Today — right on the edge — wave, wind and visibility.
Sources & confidence
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.
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.
Safety gates
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.
Where to get in, where to hunt
Wind, wave and the swell windows — when to go and the best hours.
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.
Leave your email — and the moment a window opens at Portimão / Praia da Rocha, we'll send the go / no-go verdict. Email is all we need.
PortugalWhat's missing? Tell us what you'd like to see — new spots, species, data or features. We read everything.
Visibility and what drives it — post-storm clearing, river plume, temperature and the thermocline.
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 spotsRelief and bottom type, tides, and the depths of each spot.
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.
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 mapThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appThe best documented freedive site in Portimão: submerged limestone walls with sponges, moray, conger, grouper, octopus. Concessioned beach — spearfishing banned within 300 m in bathing season (Jun–Sep); off-season only and with a licence.
Google MapsQuieter than Rocha; the right-side rock reef holds fish. Concessioned beach — spearfishing banned within 300 m in bathing season; off-season only and with a licence.
Google MapsThe full spot briefing is part of the subscription: entry, bottom, hazards, tide window.
Open in the appPopular for line-fishing off the jetty, NOT a spearing spot: concessioned beach alongside (300 m rule in season) and a busy shipping channel. Land scout only — a genuine red zone because of boats.
Google MapsA known cliff-fishing spot, not documented as a dive entry. Scout from land first in dead calm; stay well clear of the shipping channel. Outside the concession, but very treacherous solo.
Google MapsSOLO 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.
Cameras, map and reference — to hand as you come up.
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».
In season now: Sea bass, Salema, Octopus, Mullet
Rules change. Before heading out, check with DGRM / ICNF / Capitania and the defeso table.
Spearfishing in Portimão works the sheltered south coast of the Algarve, from Praia da Rocha across to the Três Castelos and Vau coves. Because the shore faces south, away from the prevailing westerly swell, the sea is usually calm and the water clearer than the Atlantic west coast, with 7 to 14 metres of visibility from June to October. The catch: these are concessioned beaches, where spearfishing is banned within 300 metres in the bathing season, and the only weather that reaches this coast is a south swell. A national licence is required, breath-hold only.
The two documented entries are south-facing rock coves, sheltered from westerly wind and swell by the headlands and cliffs. Both are concessioned beaches: in the bathing season spearfishing is banned within 300 metres, so shore hunting is off-season only and with a licence. The red spots at the Arade river mouth, Ponta do Altar and the Molhe Leste breakwater, are left out. They carry heavy surge and blowholes on the rock, current at the mouth, and constant traffic from Ferragudo ferries, fishing boats and cruise ships, so they are a land scout only in dead calm.
| Spot | Type | Depth | Level | Access | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Praia dos Três Castelos | South-facing cove with rock arches |
All 42 spots → · Region: Algarve · spearo.app — All countries
| Shallow, along the submerged walls |
| Intermediate; off-season only for spearing |
| Cliff stairways from the Três Castelos viewpoint, about 120 steps; a rock tunnel links to Praia da Rocha. Enter off the sand. |
| The best documented freedive site in Portimão: submerged limestone walls with sponges, morays, conger and octopus. Concessioned beach, with spearfishing banned within 300 m in the bathing season (June to September); off-season only and with a licence. Watch for rockfall from the undercut cliffs and entrapment in the arches if the swell builds. |
| Praia do Vau | Cove sheltered by red cliffs, reef on the right | Shallow, over the reef on the right side | Intermediate, quieter than Rocha | Enter off the sand; the best ground is along the rocks on the right (west) side facing the sea. Parking and a ramp at the Vau front. | Quieter than Praia da Rocha, and the right-side rock reef holds fish. Also concessioned, banned within 300 m in the bathing season; off-season only and with a licence. Submerged rocks sit across the swim zone, worst in front of the standalone pinnacle, and they are dangerous on the exit if a south swell runs. |
Autumn is the best time to hunt from shore in Portimão. This coast faces south, unlike the Atlantic west coast, and it is not an upwelling coast, so the water warms and clears through the summer: 7 to 14 metres of visibility from June to October. The snag is the bathing season. From June to September spearfishing is banned within 300 metres of the concessioned beaches, which are exactly the best coves. The free window opens in October, when the concession lifts, octopus peaks, and seabream and gilthead are still on the reef. The one direction this coast is open to is a south swell; on a south swell and a rising tide the coves cloud over and the rock exits turn dangerous.
The species and minimum sizes are national, the same across mainland Portugal. On the shallow south-coast reef you mostly find white seabream (minimum 17 cm, April to September), gilthead bream (19 cm, very skittish, taken static over sand or weed) and black seabream (23 cm), with sea bass (36 cm) in the shallows at dawn and dusk. Octopus, capped by a minimum weight of 750 g, peaks in autumn. Salema is there all year in the first few metres, but do not eat the head or guts. Grouper is fully protected and may not be taken, and so are seahorses. Spider crab has a closed season from 15 February to 15 June.
Visibility comes down to the south swell, the tide and how close you are to the Arade river mouth. Because the coast is sheltered, it is usually calm and clear in summer, 7 to 14 metres in the coves, but river outflow and busy beaches cloud the water by the town. The clearest water is offshore, on the reefs and around the Ocean Revival wreck park, where the spearfishing is boat-based. On a south swell and a rising tide the water shuts down fast, worst at Vau in front of the rocks. Check the live forecast and the Praia da Rocha cameras before you go.
The documented shore entries are Praia dos Três Castelos and Praia do Vau, two south-facing rock coves. Both are concessioned, so spearfishing is banned within 300 metres in the bathing season and only opens off-season, with a licence. In the bathing season the best spearfishing is boat-based, out on the offshore reefs and around the Ocean Revival wreck park.
Yes. The spearfishing licence is national, required from age 16, and costs about 25 euros a year, with daily and monthly options. Spearfishing is allowed on breath-hold only. Check the current rules with the DGRM before you go.
Yes. There is no tourist exemption; visitors need the same national licence as residents, and it covers the whole coast. It can be arranged online through the DGRM. A signalling buoy is mandatory and must stay within 30 metres of you.
At concessioned beaches, spearfishing is banned within 300 metres during the bathing season, which in the Algarve runs mainly from June to September. Outside the season it opens, with a licence. At all times the signalling buoy must stay within 30 metres of the diver.
No. Spearfishing is allowed in daylight only, between sunrise and sunset. Using an artificial light to find or attract fish is banned; a torch is for safety only.
Gilthead bream has a minimum size of 19 cm in Portugal. On the same coast, white seabream is 17 cm, black seabream 23 cm, sea bass 36 cm and meagre 42 cm; octopus is capped by weight at 750 g. These are national figures.
