# A Weekend in Nazaré, an Hour and a Half from Lisbon: Surf, the Sítio, Giant Waves and Alcobaça Two nights in Nazaré: a surf lesson in the bay, the funicular to the Sítio and the Praia do Norte fort, fish on the Praia and Sunday morning at Alcobaça monastery. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/portugal/central-portugal/nazare/itineraries/weekend-giant-waves-alcobaca · Revisado: 2026-11-12 Dónde: Nazaré In a day from Lisbon, you see Nazaré; in two nights, you live it. With the hotel on the beach square you do not need to move the car: on Saturday you learn to surf in the village's sheltered bay, eat fish in the fishermen's quarter and take the funicular up to the Sítio to see Praia do Norte, home of the biggest waves ever surfed. On Sunday, on the way back to Lisbon, you stop at the Cistercian monastery of Alcobaça, 13 km away. ## How do you get there from Lisbon? By car, along the A8, about 120 km and an hour and a half. If you fly from Spain, you land in Lisbon and hire a car there, or take the scheduled bus to Nazaré, which takes a little over an hour and a half; in that case, leave Alcobaça for another time or go by taxi. ## Where to sleep? AccommodationAreaWho it suits Hotel Mar BravoBeach squareAnyone who wants the sand and the funicular on foot Miramar Hotel Spa & ApartmentsTop of PederneiraSpa, pool and views of the bay Ohai NazaréPine wood 4 km awayFamilies, dogs and motorhomes ## How much does it cost? The surf lesson, €35 per person. Alcobaça monastery, €15. Taberna d'Adélia is mid-priced (€€ in the Michelin Guide); the rice dishes and cataplanas at Mar Bravo, from €22 to €28 per person. The funicular, with a ticket at the station. ## El plan ### Friday · 19:00 · Arrival at Mar Bravo Leave your bag at the hotel, on Praça Sousa Oliveira, and have dinner in its seafood restaurant on the ground floor, open until 22:30. ### Saturday · 10:00 · Surf lesson Nazare Surf School, on the promenade, a couple of minutes from the hotel. Ninety minutes with board, wetsuit and insurance. ### Saturday · 13:00 · Lunch at Taberna d'Adélia Fish of the day on Rua das Traineiras. Book by phone; closed on Thursday. ### Saturday · 16:00 · Funicular and fort Go up to the Sítio on the 1889 funicular and walk a kilometre to the fort of São Miguel Arcanjo, above Praia do Norte. Stay for sunset. ### Sunday · 10:00 · The village beach A stroll on the sand of the bay or a last swim in summer. ### Sunday · 12:00 · Alcobaça monastery 13 km on the way to Lisbon: the Cistercian church, the tombs of Pedro and Inês, the cloister and the monumental kitchen. ### Sunday · 15:00 · Back to Lisbon You arrive around 16:30. ## Consejos ### Check the wave forecast in winter With a storm, swap the lesson for the big waves of Praia do Norte. ### Book the lesson and the table before you go The school takes bookings by email and phone; Taberna d'Adélia, by phone. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Do you need a car? Not for Nazaré: everything is on foot and by funicular. For Alcobaça, yes. ### When should you go? From May to September for surfing and the beach; from October to March for the giant waves. ### Can you go with children? Yes. The village beach is sheltered and they like the funicular; the surf lesson, if they can swim. ### Where can you eat on Sunday? Mar Bravo is open every day from 12:00 to 22:30; Taberna d'Adélia, on Sunday at midday too. ## Dónde dormir if you're driving - **Hotel Mar Bravo**: A hotel on the beach square itself The Hotel Mar Bravo is on Praça Sousa Oliveira, the square that opens onto the seafront promenade in the centre of the Praia, Nazaré's lower district. You step out of the door and in a minute you are on the sand. It is a small hotel, of 16 rooms, with its own fish and seafood restaurant on the ground floor, which is almost as well known in the town as the hotel. It is run by the company Araújo & Santos and is entered in the national tourism register under number 397. The rooms All are doubles, with a double or twin bed depending on availability, and their own bathroom with a shower or bath. What changes between them is the view. The best have two balconies, one facing the beach and another with a side view of the Atlantic. Others have a private balcony facing the sea and the headland of the Sítio, others a balcony with a side view, and the simplest, a window with a side sea view and plenty of light. Buffet breakfast is included in all rates. An extra bed or cot can be requested, although