Lagoa / Carvoeiro spearfishing forecast — wind, swell, visibility, tides & live cameras

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◈Lagoa / Carvoeiro · Portugal
5.2
wave 0.3 m
visibility~2m

Marginal

Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.

Sources: IPMA · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus — high confidence · data 02:30

Sources & confidence

Sources
IPMA · buoys · Open-Meteo · Copernicus
Method
spearo sea-state engine: consensus of up to 6 models + satellite clarity (ZSD) + buoy-bias checks
Freshness
Re-read every hour, per coast

Compiled by the spearo sea-state engine · How it works →

The verdict comes from seven water factors and hard safety gates — not ten tabs. Go or stay.

How we score the water

Our own model

Our own forecast engine — not a third-party widget. It weighs these water factors into one go-or-stay verdict for this coast; the 0–10 dial is that verdict, read out as a number.

01
Swell & wave memory
Height, period and direction of the swell, plus the wake of recent storms — an old storm still stirs the water, and the engine remembers.
02
Wind & gusts
Speed and gusts, hour by hour — wind speed and an onshore push chop the surface and cut visibility.
03
Tide phase
Timing and range of the tide, calibrated per coast — big spring tides pull the verdict toward caution.
04
Water temperature
Sea-surface temperature — sharply cold water vetoes a green verdict.
05
Currents & outflow
Direction and drift of the current — it pushes you, and it drags turbid coastal water across where you dive.
06
Rain runoff & air clarity
Rain muddies the water inshore through land runoff, while fog and haze cut visibility at the surface.
07
Coast shape & exposure
How the coast faces the swell — a sheltered cove keeps the water clean; an exposed, head-on point takes a penalty.

Safety gates

  • Thunderstorm forecast — an instant red, no exceptions.
  • An official warning (MeteoAlarm / IPMA) — yellow, or red for the higher ranks.
  • Missing input data — a would-be green is capped to yellow rather than overstated.
  • Strong disagreement between forecast models — a green day is pulled back to yellow.
  • Night hours — where night spearfishing is banned by law the window is forced red; where it is legal (Australia outside NSW, New Zealand, South Africa) it is capped at yellow, never green.

It all folds into a single 0–10 score and one verdict: go or stay.

A forecast, not a guarantee — the sea has the last word.

Entry pointsNo-take zonesLive cams

Where to get in, where to hunt

Entry points with coordinates
Seabed relief — promising ground

This verdict — in your pocket. Open the app for the week's window.

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0 m

Surface

Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.

spearo.app
calmupdated 02:30
Lagoa / Carvoeiro — solo, off the rocks
BORDERLINE
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site · murky water (visibility ~2 m)
wave 0.3 mwind 14, gusts 25 km/hvisibility ~2 mwindow 06:00–18:00
today, best window 06:00–09:00
fish · Visibility 2 m · Water 17.6°C
confidence low · verdict for the selected day
Before entering, check the camera and the surge
Whole week — tap a day. is driving swell right now.
›
Solo risk: carry a float · tell someone your plan and exit time · doubt = don't go. A model-based planner; the call is made on site.
Selected day

Windows, hours
and the day's trends.

The day is picked above, in the hero. Here are that day's windows, the hour-by-hour map and the trends. Tap a window to break down the conditions.

Sunday · today2026-10-25
06:50–17:44 · full moon
▲ 01:00▼ 07:00▲ 13:00▼ 19:00 · 2.9 m
Hours (06→20)
06
09
12
15
18
Day's trends
Tide0.20 m
Wave0.22 m
Wind12 km/h
Water18 °C
fish activity: moonset 05:59 · moderate · moon underfoot 11:30 · high · moonrise 17:05 · moderate · moon overhead 00:00 · high
Conditions window06:00–09:00
caution — solo off the rocks is risky, check on site fish ·
Hs 0.26 m · calmperiod 4.8 swind 14→25surge 0.1viz 2 m
0.26 mcalm · up to ~0.52 · 289° at an angle
4.8 sswell moderate
14→25gusts 25 km/h
0.1weak surge
0.11m/s
2 msatellite: water here is usually murkier
17.6°C5 mm + hood
▲13:00tide turn near
Atmosphere28 kmlandmarks visible
moderatemoonset
  • murky water (visibility ~2 m)
  • first hours of the flood — fish moving in
confidence lowtwilight
Open the seafloor map with entry points →
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spearo.app · a private marine instrument · Lagoa / Carvoeiro · a planner, not a safety guaranteePrivacy
Today
Notify me
Map
Best window · next 3 days
borderlinetomorrow · 06:00–09:00
you can see ~2 m ahead fish

transparency nearby ~11 m · satellite, 2 days agosatellite estimate · may differ right at the shore

↓ low tide 06:41 · slack water ~05:56–07:26 bite times: 10:30–12:30 · 16:35–17:35

Tell me when it's on

Just your email — nothing else needed.

