ERICEIRA · NOVEMBER · THE MONTH IN FIGURES
Ericeira in November is a surf town with its coast back. The summer crowd has gone home, the wetsuits get thicker, and the Atlantic starts sending in the autumn swell the place built its name on. What the month takes away is warmth and light: afternoons top out around 63.7°F and the sun is down by 5:24 pm.
The rest is arithmetic you can plan around. Rain falls on 9.3 days of an average November, leaving two days in three with nothing recorded, and the gap between an October afternoon and a November one is exactly 9.0°F. That trade suits some trips and ruins others, and the figures below sort out which is yours.
THE MONTH AT A GLANCE · ERICEIRA · NOVEMBER
November gives Ericeira back to its surfers, with 63.7°F afternoons, rain on 9.3 days and daylight gone by 5:24 pm: a walking-and-waves month rather than a beach week.
OFF SEASON · 9.3 WET DAYS · 10 HOURS OF DAYLIGHT · WETSUIT WATER
Go for: autumn swell, beaches with nobody on them, 63.7°F afternoons that walk well, and a town running at resident size.
Think twice before: planning a beach-first week: 4.51 inches of rain fall across 9.3 days, and the light is gone by 5:24 pm.
Normals: IPMA 1991–2020, station 579 · Daylight: sunrise-sunset.org · full sources at the end
On this page
- Average highs, lows and rain days in NovemberThe IPMA normals, 1991–2020
- How warm is it, and can you swim?63.7°F days, 52.2°F nights, wetsuit water
- Crowds, prices and the tourist taxWhat we can price and what we cannot
- Things to do in Ericeira in NovemberRibeira d’Ilhas, Foz do Lizandro, Mafra
- A two-day plan built on 10 hours of lightThe weekend, hour by hour
- November vs October and DecemberHow the three months compare
- Is November a good time to visit Ericeira?Our verdict, and who should shift
Two sources carry every number here: IPMA’s 1991–2020 normals from station 579 at Lisboa Gago Coutinho, and sunrise and sunset times calculated for November 15.
Ericeira weather in November: average highs, lows and rain days
| Measure | November (1991–2020) |
|---|---|
| Average high | 63.7°F (17.6°C) |
| Average low | 52.2°F (11.2°C) |
| Precipitation | 4.51 in |
| Days with 0.04 in or more | 9.3 |
| Days with 0.39 in or more | 3.9 |
| Daylight, Nov 15 | 10 h 06 m (7:18 am to 5:24 pm) |
The normals come from IPMA, Portugal’s national weather service: 1991–2020 averages from station 579, Lisboa Gago Coutinho, a real thermometer standing 103.9 m up, not a model grid cell. November’s average high is 63.7°F, the average low 52.2°F, and the month collects 4.51 inches of rain. One caveat travels with every figure here: that station sits inland at Lisbon’s airport, while Ericeira is an exposed stretch of Atlantic coast with more wind and more sea air. Read these as the regional shape, not as a reading taken on Praia do Sul.
Rain lands on 9.3 days in an average November, and 3.9 of those deliver 0.39 inch or more. Across a ten-day trip that works out to roughly three days with something falling and one with a proper soaking. The thresholds are IPMA’s own, 0.04 inch for a wet day, and they do not line up with the 0.10-inch cutoff American tables use, so the counts are not interchangeable with a US forecast page. Put the other way: two days in three record no rain at all.
Day and night sit 11.5°F apart, narrow enough that one jacket covers both ends of the day. Pack layers rather than a single heavy coat: a long-sleeve base, a fleece, and a genuinely waterproof shell with a hood, because 4.51 inches of rain on an exposed coast turns an umbrella into a comedy prop. Shoes that dry overnight beat shoes that photograph well. Our Portugal packing guide has the full list.
On November 15 the sun rises at 7:18 am and sets at 5:24 pm local time, Portugal running on UTC once the clocks go back, for 10 hours and 6 minutes of daylight. That is a civilized dawn for a surf town and an early dusk for everything else. Dinner is a night-time event, the cliff path wants walking before 4 pm, and any drive inland belongs in the morning half of the day.
How warm is Ericeira in November, and can you swim?
