- Temperature
- Feels like
- Rain
- Wind
- Sea water
- Waves
- Updated
Sea water: 18.7°C, practically unchanged all week
Waves: 1.4m
At 18.7 °C the water in Zambujeira do Mar is fresh. Fine for a dip, but the first minute bites.
Sunrise: 07:41 · Sunset: 19:01 · Day length: 11h 20m
| Day | Sea water | Waves |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 12/10 | 18.7 °C | 1.4 m |
| Tuesday 13/10 | 18.5 °C | 1.5 m |
| Wednesday 14/10 | 18.7 °C | 1.4 m |
| Thursday 15/10 | 18.7 °C | 1.7 m |
| Friday 16/10 | 18.9 °C | 1.8 m |
| Saturday 17/10 | 18.6 °C | 1.9 m |
| Sunday 18/10 | 18.5 °C | 1.9 m |
| Month | Average water |
|---|---|
| January | 16.1 °C |
| February | 15.6 °C |
| March | 15.4 °C |
| April | 16.1 °C |
| May | 16.4 °C |
| June | 18.0 °C |
| July | 17.5 °C |
| August | 17.2 °C |
| September | 17.0 °C |
| October | 18.6 °C |
| November | 17.8 °C |
| December | 16.5 °C |
Monthly averages for 2022–2025.
This page shows the water temperature at Zambujeira do Mar today and over the next seven days, so you can pick the best beach day before you go.
Sea temperature moves much more slowly than air temperature. A hot afternoon does not warm the ocean, and a windy day can cool it fast. Checking the water itself is the only reliable way to know what to expect.
Zambujeira do Mar is a clifftop village on the Costa Vicentina, with its beach at the foot of the cliffs down a flight of steps. The coast faces west with nothing between it and the open Atlantic, so the swell arrives unbroken and the summer northerly drives cold water to the surface. That keeps the sea near 17 °C through August, with the warmest readings of the year arriving in early autumn once the wind eases.
The water is warmest in October, averaging 18.6 °C, and coldest in March at 15.4 °C. On the Alentejo and Vicentina coast the sea behaves like the west coast, with summer upwelling keeping the water cool even in August, so the warmest readings arrive in early autumn once the nortada eases. River-mouth beaches such as Milfontes and Odeceixe run a few degrees warmer than the open ocean.
The ocean gains and loses heat far more slowly than land, so it runs months behind the seasons. On top of that, the summer northerly wind pushes surface water offshore and draws cold deep water up in its place, which is why a heatwave on land so often coincides with a colder sea.
Swimming here means walking down the cliff steps and picking your moment, because the beach faces the open Atlantic and the shore break has weight to it. Surfers and bodyboarders make the most of that, and the clifftop stretch of the Fishermen's Trail passes right above the sand. In August the village fills for its music festival and the beach empties late.