Paddleboarding Portugal
Fun paddleboarding lessons & tours across Portugal in Lisbon, West Algarve & Madeira
Stand Up Paddleboarding, or SUP, is a very popular outdoor activity with people of all ages and fitness levels. You can get to grips with the watersport quite fast, and if you’re already an experienced paddler, paddleboarding in new destinations never gets old. SUP involves holding a long paddle whilst keeping your balance on a large surf type board, and using it to move across the water.
Portugal is paddleboarding paradise, with clear sea-green waters and a warm climate. West Algarve is perfect for nature lovers who are looking for some peace and quiet. Just being one with your surroundings whilst paddling across the spectacular coastline, discovering cave systems and paddling underneath naturally shaped arches. Cascais is a great destination for those on a city-trip in the Lisbon region. Only a short train-ride away and just a few min walk from the train station, you’ll find a nicely designed promenade with large urban beach. Here we glide into the water and discover the harbour of Cascais. Why not end your day with a well-deserved drink at one of the many beach bars? Madeira Island offers some epic cliff faces and also an abundance of marine life, we can include a snorkel kit so you can discover what’s beneath your board!

West Algarve
Coastal Sup
Explore Sagres Or Amoreira
Stunning Nature
West Algarve offers some amazing paddleboarding locations, with stunning remote beaches and exploring cool cave systems. There are 2 spots you can choose from (and depending on the conditions). We’ll either take you to Raposeira near Sagres, for our caves tour or we’ll take you paddleboarding on Amoreira River by the beach near Aljezur. All our sessions here are beginner friendly but the Sagres spot is usually a little more challenging, which also makes it a great place to go for more experienced paddlers.
Breakdown:
- Choose between our Cave (Sagres) or River (Aljezur) tours in west Algarve
- No previous SUP experience needed
- Our Algarve paddleboarding tours last app. 3 hours
- Experienced instructor & all needed equipment included
- Paddleboarding in Algarve is easy to combine with a coasteering adventure or beatiful hike!
Lisbon & Cascais
Beginner Friendly
Cascais Marina
Urban Coastline
Just a short train ride or drive away from Lisbon’s city centre you’ll find the cool coastal town of Cascais. Popular for many reasons but the main one being the nice urban beaches & buzzing promenade with bars & restaurants. From here we’ll take you paddleboarding around Cascais Marina and towards Santa Marta Lighthouse (if the conditions allow). We can also do a special SUP Yoga activity, where you get to enjoy a beginner friendly yoga lesson whilst balancing on a paddleboard!
Breakdown:
- A paddleboarding lesson or tour in Cascais usually lasts app. 2 hours
- Try your hand at SUP Yoga
- All of our Stand Up Paddleboarding sessions incl. experienced instructor & needed equipment
- Add a prosecco / beer stop half-way through your lesson!
- Why not complete your day out with some beach yoga or a cycling tour after your paddleboarding adventure!
Madeira Island
Camara De Lobos or Canical
Marine Life
Coastal SUP
Explore the epic Madeira coastline and rugged cliffs on a paddleboarding tour starting at the authentic fishing village of Camara de Lobos or from the coastal town of Canico. Both are protected marine reserves and offer crystal clear waters and a fun opportunity to add some snorkelling to your paddleboarding adventure as well.
Breakdown:
- A paddleboarding lesson or tour in Madeira usually lasts app1.5 – . 2 hours
- Experienced instructors and all equipment included (boards – buoyancy aids)
- We also have a giant SUP available which can fit up to 8 people, for some fun team-building!
- The location will be chosen depending on conditions
- Paddleboarding in Madeira is easy to combine with a whale watching tour, canyoning adventure or scenic hike!
SUP Activity Only
SUP Lesson Only
No transfers or tour extras
Lisbon/Algarve/Madeira
Just looking to enjoy a paddleboarding activity with us only? No tour extras & transfers? That’s no issue at all. Prices are dependant on group numbers and location of your SUP lesson – so please contact us through the website chat, get a quote or call us today!
SUP Day Trip
Transfers
Food & extras
Pics & a highlights video
Our most popular option for paddleboarding in Portugal is a hosted day trip. We take the stress off your hands and bring the good vibes and extra touches to complete the experience. With a door to door transfer service, optional inclusion of lunch / dinner to suit your budget and our team there to capture the moments with a load of great pictures and a personal highlights video for you. The perfect SUP day out!
Breakdown:
- Clean private minibuses up to large coaches for your group
- We can include a restaurant lunches or dinner with drinks to suit your budget and style. Packed lunches also available
- Less stress having us there to host and coordinate the day for you
- Pictures and a highlights video
- Competitions for ‘Paddleboarder of the Day’ where the winner get’s a cool surfy prize
- Add in extra sight-seeing after SUP
- Why not add-on more fun to your paddleboarding lesson? Check our outdoor activities in Portugal page for more info!
Multi-Night Adventures
SUP lessons & other activities
Group Accommodation
Transfers & Extras
