Ericeira

Ericeira is often billed as a surfer’s paradise, but beyond the waves, it falls short in several key areas. While the coastline offers raw, cold-water surf (wetsuit required year-round), the town itself lacks the infrastructure and energy needed for a well-rounded lifestyle.

For starters, there’s no proper gym—a surprising omission for a place marketed to active, outdoorsy people. The food scene is also underwhelming; while there are some decent cafes, it doesn’t compare to the vibrant offerings of places like Southeast Asia or even Biarritz. If you’re expecting a dynamic culinary culture, you’ll be disappointed.

The transient nature of the town is another drawback. There’s a constant churn of short-term visitors, making it hard to build a real sense of community. Add in the relentless wind and chilly water, and Ericeira starts to feel more like a seasonal stopover than a place to truly put down roots.

On top of that, prices are climbing here just like in other parts of Portugal. And while the surrounding nature is beautiful, the town’s infrastructure is still seriously lacking. These places are catching some buzz on the hype wagon, but the reality is that they remain quite limited—homes are often old and structurally outdated, and modern amenities are few and far between. Hopefully, the momentum continues, as it would be great for Portugal, but as of now, Ericeira doesn’t quite live up to its reputation. Perhaps if all you want to do is surf you might enjoy yourself here. Personally, not for me, but community here is amongst the most chill in Portugal. Easy to make friends and definitely has its own personality compared to urban hubs like Lisbon and Porto.

Ericeira is the most magical place I've ever lived.

I've now been in Ericeira on and off since 2020 and my friends are now moving here too. A lot of us were nomads before (and still are) and spent time all over the world. I came here during COVID kinda randomly and ended up in Ericeira because it had this very early Bali-kinda appeal. A hipster surf town and World Surf Reserve, less developed than for example Canggu but with clean beaches, clean air, no crazy traffic, no loud horning, no crazy religious government, not insanely sweaty hot, but just a nice surf town with hipster appeal.

Since I came here Ericeira has boomed. I'd say the population of nomads quadrupled and in turns cafes, restaurants and coworkings for them are opening up. In many ways it feels like Canggu in 2014, it's early but it's growing fast now. The difference is it's not so cheap here, so the people who can afford to live here are generally more successful, have real businesses, and can spend more money.

There's a few things missing in Ericeira though like a great modern gym and spacious coworking spaces. Because the existing commercial space to rent is all small and old. We tried to open here but couldn't find spaces. But there's lots of construction happening now though so that might change. A lot of new residential and commercial space is being built.

What I like most about Ericeira is that it's not super hot and so you're not always sweating. Ericeira has a micro climate and it's usually 24'C in the sun, and 18'C in the shadow. That's why you can't trust the weather reports because they always show it's cold but it's just not true. The mornings in the summer are foggy and cold but afternoon it's usually sunny and warm. The weather is unpredictable though. You can have December being super sunny while the summer is gray and foggy.

The air is insanely clean and fresh and windy. The beaches are clean, no garbage. And the surf line ups are chill. The government is European and thus democratic and there's free speech.

If you get sick of the village vibe, it's just 40 min drive (or 20 if your driver is fast) to Lisbon.

It's still Europe and many things are not as convenient as in Bali. There's delivery food but it's not great for example. But a lot of these things will automatically improved if more people move here. Portuguese are not always easy to deal with it. It's a culture that was a dictatorship (search Salazar) for decades. And sometimes you want to pull your hair out dealing with Portuguese companies as they seem to want to make everything difficult for you. One thing I learnt is to avoid dealing with Portuguese companies. My bank is Revolut, my internet is Starlink, and if I want to buy stuff I order on Amazon Spain or Germany and the next day it arrives.

Ericeira is at a very special time where you can experience it before it becomes one of the most popular spots in the world. And in fact you can help build it by coming here. We need more people to move here, to organize conferences, meetups, activities, and to build cafes, coworking spaces, gyms.

It's one of the most magical places in the world, come visit us!

Cute fisherman's town + surf. The town is beautiful and laid-back. Loved the mix of locals + wealthy tourists + surfers. It reminded me of Canggu (with its hipsters coffeeshops, everything nearby) + Uluwatu (cliffs, surfer bars & events). It's quite expensive. Very quiet at night. Super nice spots for a surf beginner, and was not that crowded in July. Weather is super mild as well. It's windy, and the water is freezing. The town itself has 3 accessible beaches, always some waves which are quite strong. I would definitely come back for a month or two in summer. Winter must me miserable with the wind & poor insulation the houses have. With a car it should be better as you can move around other towns. We did not see many places to work from. Most cafes don't allow laptops, even the hipster ones like Dear Rose.

