“Get the most of surf, nature, and living”
10% off
8 Day Half-Board Surf Camp at A Magical Surf Resort in Aljezur, Algarve
Russo Surfcamp - Vale Figueiras, Malhada da Serva, Aljezur, Faro District, Algarve, Portugal
Breathtaking Surf Camp in Portugal
All difficulty levels
Instruction in English
Maximum 40 participants
Breakfast & lunch included
Come and join this incredible surf camp in Portugal! Russo Surf Resort - Vale Figueiras is a unique destination where you would be surrounded by pure nature. Stay in a breathtaking location with views over the ocean and a natural park.
Meet the instructors
Luis, Hannah, & Egor
Read more
Read more
Highlights
- 6 days of activities
- 3 hours of surfing per day
- Free use of surf equipment all-day included (except on Saturday)
- Professional photo and video sessions
- Half-board (brekkies and lunches included)
- Transportation to the beach
- 7 nights accommodation
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Styles
5 days with instruction in English
The organizer also speaks: French, Russian, Spanish
Group size: Maximum of 40 participants
Airport transfer available:
Faro Airport (US$ 137 per person)
Faro Airport (US$ 137 per person)
Airport transfer available:
Lisbon Portela Airport (US$ 383 per person)
Lisbon Portela Airport (US$ 383 per person)
Accommodation
Check-in Time:
16:00
Check-out Time:
11:00
Facilities
- Swimming pool (outdoor)
- Table tennis
- Bar
- Barbeque facilities
- Garden
- Multilingual staff
- Terrace
- Board rental
- Child care
- Free bicycle
- Free Wi-Fi
The resort is a huge modern Portuguese country house, situated in the middle of a natural park with a stunning view of the ocean and forest. There is a huge green lawn with a swimming pool, a skate ramp, and a trampoline. Almost all the rooms, including the shared rooms, have doors to terraces outside with a view. There is a large bar area with free Wi-Fi internet, satellite TV, and a snooker table. Chill out inside the house or outside, the awesome place for barbecue and chill out with hammocks.
- Large rooms with high ceilings and king-size double beds
- Capacity of surf camp - 42 persons
- Wi-Fi
- Computer for use of guests
- Massage therapist
- Swimming pool
- Skate ramp
- Trampoline
- Barbecue area and plenty of areas to chill
- Bar with snooker table, ping pong, and mini football
- Satellite TV and cinema projector
- Thousands of movies and surf videos
- Balance boards
- Hammocks
- Bed linen and bath towels are provided
- Special care for babies and kids
- Animal-friendly
Program
The resort is run by local surf pioneers and has existed since 2003. There are international and local surf coaches, headed by the most recognizable surf coach in the Algarve region - Luis Marreiros. The professional team is famous for their skill in teaching high-quality lessons for beginners, intermediates, and upper-intermediate levels. A step-by-step surf course program is created to help students to learn the right technique, improve, and progress at a faster rate. The surf resort facilities will allow you to fully concentrate on surfing, with good company, helpful staff, healthy food, and some relaxing extras.
Russo Surf Camp made up a special surf course program to help students to learn the right technique and progress at a faster rate. Russo Surfcamp - Vale Figueiras pays the most attention to providing high-quality lessons, so apart from having fun, you would be able to learn properly. Beginners, who start from zero, and beginners-intermediates, that need to improve their technique, would be taught by one of the members of the Luis Marreiros surf team. Luis is the most recognizable and well-known surf coach in the Algarve region. He mostly takes care of intermediates and upper intermediates.
They are going to correct all your little mistakes; position the body and weight the right way; teach you about the tides, waves, and conditions; make you try to do your best; and catch the great surf moments. Luis's intermediates prepare to push the limits and achieve the goals. It includes three hours of lessons per day, divided into two sessions of one and a half hours. This will all depend on the conditions the ocean on the day. Lessons are structured with warm-ups, theoretical exercises on the beach, and a practical part in the water.
Vale Figueiras Surf Camp suggests starting a surf course on Monday, so you can enjoy the full course, adapting from the beginning. Surf courses are from Monday until Friday and free surf on Saturday. Soft boards for beginners and hard boards for more intermediates or advanced surfers are available. Russo Surf Camp offers surf courses for all levels. Live music event takes place every Friday, with the Portuguese band from Portimao - Sticky Fingers. Live music starts after the BBQ, about 9:00 p.m. and finishes about midnight, 1:00, or 2:00 a.m.
