Surfing in Cascais Portugal's spectacular coastline

The coastal town of Cascais (pronounced Cash-ki-sh) is considered the Monte Carlo of Portugal. It has a long history and enjoyed a particularly important development in the 14th century as it became an important stopping point for boats on their way to Lisbon. It also became a strategic military post in the defence of Lisbon. You can see this in some of the old building and fortresses that line the coast - these continued to be built throughout the 15th, 16th & 17th century and still exist today.

In the late 19th century a period of decadence began as the King of Portugal turned the area into his summer residence. It became a hide out for some of the European royal families during the 20th century world wars and its elegance and glamour still remain today.

Restaurants & Bars in Cascais

The centre of Cascais is made up of cobbelstone streets lined with shops, restaurants and bars. There is a large variety of restaurants to suit every taste (including 5 sushi restaurants!) and there are lots of bars that stay open till late.

You will also find a large shopping centre in town with all the usual top brands such as Zara and H&M.

One of the best bars is on Guincho beach, a few kms north west of town: Bar do Guincho. It's located on the far end of the beach, great for food, music and of course the fact that is is on the beach helps!

The Marina area of Cascais has many restaurants and bars - perfect for large groups and the area is a great spot on the weekends.

There are a few good spots along the promenades between Estoril and Cascais - most notably Tamariz beach bar and nightclub - fantastic spot to spend the evening looking out over the beach.

Activities in Cascais

Apart from surfing the main sporting attraction is golf. Within a few minutes drive are 3 of Europes best golf courses: Quinta da Marinha, Oitavos & Penha Longa.

Surrounding towns

The most impressive tourist attraction nearby is the Sintra Palace. The area north west of Cascais is a protected National Park and contains the spectacular 19th century Palace. The park also contains an 8th century Moorish Castle and the Capuchos Convent, built in the 16th century.

The beautiful surfing village of Ericeira is further north - 40 minutes from Cascais by car

Lisbon

You’ll arrive in Lisbon airport and drive 35 minutes south west to Cascais. However the city of seven hills is a city not to be missed. For sights and information log on to www.visitlisboa.com

Lisbon is a great city to shop in. Prices are less expensive than any other Western European city. You can also get a train very easily into the centre for a few euro and try out the nightlife. The Barrio Alto district is the main area where you will find people crowding the streets until the early hours. Then they head on to nightclubs such as Lux, Club W and Kapital

Lisbon Shopping

High street fashion shops can be found in the Baixa area, especially the pedestrianised Rua Augusta (for clothes, shoes and luxury goods from the likes of Louis Vuitton and La Perla) and the Chiado and Bairro Alto (especially Rua Garrett for clothes and linen and neighbouring streets for ceramics, young designer fashions and haute couture). Avenida da Liberdade hosts big name fashion such as Calvin Klein and Emporio Armani.

One stop new shopping malls are becoming increasingly popular; the best being the Centro Vasco da Gama, with its own cinema, restaurants and shops like Zara, Pull and Bear, Bershka, Mango, Dali, Massimo Dutti. For more info log on to www.centrovascodagama.pt

Football

Two massive local football teams divide the city – tickets for Sporting Lisboa or Benfica can usually be bought on the day at the stadiums.

For info on the Portuguese league check out www.footballportugal.com

Cascais is only a 30kms from Lisbon airport (see map below). It a 35 minute drive approximately. From Lisbon centre it takes 25 minutes approximately.

You can also fly to Faro in the South of Portugal (3 hours drive away) or to Porto in the North of Portugal (4 hours drive away)

Flights to Cascais

Please note to check airports as new routes & airlines may begin operating at any time. Below are just some that fly to Portugal. www.wegolo.com is a website that lets you know who flies where from different cities.

www.aerlingus.com
www.flytap.com
www.ryanair.com
www.britishairways.com
www.flymonarch.com
www.easyjet.com

How to get to Cascais from Lisbon Airport:

Transfers - Share a taxi or mini bus with our shuttle bus partner here

Bus & Train - First catch the 91 bus at the airport to the last stop: Cais do Sodré train station. A bus operates every 20 minutes from 7hr-20hr. Then every 30 minutes from 20hr-23hr. Last bus at 23hr. Only cost a few euro and takes 45 minutes approx.
From here catch the train to Cascais. The train operates every 10-15 minutes from 05.30 to 01.00 . Cost a few euro only and takes 20 minutes approx.

Taxi - From Lisbon airport to Cascais. Approximate time 35 minutes. Cost €40-€50 approx.

Car Hire - We have a discount car hire section on our website where you can rent a car.

Cascais is the perfect place to learn how to surf. The town is surrounded by many different types of beaches. The best beginners/intermediate surf beach is Guincho (pronounced Ginchu) 5 km's north west of Cascias town. It's a beautiful kilometre long stretch of beach.

Further north are two excellent beginners beaches Praia das Macas & Praia Grande. They are well worth the trip as they will take you past Cabo da Roca, mainland Europes most Western Point with a pretty impressive cliff top view.

A few hundred metres East of Cascais is Monte Estoril beach which has a small righthand wave that breaks regularly. There is a car park at its base accessed from a slip road above.

Follow the road east of Cascais along the Tagus river (Tejo in Portuguese) towards Lisbon and you will come across beach after beach offering a vast amount of surf: Bica is a great longboarders break on Sao Pedro beach. The beach has a few surf bars and restaurants and is a great place to spend the day.

Closer to Lisbon is Carcavelos beach - as the Stormriders surf guide call it: "the original and still one of the best Portuguese surf spots". Its a very consistent beach break and home to some of Portugals best surfers.

Its also worth taking the trip across the river Tagus to Costa Caparica - driving over the spectacular Ponte 25 de Abril bridge leaving Lisbon behind you. Costa Caprica is a 30 km strip of coast with some of the most consistent surf in Portugal.

Come Surf Cascais with us....