DROP-IN LESSONS
Join us for a “drop-in” surf lesson, bouldering or climbing session! We offer surfing and climbing from Monday to Friday in Portugal, Sintra, or Cascais, even if you aren’t lodging with us at the SaltyWay Hostel. We adapt lessons to your needs and skill level, so whether it’s your first time on a surfboard, you want to boulder the first time in nature or you have been climbing for years, we will tailor the session to you. Our professionally trained surf teachers, boulder experts and climbing guides will show you how to be safe and have fun. For the more advanced boulderers, climbers or surfers, we help you improve and provide you with new challenges to tackle. Book one or more sessions with us and meet us on location. We will bring the equipment you need to enjoy a day of surfing, bouldering or climbing, you just need to bring yourself! Contact us beforehand so we can organize your customized surf lesson, boulder tours or climbing day. Bookings are available from March to November.
SaltyWay Surf school
The SaltyWay surf school is mobile, but you can usually find us at the far end of Praia Grande (Sintra, Portugal). If the waves are too big there, we can meet you at the more sheltered Carcavelos beach between Lisbon and Cascais. We bring high-quality surfing equipment to fit your needs and skill level. Because of our diverse variety of surfboards, we always have the perfect board for you. So that you can enjoy the surf session to its fullest, we also bring super warm and cozy 5/3mm neoprene wetsuits for you. Learn in small groups with a maximum of 6 surfers per instructor, but often even fewer. You can book a single surf lesson or a weeklong combination of surf and yoga sessions with rental equipment included.
Beginner surf lessons
Our beginner surf lessons are designed to teach all the basic skills you will need to enjoy playing in the waves. We start you out on broken waves and show you not only how to stand up on the board but also how to read the waves, handle your board in the ocean and how to be safe. Our lessons always include a theoretical part, movement training in the sand, and, of course, fun time in the water. Our motto: No stress and enjoy your time in the salty haven.
Advanced surf lessons
For the more advanced surfers, we provide widely diversified levels of surf lessons. We adapt to what you want to learn and to the day’s wave conditions. Surf your first green waves, learn how to duck dive, or train to get more radical in your turns and manoeuvres. We work with video analysis and sport scientific explanations from professionally educated surf trainers. Take your pick of our different lengths and shaped surfboards to help you develop as a surfer and have fun as you try out the different surf styles.
Kids surf lessons
Kids are also welcome! We offer separate classes for the younger ones as long as they are over 6 years old and know how to swim. Keeping the kid lesson groups small with only 2 to 3 kids per instructor, the little ones have their first contact with the waves in a safe but playful style.
Surf lessons in Sintra
Every SaltyWay surf lesson is half a day long, so about 4 hours. It includes instructions and exercises in the sand, tips on reading and interacting with the ocean, theory, and of course actual practice of this newly gained knowledge in the water. Constantly changing tides and conditions means there is not a fixed surf time that works every day. Our home spot is on the far south side of Praia Grande, near the roundabout. If the waves are too big there, we drive to Carcavelos beach. Since these two beaches are facing very different directions, we can always find perfect waves for you to enjoy.
As we are a mobile surf school, it is best to contact us beforehand via e-mail or phone to book your surf session. You can also book online, but we ask that if you do so please book at least 24 hours in advance to give us time to customize your lesson and equipment. When booking, let us know your clothing size and your experience level so we can bring you a fitting wetsuit and the right surfboard to the beach.
If you are a more advanced surfer, let us know what board styl and size you usually surf. We will send you the meeting point location and time of the lesson the evening before, so keep the whole day free if you are planning far in advance. A Half-day surf session is 40€ and includes: lessons, surf theory, wet suit and surfboard rental, and insurance for the duration of the lesson
Surf week
You also can book a SurfWeek which includes 5 half-days of surf lessons, surf theory, 7 days of wetsuit, surfboard and accessories rental for lessons and free surfing, insurance during lessons, video analyses 2x 1.5hours, and yoga for €300. The surf week starts on Monday and runs through the weekend. You meet us before your first surf lesson at the SaltyWay House where you will pick up your surf material. We will provide you not only with a fitting wetsuit and surfboard but also with a soft rack to put on the roof of your car to carry the surfboard around and a bucket to put the wetsuit in. The rest of the week you will meet us for the days’ lesson on location at the beach. We let you know when and where the suitable spots are for you to free surf after the lessons, which depend a lot on the sandbanks and wave conditions. The SaltyWay group will meet you at the same time to try out independently their new skills in the ocean. Monday and Wednesday are usually when we meet for yoga at the SaltyWay Lodge.
Surf material rental
We have daily and weekly rentals available for wetsuits and surfboards at SaltyWay. Daily rentals are 25€ and weekly rentals are 150€. For safety reasons, we only rent out surf equipment to surfers with experience. If you are interested in renting out one of the many surfboards in our collection, it’s best to send us a text or email letting us know your surf experience level and when and where you would like to be catching some waves. We meet you at the SaltyWay Hostel for you to pick up your rental. To help you catch some perfect waves, we are happy to share our knowledge about the best spots and tides. We ask that you please bring a personal document with you to put down as a deposit.
Guided climbing and boulder tours in Portugal
Our climbing and boulder lessons are half-day long where you will spend about 3 hours on the rock. We normally begin climbing or bouldering before noon Monday to Friday. We welcome and can accommodate both beginners and expert climbers alike, so when you book your climb or boulder tour, let us know how much knowledge you bring with you. Our climbing guides and teachers adapt to your climbing or boulder level and make sure you learn and provide you with challenges to have fun with. We will bring all the climbing gear you’ll need to the spot. Just be sure to let us know what your shoe size is.
Our climbing and boulder groups are small, with a maximum of just 5 persons per guided climb. We will let you know the exact location we will meet you the evening before. The SaltyWay climbing or boulder spots include locations around the Atlantic cliffs of Cascais, the forest of Sintra, and the northern coast of Sintra. We mostly go sport climbing, but also have the possibility of rise climbing and visiting many amazing bouldering spots.
If the conditions are right and the climbing group has the ability, we can even go to some multi-pitch in the forest of Sintra. The sport climbing routes are rated from easy 4a’s up to challenging 8a and even 8b. The variety of routes and challenges provided are guaranteed not to be boring. A half-day guided climbing lesson is 60€ and includes: Climbing lesson/guide, theory, insurance, and equipment.
Boulder tours in Sintra
We meet you in the magical forest of Sintra to go and boulder with you for a half a day. Showing you all the hidden gems we know for you to have fun. The boulder blocks provide us with easy access to easy, challenging and very difficult boulder problems. There are still undiscovered boulders in the forest from Sintra. A half-day guided climbing lesson is 60€ and includes: Climbing lesson/guide, theory, insurance, and equipment.
Crashpad rental
If you like to rent a crash pads please you can find them with boulder shop Sintra or boulder Sintra. Please ask us beforehand if they have crash pads available for you the day you like to go explore the forest.We can recommend this toro’s: bouler guidebook und Kletter-Topo. We don’t rent any climb gear like ropes and quick draws because of salty reasons.