The review of the one that said:

"Surfing capital of Europe, only World Surf Reserve in Europe" Yea, this is actually a negative, why would you want your surf break to be so popular? Ericeira people seem so superficial

"The good thing is Ericeira is quite expensive which keeps the quality of people that can live here quite high" I can't believe someone wrote this, the locals have been quicked out of their land because of this digital noman phenomenon causing a lot of disappointments but someone is actually happy about it, they want to live in their little exclusive western bubble.

"The climate is perfect: it's usually around 20-25C, the winter is very mild" The winter is cold, windy, rainy and sometimes even grey, the water in the ocean is very, very cold, I can see this person is probably from Sweedem, Demark or the Netherland, for them is not so bad, for the rest, is different, you actually see loads of people subletting apartments during winter so they can escape to warmer places.

"During WW2 many people fled from Netherlands, Germany and Sweden to live in Ericeira where there was no war" This is false, neither there is any historical data that proves this, some people just want to justify their laptop colonization

"But you can only go here if you've kinda finished seeing the entire globe and are okay with standing still" Someone made even rules on who can go or not, incredible.

Facts

Surfing capital of Europe, only World Surf Reserve in Europe and the most chill techie beach village you can imagine. It reminds me of Canggu before it got busy and crowded.

The good thing is Ericeira is quite expensive which keeps the quality of people that can live here quite high. It's a high income high intellect entrepreneurial ambitious health focused tech crowd. Compared to a few years ago in 2020, now in 2023 there's actual weightlifting gyms too, not just yoga places.

There's construction all around the town now and it looks to be booming. The climate is perfect: it's usually around 20-25C, the winter is very mild. Compared to Lisbon which can be very humid and hot, Ericeira is mild because of the sea breeze.

Ericeira changes people I think: they arrive from wherever in the world stressed and unhealthy and they end up here calming down, slowing down, focusing on their work and their friends or family, getting healthy and fit, eating local food.

For me it's a great mix between the busy megacities of Asia and then to come back here in a place with clean air, having walks around the coast and cliffs and in downtown where all the houses with blue white paint look cute. It's picturesque and many times like a cartoon. You'll see a cat walk with a fish it stole from the fishermen. You'll see grandmas hanging up their laundry outside and shouting to the other grandma. So many cartooney things I've never seen in cities. I love it.

Ericeira has been a refuge for nomads, travellers and people seeking refuge for centuries. During WW2 many people fled from Netherlands, Germany and Sweden to live in Ericeira where there was no war. Interestingly, Ericeira is home to the Saint of Good Travels which all people sailing to the New World prayed to! Not a coincidence!

Be sure to not cheap out on rent, you'll probably be paying 2000-3000 EUR for a place with 2/3 bedrooms and good aircon/heater and insulation. You'll need both because Ericeira can get very wet in the winter and cold humid is horrible. It means nothing dries. So you'll need your AC as a heater/dryer.

My favorite place. But you can only go here if you've kinda finished seeing the entire globe and are okay with standing still. It's a low senses place. You have to retrain to be okay with just the sea breeze, the cute houses, a few people. Bring your friends for sure or make friends in some of the new coworking spaces that pop up!

Enjoy Ericeira!

It is a very woke town, also, loads of yogis whit spiritual businesses that wants to sell you some magic "technique" to improve your life, again if you are not a woke person, this place is not for you. Don't think is a tropical place because it is not, it is often windy and winter is wet and cold. Also, it is not a beginner surf place, they're a much better places to learn the sport in Portugal

Stayed in Ericeira for 4 months at the end of 2022 -

Pros -
- The town is beautiful and still retains a lot of charm of a little seaside town despite how popular it has become.
- The locals are so friendly and, in the event you do not speak Portuguese, will happily speak English to a great standard.
- Multiple lovely, clean beaches

Cons -
- Rent is crazy expensive as are many of the restaurants in the town.
- Once the peak season of summer passes, the place becomes really quiet. Not ideal for a solo traveller as I was.

Overall, I really loved Ericeira but I definitely made a mistake going there solo during autumn/winter! Can see it being a great spot to live for couples/families provided you can afford it.

Ericeira is better than lisbon r now you have a lot of buses from Ericeira to sintra ---> to lisboa if

This is another beautiful place in Portugal that got too crowded, overhyped, and expensive unfortunately

We play hopscotch with the dog turds on the streets and sidewalks. Ericeira is amazing, and beautiful, our favorite place, but they need more grassy patches for dogs, with baggies and trash. They also need a cleanup crew like in downtown Lisbon to wash the poo and poo streaks off the cobblestone. It's very dangerous to walk your own shoes into your home, especially if you have kids who will then contract flesh-eating bacterias from feces, such as Staphylococcus Aureus. Too many people will just let their dogs defecate right in the middle of the walkways, and just walk away not even batting an eye. Even those who do pick up after their dogs, it leaves a nice streak, which then hardens into the ground for weeks, eventually turning into a layer of brown dust that covers the sidewalks.

Other than this, I highly recommend Ericeira. It's one of the best places to live in Portugal. They just need to start being responsible with da poo.