# Ocean temperature - Central/Northern Coast of Portugal



## Aronsky

Hello everyone,

I've spent a lot of time on the beaches in the south of the country - Carcavelos (west of Lisboa), Fonte da Telha and the stunningly beautiful Troia Peninsular, plus Serra da Arrabida National Park. During the summer, the ocean temperature in those places _can_ be lovely, warm like a bath, but sometimes, due to up-welling and wind direction, it can be cool too. It tends to change by the day. Some summers are better than others. In 2011, I spent the whole summer in the ocean, and never once thought it was cold.

Never before having been anywhere north of Lisboa, I've recently purchased a house in Arganil and our nearest coastline is Figueira da Foz. I took a ride down to Praia de Mira in July 2014 and it was only then that I was extremely disappointed by the ocean. The sea was freezing, colder than anything I have experienced in England, Sweden, or Northern Europe.

I've read all about the natural phenomena of up-welling and wind direction, which influences the ocean temperature.

If any people who live in Central or Northern Portugal are reading this, please could you tell me if the ocean is always as cold as this? Or are there times when the ocean warms up and it's comfortable to bathe? Maybe 2014 was a bad year (the early summer, June/July, had lots of rain and grey days).

It would be great to know what other peoples' experiences of the ocean temperature are.

Many thanks
Anton


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## canoeman

Well it's the Atlantic, but all of our family bathe quite happily in high season, try Quariuos next bay up from Fig de Foz or plenty of river beaches in your vicinity which can be warmer and closer than ocean


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## azoreseuropa

canoeman said:


> Well it's the Atlantic, but all of our family bathe quite happily in high season, try Quariuos next bay up from Fig de Foz or plenty of river beaches in your vicinity which can be warmer and closer than ocean


Well, I lived right now in Florida and its Atlantic. Right now.. its winter and warm/cool. The ocean temperature right now is 20c. So, in the summer, the ocean temperature right here in the summer will be 27c.


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## paramonte

Beaches up north and centre in Portugal have a reputation well deserved of being cold even in the summer. That explains why northernerns go to the Algarve in the summer months in great numbers.

There are some exceptions to this rule, like protected small beaches particularly located. For instance in a area in central area around Marinha Grande there was only one small beach where I could bath, Praia do Cavalo due to its orientation (facing south rather than west). Beaches up north tend to be places for you to get a bit of sunshine and the sea breeze rather than to bath. 

Also water temperature in the PT coastal overall (in the summer) it is very dependent on the weather conditions local and far away. For instance last summer in the Algarve people was complaining the water was not warm enough, however in late September early October late goers where happily reporting warmer than usual waters. Upwelling, wind, Azores depression play a role on this and Algarvian fishermen are supposed to be experts on this.


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## anapedrosa

bearmon2010 said:


> Well, I lived right now in Florida and its Atlantic. Right now.. its winter and warm/cool. The ocean temperature right now is 20c. So, in the summer, the ocean temperature right here in the summer will be 27c.


Must be a different Atlantic


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## Duchess

As someone who is researching for our move and looking at the Silver coast, do I understand it that the sea north of Lisbon up to Porto will be cold even in summer? As a sea swimmer this is an important factor in our decision where to move to.

Anyone living in that region, please let me know ASAP, as was about to book our trip.


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## paramonte

How cold is cold? My friend was bathing , as a kid, everyday in the summer up-north Espinho beaches. His mother would not, thought it was too cold.

One thing is for sure, weather-wise Portugal is not exactly what is in the text-books or tourist leaflets: Mediterranean. It is really more a Continental-Atlantic weather system with long stretches of the coastal area with rough sea and windy, stunning by all means. Then you have these beaches all scattered alllong the cost which, by its particular orientation/protection are more attractive to swim. Algarve south coast effectively registers the higher water temps and calmer beaches, some of them in the world top lists


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## BodgieMcBodge

paramonte said:


