Surfing Foz do Lizandro

The river shapes the sand into banks along roughly 300 m of beach. There is usually a left on the south side near the mouth and an A-frame with rights and lefts in the middle; south-west swells favour the lefts, north-west swells the A-frames. The beach takes swell from south-west to north-west and is at its friendliest between about 0.8 and 1.5 m, with slow peaks, soft walls and plenty of whitewater for first lessons. East to north-east winds are offshore, and a southerly wind leaves the river-mouth left fairly sheltered.

Most guides favour low to mid tide for shape; high tide tends to go fatter, though a bigger swell can still work then. Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons: winter swells can close out and pull hard, and summer is often flat. Watch for the river pulling seaward on an outgoing tide after rain, and for rips along the beach as it gets bigger. The rocky north end has reefs for advanced surfers, so keep beginners on the sand in the middle.

The beach faces west, so morning light comes over your shoulder and lights surfers on the face; late afternoon is backlit, with the sun setting over the sea, which suits silhouettes of longboarders and learners walking out more than action. The peaks break fairly close to shore, so from the water's edge a 200–500 mm lens on full frame fills the frame at the outer banks and a 70–200 mm is enough for the inside and for lessons.

The boardwalk and café terraces behind the beach give a slightly higher, relaxed angle over the central peaks. On small, clean days this is the friendliest place around Ericeira to try shooting from the water with fins and a housing, as long as you stay out of the river current on the outgoing tide and clear of surf-school groups. The shot here is a clean left peeling off the river-mouth sandbar, or a first green wave with the sandstone cliffs behind.

Foz do Lizandro sits on the N247 coast road about 2.5 km south of Ericeira's centre, under ten minutes by car, and roughly 45 minutes from Lisbon. A large car park lies behind the beach, with extra parking up the road on busy summer days. A boardwalk links cafés and restaurants, and there are showers, changing rooms, board and wetsuit rental, surf schools and lifeguards in the bathing season.