Figueira da Foz, Centro Coast tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 23:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Europe/Lisbon local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Last spring tide on Tue 05 May (range 2.0m). Next spring tide on Mon 11 May (range 1.5m). Next neap on Sat 09 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Figueira da Foz sits where the Rio Mondego meets the Atlantic, 220 km north of Lisbon. It is simultaneously Portugal's widest beach resort (the main beach runs more than 3 km without interruption), a significant commercial and fishing port, and an estuary mouth where tidal dynamics and river discharge interact in ways that directly affect how and when the harbour is usable. The semidiurnal tidal range here is 3.0 to 3.5 m on spring tides — among the larger ranges on the Portuguese coast. Two cycles daily, predictable, with springs running close to 3.8 m in the equinoctial weeks. Mean neap range drops to about 1.0 to 1.2 m. That difference between spring and neap is operationally significant: on neap tides the beach at Buarcos to the north may only extend 60 to 80 m from the dune toe; on spring low water the same beach stretches more than 150 m of flat hard-packed sand, wide enough to walk three abreast without touching wet ground. The Mondego estuary bar is the defining hydrodynamic feature of Figueira da Foz. A submerged sandbar at the river mouth builds and shifts continuously with swell direction, river discharge, and tidal state. After a winter flood on the Mondego — the river drains a large catchment in the Serra da Estrela mountains — the bar migrates and the entrance channel deepens temporarily on the river's outflow energy. In dry summers, reduced freshwater discharge lets longshore drift rebuild the bar, shallowing the entrance. The harbour's approach depth for large vessels is restricted to periods around high water regardless of season; the port authority dredges periodically but the bar reasserts itself. Artisanal fishing boats with shallow draft cross freely at any state of the tide in calm conditions; the 3,000-tonne coastal freighters that use the commercial quay wait for high water. The Forte de Santa Catarina stands at the southern entrance to the harbour channel, a 17th-century artillery fort built on the riverbank at precisely mean high-water level. At spring high tide, the water reaches the base of the fort walls on the river side. At low water spring tide, the mudflats and sand shelves on the estuarine side are exposed — these are traditional clamming and cockle grounds, worked by local families in the hours around low water. The cockle (berbigão) is a staple of the local restaurants. Buarcos beach is the northern section of the main beach strand, facing the open Atlantic directly. The beach is oriented roughly north-south, which means it catches northwest swell cleanly. The surf here can be significant in autumn and winter — 2 to 3 m faces are common in October through March, and the beach is used by intermediate to experienced surfers. The same northwesterly swell that builds the surf also drives longshore drift south, feeding the bar at the river mouth. On flat summer days, Buarcos is a family beach; the water temperature runs 17 to 19°C in July and August. Cape Mondego (Cabo Mondego) — capped by a lighthouse — is 8 km north of Figueira da Foz along a low coastal cliff road. The lighthouse operates automatically; below the cape, a small beach (inaccessible at high water, accessible by scramble at low water) sits at the foot of the cliffs. The cape marks the northern boundary of the Mondego embayment; beyond it the coast becomes more exposed and the tidal streams run more consistently north-south. For photographers, the most productive window is the two hours around low water on a spring tide in winter afternoon light. The beach extends its full 150-plus metres, the Forte de Santa Catarina is backdropped by the river channel with no beach in the way, and the light from the southwest hits the fort walls cleanly from 15:00 to 17:00 in December and January. Anglers working the estuary mouth target bass (robalo) and flatfish on the tide change — the 90-minute window around low water slack when current eases and fish move into the shallows to feed. The north breakwater extending from the harbour entrance is a popular shore-fishing position; access is from the port road and the concrete is negotiable in light footwear at any tide. The breakwater's outer end at low water exposes barnacle and mussel growth; regulations prohibit harvesting shellfish within 500 m of the harbour entrance due to water quality. The commercial port handles timber, paper pulp (Figueira has a large paper mill on the Mondego above the town), and general cargo. The paper mill's cooling water discharge into the river is continuous and warms the estuarine water marginally in winter — a detail that changes where flatfish and mullet congregate in the lower estuary channel. Tide data for Figueira da Foz, Centro Coast comes from the Open-Meteo Marine API, a gridded model product. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes, height accuracy ±0.3 m — usable for trip planning, not for navigation.