> How cold is cold? My friend was bathing , as a kid, everyday in the summer up-north Espinho beaches. His mother would not, thought it was too cold.
> 
> One thing is for sure, weather-wise Portugal is not exactly what is in the text-books or tourist leaflets: Mediterranean. It is really more a Continental-Atlantic weather system with long stretches of the coastal area with rough sea and windy, stunning by all means. Then you have these beaches all scattered alllong the cost which, by its particular orientation/protection are more attractive to swim. Algarve south coast effectively registers the higher water temps and calmer beaches, some of them in the world top lists


+1

The west coast is long and open to the Atlantic rollers crashing in, you can find bits of it such as Obidos Lagoon or beaches in the lee of Peniche which can be idyllic for swimming but with the wind and waves from the open sea a lot of wild beach areas can be too rough and cold and dangerous for a swim even at the peak of summer. If you glance at a map of the west coast you'll long deserted stretches with no road access where people tend not to go and also the "holiday" areas where people have been going for years because of the beaches. And some of them do get packed because of this.


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## paramonte

You have Troia and the Comporta stretch of idilic beaches just south of Lisbon, about 10 km of white sand beach and crystalline water. Temperature wise, not a problem for me, some of my friends might find it too cold some days. Regarding crowded beaches, many of the so called city beaches get crowded in the summer, except if the beach stretch is really long, for instance the Meia Praia in Lagos where there is always plenty of space.


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## Duchess

BodgieMcBodge said:


> +1
> 
> The west coast is long and open to the Atlantic rollers crashing in, you can find bits of it such as Obidos Lagoon or beaches in the lee of Peniche which can be idyllic for swimming but with the wind and waves from the open sea a lot of wild beach areas can be too rough and cold and dangerous for a swim even at the peak of summer. If you glance at a map of the west coast you'll long deserted stretches with no road access where people tend not to go and also the "holiday" areas where people have been going for years because of the beaches. And some of them do get packed because of this.


Thanks, it's as I thought, the Atlantic maybe makes it too rough for swimming. Obidos lagoon would be crowded and not our scene.


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## Duchess

paramonte said:


> You have Troia and the Comporta stretch of idilic beaches just south of Lisbon, about 10 km of white sand beach and crystalline water. Temperature wise, not a problem for me, some of my friends might find it too cold some days. Regarding crowded beaches, many of the so called city beaches get crowded in the summer, except if the beach stretch is really long, for instance the Meia Praia in Lagos where there is always plenty of space.


As we are looking at north of Lisbon, we would be going to the beaches there. Cold to us is colder than the Med, and yes I realise now that the Atlantic can be rough.
Thanks for your reply.


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## sjhoward

Bathing in the sea _can_ be fine at Figueira da Foz and at some points on the Central and Northern Portuguese coast.

In Sept 2013, I bathed at Figueira da Foz and the sea was warm, like soup, almost as warm as the Algarve. Last year, however, I bathed at Praia de Mira in July (just 20 miles north of Figueira da Foz) and the sea there was freezing cold, probably the coldest sea I have ever swam in.

"Upwelling" is a natural phenomena caused by strong winds blowing in a certain direction which can push layers of deep-ocean, cold water to the shoreline; conversely, winds blowing in the other direction can push the cold water away, leaving warm water lurking at the shoreline. So the ocean temperature on the C and N Portuguese coasts _can_ be as fickle as a British summer.

There is a website called seatemperatures dot org. You can find all the sea temperatures for Portugal there.

The statistics on that website show that the sea off Figueira da Foz has a maximum ocean temperature of 21.3°C / 70.4°F in August; that should offer comfortable bathing for almost all.

The further north you go in Portugal the more the ocean temperatures decreases. But at Viana do Castelo, in the very north of Portugal, the maximum ocean temperature in October is 20.1°C.

From my own travels, anywhere south of Lisbon is fine for swimming: in 2011, I swam every day for 6 weeks at Fonte da Telha and the water temperature was perfect; however in 2014 there were many days when it was cooler. The gorgeous Troia Peninsula and the Alentejan coast have perfect water temperature (22°C) from June to Sept, and the Algarve is the same.