they do not fit in every room: say so when you book. The restaurant The Mar Bravo restaurant is open every day from 12:00 to 22:30, for non-guests too. It has a glassed-in dining room facing the beach and a tank with live shellfish. The menu is fish by weight (sea bass, sole, gilthead bream, grouper), shellfish, rice dishes and cataplanas for one or two people, seafood açorda and sardines in season. You have its listing in the where-to-eat section for Nazaré. Getting there and parking From Lisbon, along the A8, in a little over an hour and a half. The hotel lists parking among its services, but the website does not say where or how much it costs: ask when you book, because in summer parking in the Praia is difficult. Without a car, the bus from Lisbon drops you in the town and the hotel is a few minutes' walk away. What is nearby The town beach is in front. The funicular to the Sítio leaves a few streets away, and from the top you continue on foot to the São Miguel Arcanjo fort, above Praia do Norte. The town's surf school is on the same promenade. - **Miramar Hotel Spa & Apartments**: A hotel with views from the top of Pederneira The Miramar is in the upper part of Nazaré, towards the Pederneira district, the old core of the town, on a slope that looks out over the whole bay: the beach, the town and the headland of the Sítio opposite. It is a four-star hotel of the Miramar group, which has another hotel in the town, the Miramar Sul. The beach is about 700 metres away, ten minutes' walk downhill; the return is uphill. Rooms and apartments It has 44 rooms, nine of them suites with an ocean view, and seven apartments in an adjoining building with a view of Nazaré, useful if you travel as a family or stay several days. Check-in is from 16:00 and check-out until 12:00. According to the website, cancellation is free up to 48 hours before arrival. Children up to 3 do not pay for accommodation or meals, and up to 11 years do not pay for accommodation. The spa and the pools The guests' spa is used at no cost, by booking a time: a panoramic heated pool with jets, a large hot tub, a steam room and a rest area, with large windows to the sea. Next door is the Thalasso Nazaré centre, where treatments are paid separately. In the garden there is an outdoor pool with sun loungers and the beach in the background. Eating at the hotel The restaurant is the Mar Aberto Wine Bar, with a panoramic view of the ocean: Portuguese cooking with plenty of fish and seafood, international dishes and options for special diets and vegans. It is open from 12:30 to 15:00 and from 19:30 to 22:00. Getting there By the A8, exit 22 towards Alcobaça, Nazaré and Valado dos Frades, then the IC9 towards Nazaré and, once in the town, the direction of Pederneira until the hotel signs. The website does not detail parking: ask when you book. Alcobaça is 15 km away, Óbidos 40 and Lisbon about 110. - **Ohai Nazaré Outdoor Resort**: A campsite with pools among the pines Ohai Nazaré is an outdoor resort in a pine wood next to National Road 242, on the outskirts of Nazaré: about 4 km from the town beach and 3 km from Praia do Norte, the one with the giant waves. It combines a pitch campsite with bungalows, apartments and glamping tents, and has the facilities of a holiday park: a water park with slides, heated outdoor pools, a heated indoor pool with a hot tub, a gym, a playground, a games room and a restaurant. Everything is included in the price for guests; day visitors are not admitted. Where to sleep inside There are five types of bungalow, with one or two bedrooms, some with views; the largest are for five or six people. They have a bathroom, air conditioning, fridge, microwave, hob, coffee maker, TV, wifi, bed linen and towels, and a porch with a table. There are also one and two-bedroom apartments and glamping; the tents have no TV. The pitches, standard and comfort, have an electric hook-up and drinking water nearby, and there is an area for caravans and a service area for emptying motorhomes. Check-in is from 16:00 (you can arrive from 14:00 to use the facilities) and check-out until 11:00. There is a laundry for guests. With children and with a dog In high season, from late June to mid-September, and at Easter there is entertainment for children and adults on weekdays; the rest of the year, at weekends. Cots are €5, but there are no extra beds. Dogs are welcome: up to two per accommodation, €10 per night each, with a vaccination record and microchip, always