Live music event happens with a minimum of 10 guests at the resort. Russo Surfcamp - Vale Figueiras includes the photo and video sessions, which they usually provide on Tuesday and Thursday, with a presentation in the evening. During this surf camp, you will have photo and video sessions (from June to September). Videos which are taken are free, and you will have a link where you can download all the videos taken. Photos are 25 EUR per package, of your choice. The package includes all shots of you taken, edited pics, and will be sent to you by email.
Beginners
- Monday: Adaptation to the water environment, explanation of safety rules, learning how to slide onto the waves, and explanation of surf equipment. Then, the introduction to surfboarding inside the water
- Tuesday: Learning how to position the feet correctly on the board in a low-balance position. Practicing on the beach and inside the water
- Wednesday: Exercises of take off with extension of legs and recovering the balance. Correcting the position on the sand and practicing inside the water
- Thursday: Continuing practice of previous exercises. Improvement of technique and introduction to walking exercises on the board
- Friday: Learn the techniques of turning the surfboard front and backside
- Saturday: Free surf day while supervised by the surf coaches. Put to practice all you have learned during the week
Intermediates
- Monday: Paddling, sitting on the board, turning direction while sitting, positioning, and explosive paddling
- Tuesday: Paddle to the outside, techniques to pass the waves while paddling out
- Wednesday: Catching green waves with the help of the coach pushing, timing, and reading of waves to know in which direction to paddle and when to get up
- Thursday: Surf green waves going left, surf green waves going right, and video analysis
Advanced
- Monday: Duck dives, bottom turns, and turns on the top of the wave
- Tuesday: Trimming, cutbacks, and re-entries
- Wednesday: Tides, currents, and introduction to reefs
- Thursday: Getting in and out of the water
- Friday: Reading swell charts
- Saturday: Surfaris to secret spots
Daily schedule
- 08:00 - 09:00 Yoga session
- 09:00 - 10:00 Breakfast
- 10:00 - 10:30 Get ready to go to the beach: receive your lunch bag at the kitchen and get your wetsuit from the surf coach
- 10:45 Leave for the beach
- 11:30 - 13:00 First surf session
- 13:00 - 15:00 Lunch time at the beach
- 15:00 - 16:30 Second surf session
- 17:30 - 18:00 Come back from the beach
- 18:00 - 20:00 Free time, shower time, beer time, massage time
- 20:00 - 21:00 Dinner
- 21:00 - 23:00 Chill time, bar time, etc.
Please note that the exact starting time of each surf session varies depending on ocean conditions.
Weekly schedule
- Sunday: arrival or departure day, check-in or -out
- Monday: welcome meeting before the lessons, surf and yoga lessons
- Tuesday: surf and yoga lessons, video presentation
- Wednesday: surf and yoga lessons
- Thursday: surf and yoga lessons, dinner out
- Friday: surf and yoga lessons, barbecue, live music party
- Saturday: free surf, photo presentation
- Yoga lessons available by request
- Photo presentation from June to September
Instructors
Luis Marreiros
Luis Marreiros is the head chef of the surf team. He is the most respected and recognizable surf instructor of the whole Algarve coast. Have you seen that fearless intermediates in rough conditions? That might be Luis's students! Luis has a gift to balance the rigor and joke, inspire the students, push the limits, always being attentive and controlling the situation. Many guests come and return just to have classes with him. Luis is a local from Vale Figueiras beach area, and started to give surf classes since the very opening of the surf school in 2003. Certified with ISA.
Hannah Massie
1 Certificate
Show
Hannah is a surf instructor at Russo surf camp already over 8 years. She grew up on the west coast of Australia. She has been surfing for 17 years and competed for 5 years. She was the captain of the Western Australian junior surfing team in 2012. She is the right hand of Luis and one of the most trusted instructors and her classes are well-structured and fun for beginners and beginners-intermediates. To her, surfing is an activity that presents challenges no matter where you go or the size of the waves. It gives freedom to do what she wants in such a big and unpredictable place as the ocean!