Your best window — with you. Forecast in your pocket.

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−10 m

The water column

Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.

What it is

A marine instrument,
go / no-go for solo hunting.

spearo.app folds wind, wave, swell period, visibility, tides, water temperature and risk into a single verdict — go to the spot or not. It computes 7 days ahead from open marine models (Open-Meteo, IPMA), with no sign-up and no accounts. Built for solo spearfishing off the rocks, where any mistake costs dearly.

Now live: 3016 spots across 406 stretches of coast — mainland Portugal, Madeira and the Azores.

See all spots →
−20 m

The seabed

Relief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.

On the rock

The forecast is the plan.
The call is on the rock.

The models set the window. Whether you go in is read only at the water: count the sets, watch the surge on the entry. If in doubt, you don't get in.

Entry points

Where to get in
off the rocks.

Scouted entries, coloured by today. The colour is the sea state at the spot, not a guarantee: the wash and a slippery entry you judge on site.

Open the seafloor map →
Praia do ParaísoParaíso cove, east of Carvoeiro beach
borderline
swell on the quarter today
window
Early morning when the beach is quieter and there are fewer boats; shoulder season preferred.
tide
Mid-to-low tide exposes more rock at the edges and eases the sand-to-reef entry.
shelter
Small secluded cove with rocky surrounds; the walls shelter from cross-winds, the front is open to the south.
conditions
Best window is flat water and light offshore wind; in south swell the tight cove turns murky and sets up backwash along the rocks.
hazard
Rocks at both edges and submerged — shorebreak on exit when swell is up. No lifeguard, tight cove: as swell builds the exit gets harder. Shuttle boats pass close by.
access
A long staircase cut into the cliff leads down to the sand; from there enter the water toward the rocky edges.

Quieter and less crowded than Carvoeiro's main beach; also west of Alfanzina lighthouse, outside the park — works as a quiet fallback dive cove, entering after scouting from land.

Google Maps
Algar SecoAlgar Seco karst platform
borderline
swell on the quarter today
window
Early morning before the tour boats and before the thermal breeze fills in; best in late spring and autumn flat windows.
tide
Platform entry is safer at mid-to-low tide when the rock ledges are exposed; at high water wash sweeps the entry point.
shelter
Jagged karst platform of pools, tunnels and overhangs; the recesses give local shelter from the west, but the front faces S-SW swell head-on.
conditions
Flat days only: swell under ~0.5 m and light offshore (N) wind. Any S-SW swell breaks into the rock recesses and the entry turns into a trap.
hazard
Dominant danger is the exit: as swell builds, surge and suck-back into the tunnels create a real entrapment risk against the limestone. Add heavy Benagil tour-boat traffic right along the cliff.
access
Free car park at the end of Estrada do Algar Seco, then a stairway and rock-cut tunnel down to the platform at the water; reef shoes essential.

Scout from land first on a calm day: it is a tourist viewpoint, not an established hunting entry — only enter flat and with a buddy.

Google Maps
Praia de Vale CenteanesVale Centeanes cove, west rocks
borderline
⛔ Banned here
swell on the quarter today
window
Off-season / early morning only: in summer it is a Blue Flag, lifeguarded, busy beach. Best on weekdays in May-June and September-October.
tide
Any tide works for the sand entry; at low water the west rocks expose and the reef is closer to hand.
shelter
Deep cove between high cliffs — well sheltered from wind, especially N/NW; sea usually calm. Rocky reef runs along the western (left) edge.
conditions
Diveable in small-to-mid S-SW swell (up to ~1 m); clarity drops fast as south swell builds, since it funnels straight into the cove mouth.
hazard
The bottom drops off sharply by the west rocks, where submerged boulders break in swell. In summer, swimmers and the 50 m-from-beach rule apply.
access
A long cliff-cut staircase drops to the sand; enter from the beach and swim to the left (west) reef.

