surfed around low to mid tide when the banks have a little more shape. The wave is slopey rather than powerful, with flat spots common and no real hollow sections, making it about as forgiving as beach breaks come. That same shelter that tames the surf also concentrates harbour runoff, and the water quality here is genuinely questionable - a drawback worth weighing before paddling out. Ericeira's world-class breaks - Ribeira d'Ilhas, Pedra Branca, Reef - sit within a few kilometres and will almost always be the better call. Praia do Peixe functions as an overflow option when those spots are maxed out and unrideable, giving beginners somewhere to practice in calmer, if murkier, water. Parking is available nearby and surf schools operate in the area.