Another important factor is the state of the tide: when the tide is high (up the beach), the waves on the C and N coasts can be large and the sea cold, but when the tide is withdrawing (going out), this forms large lagoons and shallow water at the water's edge which warms up surprisingly quickly, meaning even on the very northerly beaches you can bathe in the both the shoals and the shoreline quite comfortably when the deeper ocean would be cool. 

There have been seasons when even in the Algarve the ocean has been cooler than normal.

Hope this helps.


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## sjhoward

paramonte said:


> How cold is cold? My friend was bathing , as a kid, everyday in the summer up-north Espinho beaches. His mother would not, thought it was too cold.
> 
> One thing is for sure, weather-wise Portugal is not exactly what is in the text-books or tourist leaflets: Mediterranean. It is really more a Continental-Atlantic weather system with long stretches of the coastal area with rough sea and windy, stunning by all means. Then you have these beaches all scattered alllong the cost which, by its particular orientation/protection are more attractive to swim. Algarve south coast effectively registers the higher water temps and calmer beaches, some of them in the world top lists


Completely agree! I have read in so-called "expert" travel reports that Portugal is a "Mediterranean" country and the Algarve borders the "Mediterranean Sea". One quick look at any atlas disproves this: Portugal is an Atlantic country, its coastline solely borders the Atlantic and it never touches the Mediterranean, at all.


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## paramonte

sjhoward: interesting report! 

upweling makes the water colder but brings food for the fish, so not all bad news.

Fonte da Telha is also my favorite beach in the Lisbon area and if you go a bit down south you get some other views...


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## sjhoward

paramonte said:


> sjhoward: interesting report!
> 
> upweling makes the water colder but brings food for the fish, so not all bad news.
> 
> Fonte da Telha is also my favorite beach in the Lisbon area and if you go a bit down south you get some other views...


Ola Paramonte,

Here is a shot of a gorgeous beach I visited, in the Troia Peninsula, a few miles south of Troia resort. It's heaven on earth... crunchy white sands, shallow sea, pine trees and not a building in site for many miles.... and swimming there, it's not a problem for me... perfect water temperature at around 21oc in the holiday season.


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## paramonte

I have spent some time in that beach as well. Confirm every word. But the views I was refering are of other nature...if you catch my drift...


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## siobhanwf

sjhoward said:


> Completely agree! I have read in so-called "expert" travel reports that Portugal is a "Mediterranean" country and the Algarve borders the "Mediterranean Sea". One quick look at any atlas disproves this: Portugal is an Atlantic country, its coastline solely borders the Atlantic and it never touches the Mediterranean, at all.


We have a friend who lives in the Algarve (since1989) he describes Portugal as "a cold country with warm sun"


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## paramonte

siobhanwf said:


> We have a friend who lives in the Algarve (since1989) he describes Portugal as "a cold country with warm sun"


Botanically and animal wise Portugal is Mediterranean. And the cooking. 

The weather not really. One thing is the Atlantic and the Açores depression, other that big pond the Mediterranean


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## tzanth

You can swim the entire length of the Portuguese coastline, from Tavira on the far Eastern Algarve, through to Lisboa, right up to Viana do Castelo on the very far northern coast of Portugal facing Spain. The ocean temperatures change all the time, sometimes it's cold in the center and the north, other times the sea temperature is warm. It's all down to upwelling and wind direction. If the wind is in the right direction, even in the north of Portugal, you'll have warm water. If the wind is in the wrong direction, the water can be freezing. It changes every day.


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## siobhanwf

Maybe this website will help give a more accurate idea of temperature around the cost of Portugal year round Portugal sea temperatures Water Temperatures


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## siobhanwf

and to be a bit more accurate for the region you are looking at Figueira da Foz Sea Temperature | Portugal Water Temperatures


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## tzanth

Hi...... yes that's a good website. I usually swim at Peniche in Central Portugal and the website you have suggested shows in August a maximum temperature of 22.4°C at Peniche. That temp is as warm as the Mediterranean. I'm sure that it's not like that every day, and with the tide and wind the temperature fluctuates, but it's still a warm temperature.