Hunting is legal here (west of Alfanzina lighthouse, outside the marine park), but it is a busy lifeguarded beach — realistic only for an off-season reef dive/scout, not active hunting in summer.

Google Maps
🔒 Praia dos CastelosPraia dos Castelos
borderline
Pro · subscribers
swell on the quarter today
window
—

The full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.

Open in the app →

SOLO is the biggest risk: underwater you can black out from lack of oxygen silently and fatally, with no one around. Solo is never truly «safe». Below are the best weather windows; carry a buoy, tell someone your plan and exit time, and any doubt — don't go.

One morning glance — and you know.

Download on theApp StoreGET IT ONGoogle Play
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≈

Surfacing

Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.

Live cameras, map & reference
Cameras · live

Look at the water
right now.

Check the cam BEFORE you leave. Foam, brown/green murk, or waves washing the entry rocks = No-go. At night/in fog the cam is useless — treat it as «unknown», NOT «green».

connecting to the stream…
● LIVE↗
Praia Nova (Porches, ~6 km E de Carvoeiro) (Windy)Live Windy webcam — Praia Nova (Porches, ~6 km E of Carvoeiro). Official keyless player, plays inline. Read the water and swell before you go.camera: windy ↗Webcams provided by windy.com - add new webcam
Open the seafloor map →
Reference

What's in season,
what the law says.