November’s ceiling and floor sit close: 63.7°F by day, 52.2°F before dawn, an 11.5°F swing. October ran 72.7°F and December drops to 58.8°F, so this is the month the coast changes gear. Afternoons still count as mild for the date. Mornings do not.
In practice that means a fleece at breakfast and shirt sleeves on a sunny afternoon, with the wind casting the deciding vote. On the sand the wind matters more than the thermometer: 63.7°F in the lee of a dune and 63.7°F on an open headland are two different days. Anyone in the water is in a wetsuit, and the cold part of the session is the walk back up to the car.
Our sources carry no frost-day count for Ericeira, so we give none, though a normal low of 52.2°F sits 20°F above freezing. We could not verify a sea-surface temperature either, so no water figure appears above. Treat the sea tables that circulate online with care: many of them average the daily maximum rather than the full 24 hours, so they read warmer than the water you step into at 8 am.
How busy is Ericeira in November? Crowds, prices and booking
November falls between both peaks of the year on this coast: the summer beach season has ended and the Christmas weeks have not started. That much is calendar, not speculation. What we do not have is a price series. We found no occupancy figures and no monthly room-rate data for Ericeira, so we crown no month the cheapest and quote no nightly number. Expect a town running on residents, surfers and Lisbon weekenders rather than on holiday traffic.
Booking behaves differently in a month like this. Without occupancy data we will not tell you how many weeks ahead to reserve, but two practical points hold. The stock of small guesthouses is finite, and winter hours are the real unknown: we could not verify which surf schools, board rentals and restaurants keep full hours through November, so message ahead before you build a day around one of them.
Portugal’s municipal tourist taxes are set town by town, and Ericeira sits in the municipality of Mafra. We could not verify Mafra’s rate, or whether it applies in November, so we give no percentage and no per-night amount. Ask the property to state the tax as a separate line on the quote and to say how it is collected, then check the same line again at checkout.
One upgrade genuinely changes this month: a car. With 10 hours of daylight and rain on 9.3 days, mobility is what rescues an afternoon, turning a washed-out beach plan into Mafra’s palace or a run down to Sintra. Buses do serve the coast, and our getting-around guide covers them. The toll and insurance traps live in our rental guide.
Things to do in Ericeira in November: Ribeira d’Ilhas, Foz do Lizandro and Mafra
November opens the part of the Ericeira year that August cannot deliver: autumn swell arriving on an empty coast. The point breaks north of town work through the season, the beaches belong to whoever shows up, and the cliff path between them carries walkers instead of parked cars. A surf lesson with three people in the lineup, a two-hour shoreline walk, a whole afternoon of watching sets from a headland: all of that is a November proposition.
Start at Ribeira d’Ilhas, the long right-hander north of town where the contests are held, reached from the coast road and a stepped path down the cliff. Praia dos Pescadores sits directly below the old town by the working harbor. Praia do Sul is the town’s wide sand, and Foz do Lizandro, at the river mouth to the south, holds the flattest beginner water. Inland, the palace and basilica at Mafra are the wet-weather answer. We could not verify current hours or ticket prices there, so check before you drive.
The rock and the sand are the same in November as in October. The air is not: the daily high drops 9.0°F between the two months, and that is the whole seasonal story at these beaches. Water cools more slowly than air, so the sea in November is closer to October’s than the calendar suggests, and the discomfort concentrates itself into the ten minutes after you come out. Windproof layer in the bag, and a hat that survives the climb back up the cliff.
Everything on the coast itself costs nothing in November: the beaches, the cliff path, the harbor, the viewpoints over the reefs. Parking along the coast road empties out once the summer runs end, though we could not verify which municipal lots charge and which do not, so read the signs.
Ericeira in November: a two-day itinerary
Day one runs on the light. Coffee by 8:30, when the sun has been up barely an hour, then the beach or a lesson from 9 to noon as the day climbs toward 63.7°F. Lunch in town, indoors if the sky has turned. Walk the cliff path north between 2 and 4, aiming at Ribeira d’Ilhas with enough margin to come back. Be somewhere with a view of the water at 5:24 pm, and book dinner knowing it happens entirely after dark.
