We are back in Europe and recently made a visit to Portugal, a place we keep coming back to and hope to move to in a few months on a more permanent level. We start in Lisbon, but enjoying exploring the areas around the capital.

Less than an hour north and west of Lisbon, along the Atlantic coastline, is the small seaside town of Ericeira. It is extremely popular for surfers with at least seven breaks within the town itself and even more up and down the coast. Steep cliffs meet the ocean, creating ideal viewpoints for watching the surfers below, interspersed with small coves with lovely sand beaches and small seaside restaurants. The surf is great, and so is the fish cuisine, fresh from the sea.

Sheltered fishing port and town beach of Ericeira

Ericeira reminds me of another town; Sayulita back in Mexico, less than an hour north of Puerto Vallarta. They both are full of surfers, attract similar visitors, and are rich with great restaurants, bars and nightlife. Both have so far managed to avoid large hotels and and high-rises from being built in the town area, although that may be changing. As it is now, available accommodation is mostly small apartments, hostels and boutique hotels. But, where Sayulita’s streets are mostly dirt, unpaved, and the architecture is rather eclectic, in Ericeira all the streets are paved with white and black stones that can be frequently found throughout Portugal, with inlaid designs. It makes for a very clean town, and most of the buildings are similar in style, with white with blue (usually) trim. And there’s only a few buildings with more than two stories.

The typical buildings and streets of Ericeira

We’ve been to Ericeira a few times now and our favorite restaurant has become Tik-Tak – great food and people. Shrimp and prawns are very popular on the menu and the grilled giant prawns are our favorite.