4.36/5
246 reviews
Photo by Sead Dedić via Unsplash

Ericeira

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surf

town

winter

great

clean

cold

beautiful

friends

expensive

cafes

lisbon

canggu

beaches

spaces

super

summer

windy

Ericeira is a charming coastal town in Portugal that's become popular with surfers, digital nomads, and expats looking for a slower, healthier lifestyle. The town itself is beautiful and retains a lot of its traditional charm, with clean beaches, fresh sea air, and a relaxed vibe. People are generally friendly and English is widely spoken, making it relatively easy to settle in as a newcomer. It’s a great place to enjoy surf, coastal walks, and a peaceful setting without the chaos of big cities.

However, there are trade-offs. Winters are wet, cold, and windy, with homes often poorly insulated. Dog waste on sidewalks is a common complaint among residents. Housing and restaurant costs are high, and while there’s development occurring, amenities like gyms and coworking spaces are still limited. The town gets crowded in the summer but goes quiet offseason, which might not suit solo travelers. It caters to a niche crowd—those who can afford the cost and enjoy a minimal, slower lifestyle. Ericeira can be a special place, but it’s not ideal for everyone—especially if you're seeking modern infrastructure, a year-round bustling community, or tropical weather.

AI-generated summary of reviews
1 year ago

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.

2 years ago

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!

2 years ago

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.

2 years ago

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

3 years ago

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!

3 years ago

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

3 years ago

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.

4 years ago

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

4 years ago

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

4 years ago

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.

5 years ago

✅ Friendly people

✅ Clean beaches

✅ Beautiful town

✅ Chill atmosphere

✅ Good surf

✅ Mild climate

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm now

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here a lot

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to make friends

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Very family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Expensive housing and restaurants

❌ Dog waste on streets

❌ Cold, windy, wet winters

❌ Poor insulation in homes

❌ Limited coworking and gym options

❌ Crowded in peak season, empty in off-season

❌ Very expensive

❌ Gets cold in the winter

❌ Hospitals are bad

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ High alcohol consumption

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

1355°
cool

1559°
cool

1763°
cool

1864°
cool

1966°
mild

1864°
cool

1457°
cool

1559°
cool

Real (median)

1457°
cool

1660°
cool

1763°
cool

1865°
mild

1966°
mild

1864°
cool

1559°
cool

1661°
cool

Humidity

damp
79%

damp
83%

damp
77%

damp
81%

damp
78%

damp
80%

nice
81%

nice
82%

damp
81%

damp
76%

damp
83%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
65mm

rainy
73mm

dry
23mm

rainy
72mm

dry
25mm

dry
12mm

dry
4mm

dry
3mm

dry
30mm

rainy
59mm

dry
10mm

rainy
91mm

Cloud

cloudy
63%

cloudy
58%

pockets
44%

cloudy
60%

cloudy
54%

pockets
37%

pockets
28%

pockets
29%

pockets
48%

cloudy
57%

pockets
39%

cloudy
59%

Air quality

clean
39 US AQI

clean
34 US AQI

clean
29 US AQI

clean
26 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
26 US AQI

clean
31 US AQI

clean
26 US AQI

clean
33 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
31 US AQI

clean
44 US AQI

Sun

safe
2 UVI

safe
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
7 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
9 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

seek shade
6 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

safe
2 UVI

Remote workers

1,971 people

1,457 people

2,800 people

3,857 people

3,525 people

3,267 people

1,933 people

2,325 people

3,667 people

3,525 people

2,700 people

1,886 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Current weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)

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✈️20min

$2,514 / mo

56 Mbps

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 39° 102° 31° 88° Has AC AQI 71 😷

✈️14h

$1,656 / mo

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Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

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🌫 Feels 38° 100° 30° 86° Has AC AQI 95 😷

✈️16h

$4,106 / mo

🌇 Also went here62 people

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⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

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🌥 Feels 33° 91° 28° 82° Barely AC 🥵 AQI 88 😷

✈️18h

$3,443 / mo

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4,200 remote workers in Ericeira now, of which 6+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	4.36/5 (Rank #3) 246 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍17 liked it 👎0 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Great
👶 Family score	Great
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	56% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,851 / mo
📡 Internet	🚀 Super fast: 96 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🌞 Perfect: 20°C69°F (feels 20°C68°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 91%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😊 High: 70%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Great: 25 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 32 US AQI
👌 Safety	Great
👩 Safe for women	Good
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Great
🤝 Lack of racism*	Great
🎓 Education level*	Mediocre
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Resilience to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very rich: $3,205 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Good
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Great
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Great
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Good

🌍 Continent	Europe
🚩 Country	Portugal
🗓️ Average trip length	17 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	96 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 20°C 69°F + 💦 Damp (91%) = feels 20°C 68°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 25 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 32 US AQI
🔌 Power	230V 50Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Baleia
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Santo Estêvão das Galés
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🌐 Official website	ericeira.com
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	EUR 100 = USD 112
💸 Tipping	Yes, 10%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Kelp
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
🦷 Fluoride added	🚫 No fluoride added
🪨 Water hardness	Hard · 122 mg/L
♻️ Return rate	10% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	7,500 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$38,463 / year
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 46% 👱‍♀️ 54%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 56% 👱‍♀️ 44%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 78% 👱‍♀️ 22%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Fnac
🏠 Apartment listings	A Casa das Casas
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Ryanair
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	TAP
🏥 Best hospital	Hospital Distrital de Torres Vedras

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,851 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,646 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$4,316 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,233 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,396 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$4,829 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,024 / month
🏠 Median home price	$480,469
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$112 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$158 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$201 / month
🍛 Dinner	$11
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$3
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$2
👩‍🏫 International school	$11,341 / year
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$2 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$21,514
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$52,994
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$145,334

Ericeira

4,200 remote workers in Ericeira now, of which 6+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

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