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## sjhoward

View attachment 37274


paramonte said:


> Beaches up north and centre in Portugal have a reputation well deserved of being cold even in the summer. That explains why northernerns go to the Algarve in the summer months in great numbers.
> 
> There are some exceptions to this rule, like protected small beaches particularly located. For instance in a area in central area around Marinha Grande there was only one small beach where I could bath, Praia do Cavalo due to its orientation (facing south rather than west). Beaches up north tend to be places for you to get a bit of sunshine and the sea breeze rather than to bath.
> 
> Also water temperature in the PT coastal overall (in the summer) it is very dependent on the weather conditions local and far away. For instance last summer in the Algarve people was complaining the water was not warm enough, however in late September early October late goers where happily reporting warmer than usual waters. Upwelling, wind, Azores depression play a role on this and Algarvian fishermen are supposed to be experts on this.


I hadn't heard of Praia do Cavalo before, but it's exquisitely beautiful from the photos available on the internet. I have never been to Sesimbra, but I did visit the Serra da Arrabida just to the west of Setubal (I cycled from the city center). That string of beaches are stunning. In my mind, they are better than many beaches in the Caribbean I have visited. See attached photo I took.


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## sjhoward

You also have this website Figueira da Foz - Gala Water Temperature (Sea) and Wetsuit Guide (Beira, Portugal)
which details tide times etc.

It says: "_*Figueira da Foz - Gala sea temperatures peak in the range 19 to 22°C (66 to 72°F) on around the 15th of August*_ and are at their minimum on about the 24th of February, in the range 13 to 16°C (55 to 61°F).

As a piece of comparison, the coolest ocean temperature is in February, 16°C, and that is approximately the same value the southern coast of England sees in the summer months. People swim off the English coast in 16°C, so I'm quite sure you should be ok swimming in 19 to 22°C off the Portuguese coast.


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## sjhoward

I also found this website where you can view every single beach in Mainland Portugal. Apparently, there are 801 beaches!
Playocean - Todas as praias de Portugal


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## Duchess

tzanth said:


> You can swim the entire length of the Portuguese coastline, from Tavira on the far Eastern Algarve, through to Lisboa, right up to Viana do Castelo on the very far northern coast of Portugal facing Spain. The ocean temperatures change all the time, sometimes it's cold in the center and the north, other times the sea temperature is warm. It's all down to upwelling and wind direction. If the wind is in the right direction, even in the north of Portugal, you'll have warm water. If the wind is in the wrong direction, the water can be freezing. It changes every day.


My OH just asked me to ask if there are ever jellyfish in the sea?


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## tzanth

Yes, you do find jellyfish in the sea and often you'll see them washed up on the beach. They can give you a nasty sting, so don't touch them. But the ones I have seen weren't many, so they shouldn't interfere with swimming.


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## paramonte

sjhoward thank you for the site and other info


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## sjhoward

paramonte said:


> sjhoward thank you for the site and other info


Hi paramonte,

You're most welcome!

I also found this wonderful video on Youtube showing the first en-masse sea bathe of 2015 at Aveiro, presumably New Years Day. I'm not even going to begin to suggest that the sea is very warm at this time of year, but I'm sure it is by the time of June-October. The sea looks nice and calm though.






The Portuguese seem to be a nation of 'quadro-helicopter' (drone) enthusiasts. I've discovered so many films taken from those drones of the Portuguese coastline. And I'll never forget my wonderfully idyllic trip to the Alentejan coastline in 2011. That coast really is an earthly paradise, highly comparable to the best beaches we have here in Australia.

This drone video seems to capture that coastline at its best:






lane:


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## paramonte

sjhoward

baths in new years day are supposed to give you luck for the rest of the year and also to be healthy (??????? OK). I have to admire them for the courage. Somewhere up north they also carry a black chicken (or male????)


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## Aronsky

Hello all,

I'd just like to thank everyone who took the time to contribute and to answer my question. There's a wealth of information posted on this page about ocean temperature on the central and northern coastlines of Portugal.

