GIANT WAVES at Nazare

December 5^th-6^th, 2025

With Octi ready to roll again, I set off on Friday morning to Nazare.  I had been keeping my eye on the Nazare webcam for the previous few days, and I was sure that I missed an amazing day on Wednesday, but Saturday was forecasted to be almost as good.  Wednesday was so awesome that a photo of a surfer on a massive wave appeared on CNN’s “Sports Photos of the Week” collection on their website.

 

There was a scare that day too though.  A surfer wiped out and then was hit by wave after wave.  A guy on a jet ski tried to pull him out of harm's way, only to get flipped by a wave himself.  Luckily the surfer was brought safely to the shore, but he was completely exhausted by the ordeal.  The lifeguards sent him to the hospital to be checked out but was okay…whew.

 

Instead of staying on the main beach in a hotel as I had done when I visited Nazare back on November 18th, I parked Octi in a massive parking lot that was allocated for campervans and motorhomes.  It was only about 15% full but I imagine in the summer it is chock full.  It was just a parking lot, with no facilities whatsoever.

Octi's parking spot for the night.

It was only a 25-minute walk to reach the lighthouse area on the point which is the best vantage point to watch the action.  The waves were definitely bigger than my previous visit and this time there were about 6-8 jet skis out on the water and 2-3 surfers…awesome, there was some action to watch.

Arriving at the lighthouse area on early Friday afternoon.

One of the best wave sets with a surfer on Friday at Nazare.

I wanted to head down to the beach as I had done when Naomi and I had visited, but it didn’t look safe to do so from the point as the waves were crashing in further up the shoreline.  Technically, I would have to go past the protective rope fencing to reach the sand too, and there was a lifeguard jeep nearby. 

It started to rain and sadly I had forgotten to bring my umbrella or wear my rain jacket.  It also got quite foggy, so I decided to head back to the van.

 

It was almost 4 o’clock so there was still almost an hour and a half until sunset, so I decided to walk in the opposite direction from the lighthouse.

On the walk down to the beach from the camping parking lot, I saw these deer, including a stag with an impressive rack, in a fenced in area.  It was quite large, but strangely it was a recently burned forest...kind of a crappy place for the deer.

It might be hard to see, but there are at least a half dozen deer about 30 yards away.

Arriving at the beach.

A panorama from the beach at Nazare.

A surfer coming to shore to collect his Board.

It was a wild ride back out into the surf!

A chaotic set of waves.

Watching the giant waves from down on the beach was definitely worth it.  I wandered down the beach, almost to the base of the point and enjoyed soaking in the craziness of the water.  I passed right by a few lifeguards hanging out in a pickup truck with an ATV parked next to it.  They were intently watching the water, keeping an eye out for any trouble for the one or two surfers out there.  With the sun sinking in the background combined with the crashing waves and mist that was kicked up, I had no idea how they would see a guy in trouble.

Enjoying the entertainment...

...mostly provided by Mother Nature.

There were still some good waves coming in as I started to head back to the van.

One last look before heading inland.

The next morning, I returned to the point around 10:30, this time prepared with not only my rain jacket and umbrella in my backpack, but a camping chair and a nice mug of hot tea.

Not surprisingly, it was busier on Saturday morning, helped by the fact that the forecast was for even bigger waves than yesterday.

A surfer catching a good sized wave and riding it out.

Enjoying the show...

It got busier and busier.

A surfer wiping out on the second set of waves...look for the tiny dot!

A big set of waves coming in.

Looking down the beach, where I was yesterday afternoon.

A couple of maritime policemen arrived and started moving people back behind the rope barriers...which makes sense when you look at the size of the waves coming in!

Scanning the scene.

It started well for this surfer...but then he wiped out.

The best run of the day that I saw...he even received an applause!

This guy ran the wave a long ways...

After almost an hour and a half, and having seen some good surf run, I decided to pull the plug and head back to Octi to start driving south.  

It was getting super busy as I was on my way out...I left at a good time.

I was happy that I returned to Nazare to see what the giant waves do look like.  Sure, they can be even a bit bigger than what I saw, but I’m not complaining as they were much larger than anything I’ve ever seen before.

 

The surf was up!!!