No crowds, low prices – and plenty of sunshine: an off-season family surf trip in the Algarve

A late winter break in Portugal’s Praia da Luz offers warm weather, quiet beaches and solitary hikes

Standing on the sun-warmed sand, we watch swell lines rolling towards the shore. Surfers dot the water, eyes trained to the horizon, waiting for their next ride. My eight-year-old daughter glances up at the unrelenting blue sky. “Are you sure this is winter?” she asks.

We’ve just arrived in Praia da Luz, a small beach town and surf spot in the western Algarve, where our family of four are spending February half-term with friends. It’s 18C (64F), sunny and windless. Locals are dressed in long trousers and light coats, while we have giddily stripped to our T-shirts, knowing that at home it will be months before we feel warmth like this.