Beliche is located 2 kilometers north of another surf magnet spot in the area of Sagres, Praia do Tonel. While Tonel is facing west and is a very exposed beach that catches swell with ease, Beliche is tucked in a corner behind the cape of ‘Cabo de São Vicente’, so it needs powerful northwest swells or decent west or southwest swells to start working.
Features of the spot
Beliche, as you can see on the map attached to this information sheet, is tucked away in a corner of the territory formed by the capes of Sagres and São Vicente, and faces southwest, so it is a bit of a protected spot that needs powerful swells from the northwest to start working, or simply swells coming from the west or southwest.
Given that the most frequent swells in Portugal are from the North Atlantic (northwesterly direction), Beliche is not one of the most reliable spots.
For beginners and when it is small, Beliche is a great beach to start practicing stand-ups in safe conditions.
However, when it works and the swell starts to get bigger, Beliche can deliver great surfing sessions and hold waves up to 2 meters. Since it is a beach break, it can get heavy easily and in days like this will be only suitable for experienced surfers.
It works best at low to mid tide.
There are mainly 2 peaks at Beliche:
- The wedge at Beliche starts working under certain conditions and is a hotspot for local bodyboarders that know how this waves behave.
- Wedges are waves that appear due to interference with another wave bouncing back from the shore or from another area of the spot, and they get big and hollow in a matter of seconds
- Beliche is probably the best ‘wedge’ wave in Portugal when is working good.
- With specific conditions, it can deliver some hollow and fast barrels
- Of course this is only for very experienced surfers, bodyboarders and locals that know the physics and behaviour of it.
- The main beach has multiple peaks appearing, mainly in the right side, perfect for intermediate surfers or advanced begginers
Hazards
There’s nothing to point out in sense of dangers or hazards at Beliche. We would only mention that waves at Beliche break over shallow water, so there won’t be too much water under you when you drop the wave. This might be something to be aware of when on those days when waves are a bit bigger and heavier than average in case you miss a wave and wipeout.
Services and access
You will have to go down some stairs from up the cliff to reach the beach, but the path is well maintained.
There’s a big parking on top of the cliff and a beach bar open on summer.
