Ohhhhhh Nazaré. This place captured my heart big time. We were so lucky that we timed our trip to Nazaré with the World Surf League big wave competition – a competition that can be on anytime between the 1st of November and the 31st of March, it just depends when the waves are the best and the biggest. If you haven’t seen the series the 100 Foot Wave, I highly recommend it. It’s absolutely insane to see Jet Skis and surfers out there in waves so big I would never have thought it was possible for anyone to surf them. And aside from watching the surfers in awe, Nazaré is a really awesome place.

Things to do

Even when the waves aren’t giant, we loved walking around the town and popping into the local shops and cafes. There is a huge beach to enjoy as well and there seem to be lots of activities happening a lot of the time.

How affordable is it?

Very! We didn’t spend a penny on overnight stays and we used Intermarche for doing our waste and getting water and that was free. Supermarkets are super cheap and a coffee out was also very reasonable. You could very easily stay here for a while and not spend much at all.

Driving a campervan or motorhome in Nazaré

Some parts of the town are really narrow and I wouldn’t want to be driving anything wider or longer than our campervan (2.1m wide and 6m long). But otherwise the main bit is super easy to drive around and the 10 min drive to Intermarche for sorting our waste and water is super accessible too.

Would we go back?

Absolutely! Watching the big waves was an experience that is hard to put into words. I probably wouldn’t go back outside of big wave season and the locals there said a lot of them leave in July and August because it is so busy. But for a winter vanlife trip – hell yeah!

Highlights

• The big waves are insane
• Really nice to run along the coast
• Free spots to park and very motorhome friendly

Lowlights

• None!