Immerso

Worth getting out of bed for

Sunkissed Ericeria is the first and (so far) only designated World Surfing Reserve in Europe, so you’d be remiss not to take a lesson or two while you’re here. Portuguese surfing legend Tiago Pires runs a local school so you can learn from the very best. Thrashing around clumsily in the big blue not for you? The stunning sandy beaches here also provide a fantastic viewpoint for admiring graceful pro surfers ride the waves. And, of course, smugly congratulating yourself that the hapless beginner who just wiped out in the shallows is not you.

Dedicated landlubbers can opt for the more sedate pastime of helping out in the hotel’s kitchen garden. Here’s a chance to join fun, sociable workshops and to select the very vegetables you’ll be munching at dinner. You can even accompany the chef to the local market on a morning shopping expedition.

Take a daytrip to the Tapada Nacional de Mafra, around 20 minutes’ drive from Immerso. This sprawling nature reserve – where eagle-eyed visitors might spot birds of prey and herds of fallow deer among the towering pines – was once a favourite hunting ground for royals residing in the adjacent Palace of Mafra. Now a Unesco World Heritage Site, the park has a multitude of excellent hiking and biking trails, some up to six miles in length. The palace is no slouch either, a vast baroque and neo-classical edifice with a striking 220-metre yellow-and-cream facade and an eye-watering 1,200 rooms.

You’ll need to be up early to beat the crowds to colourful Pena Palace in nearby Sintra. Rest assured it’s worth it to see its turrets glow a vivid red and yellow in the morning sun. You can easily fill a whole day here, with Moorish castles and whimsical palaces galore. These include the quite extraordinary Quinta da Regaleira, a flamboyant 19th-century confection boasting gardens packed with grottoes and secret tunnels. There’s even an ‘initiation well’ with a spiral staircase inside.

Local restaurants

All whitewashed houses, terracotta-tiled roofs and cobbled pavements, Ericeira is every bit the quaint fishing village of your imagination. Pair crispy whitebait and charred octopus with fries, salad and vinho verde at Tik-Tak, a laidback side-street tapas joint. Or head to old-school fish restaurant Canastra, where the sole on your plate is so fresh it might have leapt there straight from the crashing surf below. 

Work up an appetite papping Instagrammers’ fave Pena Palace in nearby Sintra, with its intense turmeric-yellow and paprika-red towers, then make for nearby Tulhas. This local institution is set in a converted grain warehouse, all dark-wood beams, moody gothic chandeliers and mosaic tiling. Specialities include delicate grilled octopus and the must-try bacalhau com natas, a heart-stoppingly creamy gratin crammed with locally caught cod.

Local bars

The surfing contingent ensures that, despite its relatively rural location, Ericeira enjoys a lively nightlife. Hemingway's Bar Café is a cute cocktail bar with a smattering of tables available on the cobbled street outside. Arrive early if you want to nab one – it gets seriously crowded here on summer evenings, thanks to pleasant temperatures, an ace selection of cocktails and 70+ (count em) varieties of gin.

A very short stagger from Hemingway’s, Jukebox Bar is a similarly cute low-rise whitewashed building with terracotta roof tiles and hand-painted furniture. Stop by for local craft beers, caipirinhas and live music that continues late into the night.