Egor Volkov
1 Certificate
Show
Egor is a young, but oh gosh experienced surfer and ISA-qualified surf coach! English, Russian, and Portuguese speaker. Egor is constantly training by himself with best coaches of the world, so he knows many tricks and valuable advice, and teaches intermediates and beginners too. By the way, Egor is a member of the Russian National Team, 2nd in Russian National competitions, participant in championships in Europe and ISA World Surfing Championship. He started to surf when he was 10 years old and was one of the first guests of the summer Teenage surf camps, which have been organized since 2009.
Location
The camp will take place in Aljezur, Algarve, Portugal. The resort is situated on the west coast of the southern region of Portugal - the Algarve - the warmest place in the whole of Europe, in the middle of National Park Costa Vicentina. It is a unique paradise, famous for its attractive landscape, colorful hills, hidden beaches, and wildlife. The famous hiking track - Rota Vicentina - passes just behind the gates of the surf camp. Rota Vicentina is a route, that runs along the Atlantic coast and includes 400 kilometers of walking trails.
The closest beach, Praia da Vale Figueiras (just two kilometers away), one of the wildest and uncrowded beaches in the area, provides great conditions for surfing. Aljezur, 15 kilometers away, is the closest point of civilization: a pretty Portuguese town, with an old Moorish castle surrounded by a whitewashed village. The south coast of the Algarve is a famous touristic destination. It is formed by a long stretch of fabulous beaches with crystal-clean water and impressive reddish cliffs.
On the other hand, all those towns (Lagos, Portimao, or Albufeira - which is called a Mini-Ibiza) offer unforgettable nightlife. Lagos is Algarve's party capital with plenty of bars, inhabited by Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, and Americans going bar hopping. For those young travelers that want to attend the surf camp: do not worry as it is easy to get from the camp to Aljezur, Sagres, or Lagos to spend a legendary night.
Distances
- Lagos, 30 kilometers
- Sagres, 30 kilometers
Surf conditions
Surf spot:
Aljezur
Monthly wave size
Monthly water temperature
Features
Activities
- Hiking
- Massage
- Surfing
- Swimming pool (outdoor)
- Table tennis
General
- Bar
- Barbeque facilities
- Beach
- Garden
- Multilingual staff
- Night club
- Terrace
Services
- Board rental
- Child care
- Free bicycle
- Free Wi-Fi
- Internet access
- Wireless internet
Food
Russo Surf Camp - Vale Figueiras prepares healthy and good quality food for their guests. A professional chef, the grandma, always makes her best, cooking tasty meals, as if for her own grandchildren.
- Homemade bread
- Fresh orange juice every morning
- Tea and coffee during the day
- Spicy chicken “Piri Piri”, freshly caught fish and seafood, etc.
- Traditional homemade desserts
- Local fruits and vegetables
- Homemade “Medronho” - strong alcohol made from the local Medronho fruit
- Breakfast: Bread straight from the oven, croissants, bacon and scrambled eggs, fresh orange juice, healthy cereals and mueslis, different kinds of hams, salamis, sausages, salads, cheeses, jams, yogurts, coffee, and tea
- Lunch: Before leaving for the beach, each guest is given an individual lunch bag with two sandwiches or one sandwich and other kinds of food (salads, pasta, etc.), fruit, water, juice, and snacks
- Dinner (extra fee, on your choice): Three-course dinners, entrees, soup, main course, wine, desserts, and sangria
Some of the usual dinner plates
- Cataplana (traditional mix of 5 rare fishes such as monkfish, stingray, eel, with shrimps and veggies, all cooked with wine and olive oil in a special pan called Cataplana)
- Sea bass or sea brim, cooked in the oven, the Portuguese way
- Grandma's lasagna, one of the favorite dishes of the guests
- Every day, but always different Portuguese cream soup from the chef
- Saturday barbecue
- Gluten-free menu available
- Vegetarian menu
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Drinks
The following drinks are included:
- Water
- Coffee
- Tea
- Alcoholic beverages
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Gluten Free
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
- Other dietary requirements on request
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
Things to do (optional)
Massage and spa treatments
If you have any muscle tenses or just feel like having a good relaxing massage, it is time for professional massage therapists. Please book in advance, especially in high season. Jesper is an educated body therapist and masseur. He originally started as a relaxation therapist in Denmark, working with ergonomic analyses of people's physical body problems. He tried solving any ailments possible by giving strengthening and stretching exercises plus muscular treatment.