In season now: Sea bass, Salema, Octopus, Mullet

In season now
  • Robalo (sea bass)
    <4 m · end of ebb → start of flood · dawn/dusk
    Prime target. Shy of light — pick early/twilight windows.
  • Salema
    0–2 m · — · daytime
    Easiest target at 0–6 m. ⚠️ Do NOT eat the head/guts (ichthyosarcotoxism).
  • Polvo (octopus)
    1–6 m · high water · twilight
    Peaks in autumn. Spot the den by the pile of shells. Don't take egg-bearing females. Min. weight 750 g (DGRM).
  • Tainha (mullet)
    0–2 m · — · —
    Extremely wary; murky water HINDERS it. Opportunistic, in calm coves.
  • Santola (spider crab)
    1–10 m · low water (reef shelf exposed) · calm morning (≤force 2)
    Carapace ≥12 cm. Peaks Jul–Aug. CLOSED 15.02–15.06. Limit 2 kg/day.
Law
🦀 spider crab open (season 16.06–14.02)
  • ✓Spearfishing licence required, daily/monthly/annual (~€25/yr). Speargun = licence required. (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º + 12.º-A; fees in , .) There is no minimum age for the licence, but under-16s are exempt from holding one when fishing accompanied by a licence holder (art. 12.º n.º 2 al. b).
  • ✓Hand-gathering shellfish with NO gear — no licence; but if a speargun is on the dive, a spearfishing licence is required (DL 246/2000, art. 12.º n.º 1; ).
  • ✓Night prohibited: spearfishing only in daylight (sunset→sunrise not allowed). Artificial light as a means of finding/attracting fish is banned — a torch for safety only (, art. 8.º/3 + 3.º/5; DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 1 d).
  • ✓Signalling buoy MANDATORY for spearfishing: buoy/float with an «Alfa» flag (red/orange/yellow, ≥8 L), no more than 30 m from the diver (, art. 4.º/2).
  • ✓Spearfishing daily limit: fish + cephalopods — 15 kg (excluding the largest specimen). General rod-and-line recreational fishing — 10 kg (, art. 12.º/1).
  • ✓Invertebrates (including spider crab) — 2 kg/day total (, art. 12.º/2).
  • ✓Spider crab: min. carapace 12 cm; (closed season) 15.02–15.06 — applies to recreational gathering too (, ; table).
  • ✓Min. sizes: robalo 36 cm, sargo 17 cm, dourada 19 cm, choupa 23 cm, corvina 42 cm; octopus 750 g ( + EU Reg. 2019/1241; minimum-size table).
  • ✓Grouper — fully protected, may not be taken (, art. 10.º + ).
  • ✓Breath-hold only: spearfishing may be practised in apnea alone. Scuba, rebreather and hookah are banned; the speargun may not be powered by a detonating charge or by compressed gas (DL 246/2000, art. 9.º n.º 3 — o antigo art. 6.º foi revogado).
  • ✓The catch may NOT be sold: displaying for sale, offering or selling recreational catch is prohibited — it is for the fisher, the household, or donation to charitable, scientific or museum institutions (DL 246/2000, art. 7.º).
  • ✓A loaded speargun out of the water is an offence (DL 246/2000, art. 14.º n.º 2 f). Same article: no fishing closer than the legally set distance from concessioned beaches during the bathing season (n.º 2 d), nor in places closed for health or marine-traffic reasons (n.º 2 e). The exact metres come from the regulation and the capitania — check before you go.
  • ✓Distances between people: at least 20 m from another spearfisher (, art. 6.º n.º 3) unless you agree otherwise; from a boat, 50 m from other vessels, divers and set gear (art. 6.º n.º 2); every vessel must keep 50 m from your signalling buoy and from boats flying flag Alfa (art. 7.º n.º 6). The figure that circulates — «30 m between hunters» — is wrong: 30 m is the distance to YOUR OWN buoy.
  • ✓What you may take into the water: the CAPTURE gear on a spearfishing dive is the speargun, a shellfish knife, a gaff (puxeiro) and an arrelhada (, art. 3.º n.º 3). That is not a ban on everything else: art. 4.º n.º 1 expressly allows equipment for cold protection, for buoyancy, for protection or safety and for carrying the catch, and any other equipment that does not permit the direct capture of specimens. Bait and groundbait are PROHIBITED in spearfishing (art. 5.º n.º 3). You may not carry or keep a speargun and a breathing apparatus aboard at the same time, nor carry the gun ready to fire out of the water or in a zone where spearfishing is banned (art. 3.º n.º 6). On any recreational-fishing boat the whole crew wears a lifejacket (art. 4.º n.º 3).
  • ✓Where recreational fishing is closed altogether (, art. 8.º n.º 1): in marked shipyard zones (no exception) and in aquaculture establishments — in the LATTER only, fishing is possible when the concession-holder or owner formally authorises it; the shipyard bar has no such carve-out; within 100 m of the mouth of any marked sewage outfall; over beach-concession waters, to the extent the POOC sets; and in other zones closed by the port or maritime authority. For spearfishing and boat fishing specifically (n.º 2) the navigation channels of port and river bars, the approach channels and the buoyed channels are closed. There is NO «300 m from the beach» rule on the mainland — that number comes from Madeira's own act; on the mainland the distance is set by the POOC and by the capitania's edital.
  • ✓The border rivers Minho and Guadiana: spearfishing is BANNED along both international stretches — bilateral Portugal-Spain agreements, art. 9.º n.º 3 (Minho, RAR 34/2023, in force since 26-05-2023) and art. 6.º n.º 1 (Guadiana, RAR 173/2025, in force since 07-12-2025), both reading «É proibida a pesca submarina». On the Guadiana it is also a serious offence (art. 19.º), and a 100 m strip alongside the Sapal de Castro Marim reserve is closed separately (art. 5.º). The stretches run from the confluence with the Trancoso / the Chança down to the closing line at each mouth.
  • ✓On the other Portuguese-Spanish border river stretches (outside the TIRM and the Guadiana maritime-jurisdiction zone) — Decreto 30/88, art. 6.º n.º 1: harpoons, gigs, tridents and any blunt instrument used to take fish are prohibited (al. e), as is «a pesca ou caça subaquática» with artificial light, and night fishing (al. g).
  • ⛔ Grouper (Epinephelus) — fully protected, capture PROHIBITED.
  • ⛔ Seahorses (Hippocampus) — protected.

Rules change. Before heading out, check with DGRM / ICNF / Capitania and the defeso table.

Safety protocol
  • Sets: watch the wave trains ≥15 min before entering; Hmax ≈ 2×Hs, the wash can run 50 m past the foam line. A lull >10 min with period >12 s = a big set «overdue», do NOT enter; enter right after a full set passes and re-check at minute 30.
  • Exit FIRST: find your exit AND a backup before entering. At Cabo Raso/Arriba a 0.5 m rise in swell makes a boulder exit impossible — getting pinned/unable to climb out is the main killer here.
  • Headland rip: at Cabo Raso there is a permanent topographic rip regardless of the model — locate it, enter/exit on the windward side, never swim against it.
  • Cold: wetsuit per the SST chip; the first shiver = a metabolic surge and a drop in breath-hold → get out at the first steady shiver. Cap the session at 45–60 min below 15 °C.
  • Solo discipline: buoy up; tell someone the spot and exit time; conservative breath-hold (never push it in cold/murky/surfy water); visibility <3 m — don't enter.
  • Nortada (Jun–Sep): wind builds from midday — be out of the water by ~11:00; the chop builds — get out.
  • UV 11:00–15:00 (UVI ≥6): sunscreen and cover up on the surface interval.
  • Solo is a fundamental risk (hypoxic blackout with no buddy). Any doubt = No-go.
Local guide · Lagoa / Carvoeiro