Day two goes inland and comes back. Morning bus or drive to Mafra for the palace and the basilica, back on the coast for a late lunch, then Foz do Lizandro for the afternoon at the river mouth. If the forecast shows one of November’s 3.9 heavy days, invert the order: the palace while the rain is on, the beach in whatever dry window the morning offers. Two days at this time of year rarely both cooperate, so leave the indoor half of each one movable.
Ericeira in November vs October and December
| Measure | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 72.7°F | 63.7°F | 58.8°F |
| Average low | 58.8°F | 52.2°F | 47.7°F |
| Precipitation | 4.05 in | 4.51 in | 3.94 in |
| Days with 0.04 in or more | 8.3 | 9.3 | 9.7 |
| Sea temperature | not verified | not verified | not verified |
October runs 9.0°F warmer by day, 72.7°F against 63.7°F, and December sits 4.9°F below November at 58.8°F. Nights follow the same staircase: 58.8°F, then 52.2°F, then 47.7°F. Rainfall is the surprise. November is the wettest of the three at 4.51 inches, against 4.05 in October and 3.94 in December, yet December counts more wet days at 9.7, which means it spreads less water across more mornings.
Shift four weeks earlier and you gain nine degrees of afternoon, one fewer wet day and longer evenings, and you pay in company on every beach and traffic on the coast road. Shift four weeks later and December takes another 4.9°F off the day, adds half a wet day, and puts the Christmas weeks at the end of the month, though its rain total drops to 3.94 inches. Both neighbors have their own pages: October and December.
Is November a good time to visit Ericeira?
Yes, for surfers, walkers, photographers and anyone who prefers a town at its own size. Afternoons at 63.7°F are good walking weather, the coast looks its best under autumn light, and two days in three record no rain. No, if you want a beach-lounging week, long evenings outdoors, or a first Portugal trip built around swimming.
If that last line describes you, the month to shift to is October rather than December: 72.7°F days, 58.8°F nights, one fewer wet day and a slightly lower rain total at 4.05 inches. Same coast, with summer’s warmth still in it. December moves the wrong way on every line except total rainfall, and our best-time-to-visit guide puts the whole year in order.
What November has that nothing else does: autumn swell on a coast still reaching 63.7°F by day, five degrees above December, with the beaches empty and the light low from three in the afternoon.
The last word
Book the room with heating and somewhere to hang a wetsuit, then stop refreshing the forecast. Of November’s 9.3 wet days, 3.9 bring 0.39 inch or more. The other five or six leave less than that across an entire day, the kind of rain you walk through in a shell and forget by lunch. Keep Mafra’s palace for the day the sky is genuinely against you, check the bus times the evening before, and plan dinner for after dark: on November 15 the sun is gone at 5:24 pm.
Sources & data for this guide
- November normals, 63.7°F high, 52.2°F low, 4.51 in · IPMA 1991–2020, station 579 Lisboa Gago Coutinho, altitude 103.9 m · checked Sep 23, 2026
- Wet-day counts, 9.3 days at 0.04 in or more and 3.9 days at 0.39 in or more · IPMA thresholds, not the 0.10-inch cutoff used by US tables · checked Sep 23, 2026
- October and December normals used in the comparison · same IPMA station and same 1991–2020 period · checked Sep 23, 2026
- Daylight of 10 h 06 m, sunrise 7:18 am and sunset 5:24 pm on November 15, converted from UTC · sunrise-sunset.org · checked Sep 23, 2026
- Editorial caveat: the station is inland at Lisbon’s airport and 103.9 m up, while Ericeira is an exposed coast; high ground and other stretches of coast run colder and wetter.
- We found no sea-surface temperature series, no occupancy or room-rate data, and no verified lodging-tax rate for the municipality of Mafra, so we give no water figure, no price ranking and no tax percentage.
- Beach, palace and bus details are editorial; hours, fares and winter closures change · check operators when you book.
To plan your stay
- Best Time to Visit Ericeira: Month-by-Month Weather, Rain Days and the Quiet Season
- Ericeira in October: Weather, Rain Days, Daylight and How It Compares to September
- Ericeira in December: Weather, Rain Days and How It Compares to November and January
- Ericeira in January: Weather, Rain Days, Daylight and How It Compares to December and February