Jesper will talk about your explanation and his experience so you will quickly know which specific treatment you need to resolve any muscle or ligament pain, strain, or tiredness. The treatment can be a full-body massage. Either deep tissue, sports, or relaxing massage. If necessary, it can also be a shorter massage concentrated on a specific body area, i.e. back, shoulder, and legs. It is all dependent on your need and wishes. The massage always leaves you relaxed, rejuvenated, and well. The massage is not included in the price of the package.
Other extra activities
- Yoga lessons
- Horseback riding lessons
- Paragliding
- Experiencing nightlife in Sagres, Lagos, Aljezur
- Friday pizza party night on Monchique
- Bicycle riding
- Hiking in the natural park
What's included
- 5 days of surf course from Monday to Friday
- Free surf on Saturday (optional)
- 2 sessions (1.5 hours each) and free surf in between the lessons
- 5 days of surf material all day (surfboards, rashguards, and wetsuits)
- Surf insurance
- Ripcurl wetsuits and surfboards
- Professional photo session or presentation
- Video sessions of surf lessons (on Tuesday)
- Hike to a hidden lake (optional on Saturday or Sunday)
- Surf course with the team of Luis Marreiros
- Transport to the beach on weekdays
- An incredible view from the surf resort all night and all days
- Friday barbecue and live music on open air
- Welcome drink
- Lagos, Aljezur, or local bus stop pick-up or drop-off
- 7 nights accommodation
- 7 breakfasts and 6 lunches (home-baked huge breakfast buffet and individual lunch packages for the beach)
What's not included
- Airfare
- Airport transfers
- Extra activities
- Dinner on Friday at the best local restaurant
- Dinners from grandma chef (upon your choice, 90 EUR for package of 6 dinners or 18 EUR per dinner)
- Barbecue on Saturday before the live music (18 EUR per dinner)
- On Saturdays, material rent and transfers to the beach (20 EUR extra)
How to get there
Recommended Airports
SVQ
Seville Airport
261 km
Transfer not provided
FAO
Faro Airport
81 km
Transfer available for additional US$ 137 per person
LIS
Lisbon Portela Airport
173 km
Transfer available for additional US$ 383 per person
Arrival by airplane
Please book your flight to arrive at Faro Airport (FAO) or Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS). Transfers from these airports are available upon request. Transfers from Faro Airport (FAO) cost 115 EUR one-way for one to three people and 135 EUR for four to seven people. A one-way transfer from Lisbon Portela Airport (LIS) costs 350 EUR for a maximum of four people.
Arrival by bus
Russo Surfcamp-Vale Figueiras surf camp provides transfers from the closest towns Aljezur and Lagos. Pick-up and drop-off times for free transfers from Lagos and Aljezur:
- Pick-up time in Lagos: 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
- Pick-up time in Aljezur: 2:40 p.m., 7:40 p.m., and 9:20 p.m.
- Drop off time (leaving from the surf camp): 11:30 a.m.
There are free transfers to and from the local bus stop “Monte Novo, Vale Figueiras, Cha Bouco”. The bus stop is on the way from Lagos to Odeceixe. During the high season months (July, August, and September), pick up and drop off for Lagos and Aljezur are available on Saturdays and Sundays. On a weekday, Russo Surfcamp - Vale Figueiras provides free transfers to and from the local bus stop “Monte Novo, Vale Figueiras, Cha Bouco” timetable via eva-bus webpage.
The bus stop is on the way from Lagos to Odeceixe. From Faro, you can travel by bus or door-to-door transfer for a cost of 20 EUR. From Lisbon, you have the option of taking a bus (directions Aljezur or Lagos). From Seville, you can take a bus to Lagos (19 EUR or 23 EUR, depending on the day).
Arrival by train
From Faro, you have the option to travel by train. The cost is 7 EUR. You can also take a train to Lagos from Lisbon for a cost of 16 to 20 EUR.
Airport: Faro Airport
Airport transfer available:
Faro Airport (US$ 137 per person)
Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.
Airport: Lisbon Portela Airport
Airport transfer available:
Lisbon Portela Airport (US$ 383 per person)
Additional charges may apply. You can request this in the next step.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 25% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid on arrival.
10
Last minute Discount
This listing has a last minute discount of 10% if you book within 10 days before the selected arrival date.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookSurfCamps.com. All major credit cards supported.
87837
Similar Surf Camps you might like
Why choose BookSurfCamps.com
Largest Selection
Friendly Customer Service
Offers for every budget
Best Price