Flying to Faro with a surfboard: what it costs, and when renting is cheaper

If you are flying to the Algarve with your own board, the airline fee is usually the biggest single cost of the trip after the flight itself. It is worth doing the maths before you book, because on a short trip the numbers rarely work in your favour.

What the airlines actually charge

These are the published surfboard fees for the airlines that fly into Faro, correct as of early 2026. Every one of them is charged per flight, not per booking, so you pay it twice on a return trip.

So a return trip with a board costs roughly 120 EUR on Ryanair, 100 EUR on easyJet, 110 EUR with TUI and 70 EUR with Jet2. British Airways is the outlier: if your board fits inside 190 cm and you are within your baggage weight, it can travel free, which is why a 6’0″ shortboard in a light bag is the one case where flying with your own board is genuinely cheap.

Ryanair also charges 13 EUR for every kilo over its 20 kg limit, and 20 kg is not much once you add a travel bag and a couple of boards.

What renting costs instead

We rent surfboards from 8 EUR a day. That means a Ryanair return board fee of 120 EUR is roughly fifteen days of rental. A standard week costs about 56 EUR, less than half what you would pay the airline to bring your own.

Roof rack straps are available to rent alongside the board, so you can carry it safely on a hire car.

The costs people forget

The fee is only part of it. Travelling with a board also means:

• Oversize baggage queues. Boards do not come out on the carousel. At Faro you collect them from the oversize desk, which regularly adds twenty to thirty minutes at the end of the flight.
• Hire car size. A 6’6″ board will not go inside a small hire car. You either pay for a larger category or you need roof bars, which many rental companies in Portugal do not fit as standard.
• Damage risk. Baggage handling is hard on boards. A pressure ding on the way out can cost you a day of your trip finding a repair, and airlines are generally reluctant to pay out on sports equipment.
• Length limits. If you ride a longboard, look carefully at the table above. easyJet stops at 275 cm and Jet2 at 300 cm. A 9’2″ longboard is 279 cm, which already rules out easyJet.

When bringing your own board is still worth it

Renting is not always the right answer, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. Bring your own if:

• You are staying three weeks or more. Past roughly a fortnight the rental cost overtakes the flight fee.
• You ride something specific. If you are on a board shaped for you, or you are competing, no rental board will feel the same.
• You fly British Airways with a board under 190 cm, where it may cost you nothing at all.
• You are travelling as a group and can split one board bag between two people, which halves the effective fee.

How renting here works

We are 1.5 km from Faro Airport and 3 km from Praia de Faro, so you can collect a board on the way out of arrivals rather than making a separate trip. Pick your equipment, leave your contact details, collect at the shop. There is a 50 EUR refundable deposit, returned when the board comes back in normal condition, and parking at the shop is free.

If you are still deciding what to ride or where to go, our surfboard rental guide covers the boards we stock, and the SUP guide covers paddleboarding spots along the coast and inside the Ria Formosa.

The short version

For a trip of a week or two, flying with your own board costs more than renting one, before you count queues, hire car size and damage risk. For three weeks or longer, or if you are particular about what you ride, bring it. Everyone else is better off travelling light.

Airline fees checked January 2026. Airlines change these regularly, so confirm on your airline’s own fees page before you book.