on a lead and kept out of pools, the playground and enclosed spaces. They can be on the restaurant terrace, and there are dog showers. Eating The BistrOhai restaurant serves a buffet or à la carte depending on the season, with vegetarian, vegan and allergy options. When booking you can add half board or full board. Getting there You need a car: from Lisbon, the A8 to Nazaré, and the EN242 to kilometre 31.5. Parking for the first car is included; the second costs €3.50 a day. ## Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Hotel Mar Bravo**: A hotel on the beach square itself The Hotel Mar Bravo is on Praça Sousa Oliveira, the square that opens onto the seafront promenade in the centre of the Praia, Nazaré's lower district. You step out of the door and in a minute you are on the sand. It is a small hotel, of 16 rooms, with its own fish and seafood restaurant on the ground floor, which is almost as well known in the town as the hotel. It is run by the company Araújo & Santos and is entered in the national tourism register under number 397. The rooms All are doubles, with a double or twin bed depending on availability, and their own bathroom with a shower or bath. What changes between them is the view. The best have two balconies, one facing the beach and another with a side view of the Atlantic. Others have a private balcony facing the sea and the headland of the Sítio, others a balcony with a side view, and the simplest, a window with a side sea view and plenty of light. Buffet breakfast is included in all rates. An extra bed or cot can be requested, although they do not fit in every room: say so when you book. The restaurant The Mar Bravo restaurant is open every day from 12:00 to 22:30, for non-guests too. It has a glassed-in dining room facing the beach and a tank with live shellfish. The menu is fish by weight (sea bass, sole, gilthead bream, grouper), shellfish, rice dishes and cataplanas for one or two people, seafood açorda and sardines in season. You have its listing in the where-to-eat section for Nazaré. Getting there and parking From Lisbon, along the A8, in a little over an hour and a half. The hotel lists parking among its services, but the website does not say where or how much it costs: ask when you book, because in summer parking in the Praia is difficult. Without a car, the bus from Lisbon drops you in the town and the hotel is a few minutes' walk away. What is nearby The town beach is in front. The funicular to the Sítio leaves a few streets away, and from the top you continue on foot to the São Miguel Arcanjo fort, above Praia do Norte. The town's surf school is on the same promenade. - **Miramar Hotel Spa & Apartments**: A hotel with views from the top of Pederneira The Miramar is in the upper part of Nazaré, towards the Pederneira district, the old core of the town, on a slope that looks out over the whole bay: the beach, the town and the headland of the Sítio opposite. It is a four-star hotel of the Miramar group, which has another hotel in the town, the Miramar Sul. The beach is about 700 metres away, ten minutes' walk downhill; the return is uphill. Rooms and apartments It has 44 rooms, nine of them suites with an ocean view, and seven apartments in an adjoining building with a view of Nazaré, useful if you travel as a family or stay several days. Check-in is from 16:00 and check-out until 12:00. According to the website, cancellation is free up to 48 hours before arrival. Children up to 3 do not pay for accommodation or meals, and up to 11 years do not pay for accommodation. The spa and the pools The guests' spa is used at no cost, by booking a time: a panoramic heated pool with jets, a large hot tub, a steam room and a rest area, with large windows to the sea. Next door is the Thalasso Nazaré centre, where treatments are paid separately. In the garden there is an outdoor pool with sun loungers and the beach in the background. Eating at the hotel The restaurant is the Mar Aberto Wine Bar, with a panoramic view of the ocean: Portuguese cooking with plenty of fish and seafood, international dishes and options for special diets and vegans. It is open from 12:30 to 15:00 and from 19:30 to 22:00. Getting there By the A8, exit 22 towards Alcobaça, Nazaré and Valado dos Frades, then the IC9 towards Nazaré and, once in the town, the direction of Pederneira until the hotel signs. The website does not detail parking: ask when you book. Alcobaça is 15 km away, Óbidos 40 and Lisbon about 110.