The Algarve catches people out. The air is warm nine months of the year, the sun is out, everything looks Mediterranean, and then you walk into the sea in April and it is 17 degrees. It is the Atlantic, and it behaves like the Atlantic.
The good news is that the range is narrow. Sea temperature here moves between roughly 16 and 22 degrees across the whole year. That is why the answer for most people is simpler than the internet makes it sound: one 3/4mm suit does the entire year.
One suit, all year
A 3/4mm full suit is what we rent and what most people here actually use, in February and in August. The 6 degree swing between the coldest and warmest water sounds like a lot on paper, but it sits inside the range a single suit handles comfortably.
In the depths of winter some people add surf socks and gloves. That is the only seasonal change most surfers here make, and plenty do not bother with it at all. At the other end, on a hot still day in August, some people surf in boardshorts, though the water is cooler than the air suggests and a suit is rarely the wrong call.
If you are coming from Ireland, Cornwall or the north of Spain, this will feel generous. You can leave the hood and the 5mm suit at home.
Sea temperature month by month
Average sea temperature measured at Faro, rounded:
| January | 16-17 C | 3/4mm suit, socks and gloves if you feel the cold |
| February | 16 C | 3/4mm suit, the coldest stretch of the year |
| March | 16 C | 3/4mm suit, socks worth having |
| April | 17 C | 3/4mm suit |
| May | 18-19 C | 3/4mm suit |
| June | 20 C | 3/4mm suit |
| July | 21 C | 3/4mm suit |
| August | 21-22 C | 3/4mm suit, or boardshorts on a hot still day |
| September | 21-22 C | 3/4mm suit, the warmest water of the year |
| October | 21 C | 3/4mm suit |
| November | 19 C | 3/4mm suit |
| December | 17-18 C | 3/4mm suit, socks and gloves optional |
Two things that surprise almost everyone
The sea is coldest in late winter, not in January. February and March are the bottom of the curve. The ocean has an enormous amount of thermal mass and it lags the air by about two months, so by the time the days feel like spring the water is at its worst.
The sea is warmest in September, not in August. The same lag works the other way. September and early October are the best swimming and surfing water of the entire year, and the beaches are half empty by then. It is the single most useful thing to know when booking a trip.
The west coast is colder than the numbers say
Those figures are from Faro, on the sheltered south coast. If you drive west to Arrifana, Amado or Sagres, expect it to feel a degree or two cooler in summer, and occasionally a lot cooler.
The cause is upwelling. When the summer north wind blows down the west coast for a few days, it pushes surface water offshore and cold water rises from below to replace it. The air can be 30 degrees and the sea can drop into the teens within a day. It is entirely normal here and it is the reason we do not recommend planning a west coast trip around boardshorts, even in July.
Surf socks and gloves
Worth having in winter, not worth carrying the rest of the year. Socks do as much for grip and for rock entries on the west coast as they do for warmth, which is why some people here wear them well outside the cold months. Gloves are the first thing to add if your hands are what stop you staying in, and the first thing most people drop again by March.
Hoods are not a thing here. If you own one, leave it at home.
Fit matters more than thickness
A loose suit flushes. Cold water runs in at the neck and the ankles every time you duck under, and no amount of neoprene fixes that. A suit that feels slightly too snug on dry land is usually correct once it is wet. If you can pinch a large fold of material at the lower back, it is too big.
This is the main argument for renting rather than borrowing whatever a friend has spare. A well-fitting 3/4mm keeps you warmer than a baggy thicker suit.
Renting in Faro
We stock 3/4mm full suits in sizes XS to XXL, for adults and children, 1.5 km from Faro Airport. You can collect on the way in from arrivals and drop back on the way out. Details and prices are on the wetsuit rental page.
If you are also deciding which coast to surf and when, we wrote that up here: surfing the Algarve by season.
Planning the wider trip
If you are working out where to base yourself rather than what to wear, our sister company Ocean Camper covers the road trip side of the Algarve in depth, including the individual surf beaches and where to stay: surfing in Portugal.
