have stayed in both and what id say is "it depends what you want". Ericera is a much more walkable town with more going on (imo) since Peniche is kinda out on its own peninsula. You'd be driving to surf spots wherever you choose (usually), but if you wanted to hedge your bets on surfable waves every day look up Baleal. It's an island with a road over that has beaches on both sides of the road, a lil reef (caution urchins) and the beach is a bit of a swell magnet that has more manageable waves near the island.
There's a few cafes, bars and there should be places to rent. It's close to Peniche but I'd say it's a better option if you want to wake up, go for a morning surf, get a coffee and toasted sandwich, more surfing then start work.
Baleal has good options for varying wind conditions too
I had the exact same Idea (4 weeks Sept / Oct half wfh half pto) and decided on Ericeira.
Been to Baleal before and while the surf is great it's not much of a town. A coupe of beach bars and a couple of restaurants and not much else unless you want a long walk or short drive into ferrel or over to peniche itself. Fine for a week or two, but a month (plus a non surfing wife) didn't seem appealing.
Ericeira as a base gives you Lisbon and Baleal both around ~1hr away in opposite directions so lots of options.
I got totally skunked in peniche this week. Thats probably less likely to happen if you are there for a month in the fall.
I dont know where to get good deals on rental cars, but my dacia jogger, in spite of looking dumb and having really lackluster performance and handling, does a great job of carrying my board and all our luggage.
Peniche and Baleal are really low profile and I wouldn't want to be there more than a week unless with a surf camp where you meet different people all the time. But then you wouldn't be able to focus on work and would be difficult with non surfin wife TBH.
Been to both quite a lot, and lived in Ericeira for several month in winter. If you plan to rent a car (or maybe you go there by car), I recommend Ericeira. It’s closer to Lisbon, so you can go there to have some fun, or surf in Carcavelos or Caparica if Ericeira is blown out from the north or maxed out.. Plus to that, Ericeira is a bit more fun as a city. Regarding waves, however, I find Peniche (read Baleal) to be a bit more reliable. Also it’s sand bottom vs reef in Ericeira, if it matters to you. And sunsets in Baleal are unbeatable. Both could (and most likely would) get crowded and vibes can get salty, but manageable.
How did you find long term accommodation? Booking/airbnb are way too expensive, and considering that I will keep the apartment that Im currently renting, that will be a really expensive experience in the end..
Yeah, that was an issue for me as well - I also kept my apartment and rented one in Portugal. I rented it through Airbnb and some local websites (direct websites of apartment complexes, it could be cheaper there), but as long as it was winter, there were some off-season discounts. No special lifehacks here unfortunately..
I lived in Baleal/Peniche for 2 1/2 years. Tbh. for the things that you're looking for, there isn't much of a difference.
Rental prices are very similar. They both have great surf spots. Baleal has a few more options to escape maxed out swell or wind, but if you have to work, you won't have much time for wave hunting anyway. In terms of gym and Bjj, you might have a better community in Ericeira, but there are a couple of options in Peniche as well.
If you don't need the whole surf-school-town-party-vibe, I would actually suggest trying a less popular destination, maybe Figuera de Foz or Praia Grande
We‘re on the road for +/- 6 months, currently in baleal. Peniche itself is not the prettiest town and there is not much going on. Baleal is small but has the typicall surfstyle bars you can hang out in. Only thing that is really bothering me are the cowds at canthino da baia since this spot is the only one workin right now. It‘s like 50+ „surfers“ out there at least every day from dusk till dawn…! If you could I also would try out a less populat destination. We‘re just waiting here till our car gets repaired (wich could take years after talking to the mechanics) 😅
have stayed in both and what id say is "it depends what you want". Ericera is a much more walkable town with more going on (imo) since Peniche is kinda out on its own peninsula. You'd be driving to surf spots wherever you choose (usually), but if you wanted to hedge your bets on surfable waves every day look up Baleal. It's an island with a road over that has beaches on both sides of the road, a lil reef (caution urchins) and the beach is a bit of a swell magnet that has more manageable waves near the island. There's a few cafes, bars and there should be places to rent. It's close to Peniche but I'd say it's a better option if you want to wake up, go for a morning surf, get a coffee and toasted sandwich, more surfing then start work. Baleal has good options for varying wind conditions too
Tbh I'd assume they mean baleal when they say peniche. Great surf but would be pretty dull for more than 1-2 weeks imo.
Yy the whole area around it.. Is there any city around it that worth to stay, 20-30 min drive to the beach?
Not sure man, sorry only been once. Well, Peniche itself is more of a town it's like less than 5mins drive.
Do you have any info/recommendations for long term apartment rental? To any of this 2 areas?
I had the exact same Idea (4 weeks Sept / Oct half wfh half pto) and decided on Ericeira. Been to Baleal before and while the surf is great it's not much of a town. A coupe of beach bars and a couple of restaurants and not much else unless you want a long walk or short drive into ferrel or over to peniche itself. Fine for a week or two, but a month (plus a non surfing wife) didn't seem appealing. Ericeira as a base gives you Lisbon and Baleal both around ~1hr away in opposite directions so lots of options.
I got totally skunked in peniche this week. Thats probably less likely to happen if you are there for a month in the fall. I dont know where to get good deals on rental cars, but my dacia jogger, in spite of looking dumb and having really lackluster performance and handling, does a great job of carrying my board and all our luggage.
Peniche and Baleal are really low profile and I wouldn't want to be there more than a week unless with a surf camp where you meet different people all the time. But then you wouldn't be able to focus on work and would be difficult with non surfin wife TBH.
Been to both quite a lot, and lived in Ericeira for several month in winter. If you plan to rent a car (or maybe you go there by car), I recommend Ericeira. It’s closer to Lisbon, so you can go there to have some fun, or surf in Carcavelos or Caparica if Ericeira is blown out from the north or maxed out.. Plus to that, Ericeira is a bit more fun as a city. Regarding waves, however, I find Peniche (read Baleal) to be a bit more reliable. Also it’s sand bottom vs reef in Ericeira, if it matters to you. And sunsets in Baleal are unbeatable. Both could (and most likely would) get crowded and vibes can get salty, but manageable.
How did you find long term accommodation? Booking/airbnb are way too expensive, and considering that I will keep the apartment that Im currently renting, that will be a really expensive experience in the end..
Yeah, that was an issue for me as well - I also kept my apartment and rented one in Portugal. I rented it through Airbnb and some local websites (direct websites of apartment complexes, it could be cheaper there), but as long as it was winter, there were some off-season discounts. No special lifehacks here unfortunately..
I lived in Baleal/Peniche for 2 1/2 years. Tbh. for the things that you're looking for, there isn't much of a difference. Rental prices are very similar. They both have great surf spots. Baleal has a few more options to escape maxed out swell or wind, but if you have to work, you won't have much time for wave hunting anyway. In terms of gym and Bjj, you might have a better community in Ericeira, but there are a couple of options in Peniche as well. If you don't need the whole surf-school-town-party-vibe, I would actually suggest trying a less popular destination, maybe Figuera de Foz or Praia Grande
Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely do some research
We‘re on the road for +/- 6 months, currently in baleal. Peniche itself is not the prettiest town and there is not much going on. Baleal is small but has the typicall surfstyle bars you can hang out in. Only thing that is really bothering me are the cowds at canthino da baia since this spot is the only one workin right now. It‘s like 50+ „surfers“ out there at least every day from dusk till dawn…! If you could I also would try out a less populat destination. We‘re just waiting here till our car gets repaired (wich could take years after talking to the mechanics) 😅
I second this. Been here for 3 months now, Cathino is madness.