Spearfishing in Lagoa / Carvoeiro: spots, seasons and rules

Updated 2026-07-09 · By Oleksandr, spearfisher

Spearfishing around Lagoa and Carvoeiro is about calm coves, limestone edges and timing around tourist traffic. The coast faces south and is sheltered from the usual NW swell, so it often looks friendly. The risk comes from S or SW swell entering the coves, boats and kayaks around the caves, and crowded bathing beaches. For shore spearing, Vale Centeanes and Praia do Paraíso are the realistic entries; Algar Seco is a land-scout first.

TL;DR

  • Lagoa and Carvoeiro are sheltered south-coast limestone coves, usually calmer than west-facing Algarve shores.
  • Use Vale Centeanes and Praia do Paraíso as the practical shore entries; Algar Seco is scout-only.
  • South or SW swell is the bad direction, bringing turbidity, surge and difficult exits.

Best spearfishing spots in Lagoa / Carvoeiro

Algar Seco is excluded because it is marked scout. These two yellow entries still need flat water and off-season or early timing.

SpotTypeDepthLevelAccessNotes
Praia de Vale CenteanesCliff cove with west-side reefSand, rock and a drop by the west edgeCareful intermediateLong cliff staircase to the beach, then swim to the left reefGood outside peak beach hours. Watch submerged boulders, swimmers and south swell.
Praia do ParaísoSmall rocky coveShallow to mid rocky edgesIntermediateLong stairway down to the sand, then work the rocky pointsQuieter than central Carvoeiro. Needs flat water and offshore wind; south swell makes the exit worse.

When are Carvoeiro conditions worth it?

Pick early morning, light northerly or offshore wind, and very small swell. The south coast is protected from NW swell, but S and SW swell run straight into the coves and quickly turn the water murky. Vale Centeanes can handle small south swell near 1 m; Paraíso wants flatter water. Algar Seco has caves, surge and Benagil tour-boat traffic, so it is scout-only, not a normal spearfishing entry.

Lisbon & West

  • Cascais
  • Ericeira

Centre

  • Peniche
  • Baleal
  • Berlengas
  • Nazaré
  • Figueira da Foz
  • Aveiro / Costa Nova

North

  • Espinho
  • Foz do Douro (Porto)
  • Matosinhos (Porto)
  • Vila do Conde
  • Póvoa de Varzim
  • Viana do Castelo
  • Afife

Madeira

  • Porto Santo
  • Caniço / Garajau
  • Funchal
  • Porto Moniz

Azores

  • Vila do Porto
  • Ponta Delgada
  • Angra do Heroísmo
  • Lajes do Pico

All 42 spots → · Region: Algarve · spearo.app — All countries

FAQ

Which Carvoeiro entry is most practical?

Vale Centeanes, because it has a beach entry and reef on the west side, but avoid swimmers and summer crowds.

Why not list Algar Seco?

It is marked scout, with cave and tunnel surge, difficult exits and heavy tour-boat traffic.

What swell direction is bad here?

South and southwest swell. It enters the coves directly and reduces visibility.

Is there a camera nearby?

Yes. There is a Windy camera at Praia Nova in Porches, about 6 km east of Carvoeiro.

Do I need a Portugal spearfishing license?

Yes, from age 16. Breath-hold only, daylight only, flagged buoy within 30 m and national minimum sizes apply.

Sources

  • DGRM
  • ICNF

Region: Algarve

Nearby towns

  • Dive spots near Portimão / Praia da Rocha
  • Albufeira spearfishing guide
  • Lagos / Praia da Luz: forecast and spots
  • Spearfishing in Vila do Bispo
  • Sagres: forecast and spots
Data partners
dive centres that send us real visibility readings
Águas VivasMilfontes · Sagres