Apart from living in my house in C Portugal, this summer I shall also be touring the length and breadth of Portugal in a motorhome, with two dogs, so we shall report back on our discoveries of the best beaches and water temperature. The Alentejan beaches look heavenly.

best wishes
Anton


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## siobhanwf

Aronsky said:


> Hello all,
> 
> 
> 
> Apart from living in my house in C Portugal, this summer I shall also be touring the length and breadth of Portugal in a motorhome, with two dogs, so we shall report back on our discoveries of the best beaches and water temperature. The Alentejan beaches look heavenly.
> 
> best wishes
> Anton


Thanks Anton that would be really nice. And some photos??


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## Aronsky

Hi Siobhan,

Yes, I certainly will post some photos on here, straight to this forum. We plan on entering Portugal at Caminha and then touring down towards Fig da Foz and then going inland to our home, enjoying some praias fluviais (river beaches) and then down the remainder of the Atlantic coast all the way to Melides in the Alentejo. So I will have a lot to say on the subject of Portuguese beaches and water temperature!

See you again in the Autumn after my trips completes.

Anton


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## tzanth

It is also worth remembering that the sea temperatures given on those website are 'open water averages' and are taken some way out from the shore. So if you only bathe and don't swim too far out, then the water will most likely be warmer at the shoreline than the figures quoted on those websites.

Conversely, actual sea surface water temperatures close to shore can vary by several degrees compared with these open water averages. This is especially true after heavy rain, close to river mouths or after long periods of strong offshore winds. Offshore winds cause colder deep water to replace surface water that has been warmed by the sun.


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## tzanth

Further to this discussion, many of the buoys along the Portuguese coastline which measure sea temperature are between 1 and 4 miles out from the shore. The water out there is much, much colder than the water closer to the shore. I suggest that if you're in the north of Portugal that you bathe when the tide is going out and the sea tends to be calmer and shallower. You'll find the water not too bad at all!


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## tzanth

siobhanwf said:


> Thanks Anton that would be really nice. And some photos??


In relation to this old forum entry, I came across a detailed blog entry about the ocean temperature in Portugal. 

It is here:
Is the sea cold in Portugal?

The author found the water temperatures at beaches south of Lisbon to be good - the figures shown on that site are as warm as the water off Algarve and South of France.


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## advolex

*There must be an app for that!*

Vodafone Foundation of Portugal has issued a free app (I have it on an iPhone) covering 174 bathing areas. Is an area the same as a beach? If so, then not every of the 801 beaches in mainland PT is covered.

The app is called "Praia Directo" and English is one of the languages of the app. The main feature is "Live Beach" with RT info, like water/air temperatures, UV Index etc. So when your friends call you in the middle of the night and ask for water temperatures, you might reach for your cell phone and give a Direct Answer, Live from the Beach. Might come in handy if you're up north and want to be left alone.

For example, Praia Homem do Leme in Porto, right now in February, in the middle of the night, has an air temperature of 15.8 degs. centigrade. Water quality is of course excellent. Wind speed is 2.5km/h.


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## tzanth

Yes, I've used that site, it's good.
You know 15.8 degs C isn't bad. It's not warm but it's warmer than other coastal regions for the time of year. That is the thing about the Portuguese coast, the temperatures don't change much from the summer. Porto should get a water temperature of between 17 and 20c in the summer months, dependent upon wind direction.

Do you swim comfortably at Porto during the summer or is it a bit cool?


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## advolex

*Temperatures*



tzanth said:


> Yes, I've used that site, it's good.
> You know 15.8 degs C isn't bad. It's not warm but it's warmer than other coastal regions for the time of year. That is the thing about the Portuguese coast, the temperatures don't change much from the summer. Porto should get a water temperature of between 17 and 20c in the summer months, dependent upon wind direction.
> 
> Do you swim comfortably at Porto during the summer or is it a bit cool?


Agreed, it's a matter of personal taste. My children think it's a bit fresh here even in the summer. I just love it, but was raised without a heated swimming pool by the house. It's the generation gap I think.


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