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

Lisbon & Cascais

Beginner Friendly
Cascais Marina
Urban Coastline

Madeira Island

Camara De Lobos or Canical
Marine Life
Coastal SUP

SUP Activity Only

SUP Lesson Only
No transfers or tour extras
Lisbon/Algarve/Madeira

SUP Day Trip

Transfers
Food & extras
Pics & a highlights video

Multi-Night Adventures

SUP lessons & other activities
Group Accommodation
Transfers & Extras

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…

Quality Group Activities
We work as one big team with our activity providers, making sure that together we offer a high quality experience for groups. Each activity has been tried & tested, and personally chosen by us.
Handpicked Destinations

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.

Group Specialists

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.

Highlights Video

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.

Ali B.
Ali B.
This is the second time I have booked with Big Blue Adventures, after a 5 star trip to the Gower,... we chose Lisbon/ Cascais this time. We were treated with pastel de nata pastries on arrival by our fantastic host Nuno and treated to drinks and snacks at the hostel. Nuno is the life of the party, he felt like a long lost friend. Just the warmest, kindest soul and so helpful and patient when our flight was delayed. We chose a mega coasteering day with a rib boat ride, out to the coves, zip lining, abeseiling into a cave and a day of swimming and big rock jumps with loads of climbing thrown in. It was spectacular. Recommend having a good base of fitness but the instructors catered for complete novices. Gabriel was so patient, kind, so calming and all round fun, ensuring we were all ok and spoke to us individually throughout the day making sure we were comfortable. He went above and beyond on numerous occassions and helped anyone that needed guidance on the more technical climbs! The second day we chose beach yoga. Which is a must! Followed by SUP in the bay. We even tried SUP yoga and a delicious must try Acai bowl. All transport and breakfast, lunch, and bookings were sorted for us. The smoothest, adventure weekend we've ever had. Just brilliant all round. We will be back a 3rd time for sure! - Croatia? / Madeira?? :)! Thanks so much Heleen and team once again. You guys are all just fantastic and the highest quality team xread more
Emma D.
Emma D.
What an adventure. 50 staff in two groups over a week, I organised the trip with Heleen and... everything was spot on. SUP, coasteering, sea kayaking, mountain biking and surfing. Coasteering was amazing, the best we have had and we do this every year. Cascais was a great location. Dan and Heleen were so cool and Nuno was a daily ray of sunshine for us all. I am very grateful for their care during our stay and returning us home with nothing more than bruising and muscle ache! We hope to see you again one day. Emma xxxread more
Trev F.
Trev F.
Portugal. Surfing. SUPing. Sunset hikes filled with Portuguese delicacies.I’m not going to go on... and on but if you want to have the best time ever then big blue are the legends to book with. So much fun, so organised and feel like I’ve gained friends in Dan and Heleen. They are amazing at what they do and ur holiday will not disappoint you. Jus back from this epic few days. It blew my mind and my 10 guests. You guys really are the best at this. If you do anything today book with them and go have an awesome adventure.... I’m literally counting down the days until I go again ❤️read more
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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