At Big Blue Adventures we are specialised in package adventure travel for groups and provide tailor-made paddleboarding breaks or weekends away. Whether you want an epic trip on a stag or hen do, an active team building retreat or a large family holiday in Portugal – we offer adventure travel with an award winning service and quality package options. We know what works well and have lots of fun ideas so do contact us to create the best experience for you!
Breakdown:
- Paddleboarding and a range of other watersports & outdoor activities
- Sightseeing and exploring
- Range of group accommodation from villas and modern hostels to luxury hotels
- Transfers
- Food & drink including packed lunches or a local restaurant / cafe lunch
- Friendly local host team with a passion for SUP and adventure
- Pics & highlights video
- Great for stag & hen weekends, company retreats, kids camps, media & press trips, family reunions and more!
Pics & Highlights Video
What better way to capture those special paddleboarding moments than having us there as your very own media crew? We will be there like proud hosts with pictures and a personalised highlights video included. We love SUP and the smiles it puts on everyone’s faces. We get a real buzz from putting together the highlights and sharing them with you after the trip!
Photos and a highlights video are typically included in the day tours and multi-night trips only, but we can on request try and include a few pictures at least in the activity only option.
How Much Will A SUP Lesson Or SUP Getaway Cost?
All our day or multi-night paddleboarding trips and weekend packages are 100% tailor-made for you! So, we can create a Big Blue Adventure to suit specific budgets and what you would like to include for the perfect getaway. The more lessons, extra activities and package elements you include the more that package will cost. It also depends on your final numbers within the group, generally larger groups have a cheaper per person rate, as there are more people to split the core package costs between. Best thing to do is to request a quote – it costs you nothing to start the ball rolling and say hello, we can send a great package your way from there.
Payments
When you’re ready to book your paddleboarding lesson, day tour or SUP weekend break, we simply start with a 30% non-refundable deposit to confirm it all. The final balance is typically required no later than 3 weeks before your activity or day trip, or 6 weeks for multi-night packages. Most guests pay by bank transfer, but we can also accept debit and credit card transaction upon request.
We can also make some changes between the deposit and the final balance payment. Such as amending a few dropouts / attendee increases, or making some package changes within reason. For further information please do see our terms and conditions.
What To Bring
To take part in paddleboarding in Portugal all you need to bring is:
- Swimwear or spare underwear for under the wetsuit (though most of the time we won’t be using wetsuits!). Try and avoid boardies as anything baggy can be very uncomfortable under a wetsuit
- A towel
- Suncream
- Hat
- Water (please try and avoid throw away single use plastic!)
- Any medication you need to keep on you, such as an asthma pump or Epi-Pen etc
All the essential SUP kit is included; wetsuits (depending on time of the year), buoyancy aids and good quality beginner boards.
Are Meals & Drinks Included?
If you want them to be – then of course! We have some awesome spots perfect for a SUP day out with great vibes. We can include lunch, a packed lunch or dinner after paddleboarding, with drinks. It all depends on what type of meal you want, how much budget you have for the day and how much time you have available. We work with some amazing local establishments with tasty produce and can also add on extra food & drink experiences such as a Portuguese wine tasting tour, rum distillery and more. We can work on this to fit the itinerary and plans!
Group Sizes
Minimum group size is 10 people.
Swimming Ability
To join us on a paddleboarding adventure it is required that you have a basic level of swimming and some confidence in the water for your own safety. We do include buoyancy aids to help you stay afloat if you’re a little less confident. We can offer more sheltered options such as the marina, for real beginners, and venture out to sea a bit more for the experienced paddlers! Do contact us regarding the SUP options, as we don’t want those low in confidence to shy away from an awesome experience. You don’t need to be a crazy adrenaline adventurer or an Olympic swimmer to enjoy a Big Blue Adventure!
Why Adventure With Us…


Our Big Blue destinations offer great group accommodation options, good travel links, quality facilities and world-class adventures. We spend a lot of time at our locations and know what works well for groups.

Hosted group adventure travel, with numbers between 10-200+ people. BBA offers an award winning service; we’ll always go the extra mile to ensure our packages are perfect for your group.

The best way to remember your group trip? A highlights video that captures all the best moments of your adventure. Video & pictures are included in all of our full packages.

More Activities In Portugal

Why We Love This…
“Stand Up Paddleboarding in Portugal is one of those ‘must do’ activities on a visit to the famous beaches between Algarve and Lisbon. SUP is the most relaxed way of exploring; gliding over crystal clear waters with the sun beaming down on your face and a pretty coastline as a backdrop. The ultimate holiday feeling…”
Heleen – Co-owner