Lagos is not, strictly speaking, a surf town. It sits on the south coast of the Algarve, sheltered from most of the Atlantic’s swells, around a historic centre, a river and a marina. But it may be the best base in Portugal for a surfing family: its own beaches wake up on winter swells, and the whole wild west coast — Arrifana, Amado, Castelejo, Sagres — is half an hour away.
Add a year-round town, international schooling within reach and Faro airport an hour away, and it is easy to see why so many people who come for the surf end up living here. This is a coast Adler & Rochefort knows well.
Holiday homes: the two policies we place most, Hiscox and Liberty
Most of the holiday homes we insure in Portugal sit with Hiscox or with Liberty Mutual. Both were written for owners who are not there all year, which is exactly where a standard Portuguese policy fails: the unoccupancy clause that suspends cover after 30, 60 or 90 days.
Hiscox Holiday Homes
For a second home in Portugal, issued by Hiscox's Portuguese branch.
- No limit on the days the house can stay empty. The water damage, vandalism and accidental damage exclusions only apply if the house is not furnished for normal use.
- Buildings settled on rebuild cost, with flexibility by agreement up to the sum insured, and no proportional reduction.
- Liability of €7,500,000, an accidental damage extension, and emergency travel to the house and temporary accommodation after a claim.
- Loss of rent cover; lending the house free of charge to family and friends is accepted.
- No deductible on claims above €10,000; earthquake deductible of €7,500 or 2.5% of buildings and contents, whichever is higher.
- Contents insured at the level the house really needs, with no €150,000 minimum.
Watch: Jewellery and watches are not covered, and personal belongings are covered outside the house only in Portugal and for up to 90 days.
Liberty Mutual, through Innovarisk
Home Insurance for owners whose main residence is outside Portugal and who do not let the house regularly.
- All risks, including accidental damage, with the proportional rule waived (except for the compulsory fire cover of a flat in a condominium, where Portugal's standard fire wording still applies).
- Rebuild cost and, if rebuilding is not reasonable, an agreed amount up to the sum insured.
- Liability of €7,500,000, no deductible on claims above €10,000, and alternative accommodation for up to two years.
- Emergency travel to the house (€525 per ticket, €2,250 a year), garden cover including storm, and loss of rent up to €37,500.
- Three-year Long Term Agreement: Liberty renews on the same terms for three years if the first-year loss ratio stays below 50% and premiums are paid. It binds the insurer, not you.
Watch: The house must be furnished for normal living. Paid letting has to be declared, be occasional and rest on a signed rental agreement; short-term tourist letting (Alojamento Local) needs its own liability policy.
What we need to quote a holiday home
- Address, type of property, year of construction and gross area.
- Your country of residence and how many weeks a year the house is used.
- Whether the house is lent or let, to whom and how often.
- Rebuild value (we calculate it with the APS SCRIM simulator) and the contents to insure.
- Alarm, safe, and who checks the house while you are away.
Conditions summarised from each insurer's wording and the proposals we place; the policy issued and its schedule always prevail, and cover is subject to the insurer's acceptance.
Surfing in Lagos itself
The town’s own beaches need a big west or south-west swell to wrap along the coast, which makes them winter spots — and good ones on the right day, when the west coast is too big and the northerly wind is offshore.
- Meia Praia — the long beach east of the town, with gentle waves on winter swells, surf schools, stand-up paddle and, in summer, kite and wing-foiling when the afternoon breeze fills in.
- Porto de Mós — a south-facing bay under the cliffs west of Ponta da Piedade, which picks up the larger swells and can produce clean peaks.
- Praia da Luz — a village bay a few minutes further west, with reef and sand that come to life on bigger winter swells.
Beyond surfing, the sea around Lagos is an outdoor playground: paddling or kayaking among the grottoes of Ponta da Piedade, sailing from the marina, diving, and dolphin watching offshore.
West or south: the daily decision
Most Lagos surfers are mobile, and the morning ritual is a look at the forecast and a decision. On a small or moderate swell with light winds, the west coast is the answer: Arrifana and Amado around half an hour away, Castelejo and Cordoama about the same, Tonel and Beliche at Sagres. On a big winter swell with northerly wind, the south coast — Zavial, Mareta or Lagos itself — is offshore and sheltered. The surf schools in town run vans every day to wherever the conditions are best, which suits children and visiting friends as much as beginners.
That rhythm shapes the surf community. Lagos has a large and settled scene — schools and coaches, board shops, repairers, surf-and-yoga houses, and a growing number of resident families whose children learn at Meia Praia or Amado and are soon driving themselves to Arrifana at dawn. A typical day for a surfer living here might be an early session on the west coast, back in town for work by ten, and a paddle round Ponta da Piedade or a sail from the marina in the evening light. Few places combine that much surf with that much ordinary life.
The seasons follow the pattern of the whole south-west: autumn and spring are the sweet spots, winter is big and powerful, summer smaller, busier and best at dawn. See our guides to Sagres and Aljezur for the waves themselves.
A year-round town
What distinguishes Lagos from the surf villages of the west coast is that it is a real town all year: a walled historic centre that was a port of the Age of Discoveries, restaurants and markets, a marina, sports clubs, and a large international community. Buyers include Northern Europeans and British owners who have come for decades, Americans, Lisbon families and founders and executives who have moved their working lives here.
The high-value stock is varied: villas in the hills behind the town towards Bensafrim and Barão de São João, often on generous plots; golf and resort homes such as those around Meia Praia and near Luz; clifftop villas at Porto de Mós and along the coast to Luz; and apartments in the centre and at the marina. Many are let when the owners are away, and many owners keep a boat in the marina. The property-by-area detail is in our guide to home insurance in Lagos.
Because the town lives all year, homes here are used more and left empty less than on the west coast — but letting, boats and more people coming and going bring their own questions.
Protecting the house and the family
- Letting. Alojamento Local requires its own compulsory insurance, and a private home policy may exclude commercial letting. Loss of rent after an insured event can be covered. See AL insurance requirements.
- Clifftop and coastal homes. At Porto de Mós and Luz, insurers ask about the distance to the cliff edge; erosion is normally excluded as a gradual process. See clifftop properties.
- Apartments. The condominium policy covers the building, not your contents, improvements or liability.
- Boats in the marina. A boat needs its own policy, with liability and, where relevant, cover for racing or charter. See yachts in Algarve marinas.
- Pools, guests and liability. Friends borrowing boards, children at the pool, guests on the boat: family liability with a proper limit sits underneath all of it. See pools and liability.
- Kit on the move. Boards, foils and wetsuits spend their lives in vans between Lagos and the west coast; confirm cover away from home and for theft from vehicles.
- Earthquake. An optional extension in Portugal, worth considering in the Algarve. See earthquake cover.
Before the season: a short checklist
- Check that the home policy matches how the house is really used, letting included.
- Confirm loss-of-rent cover if the house earns income.
- Insure the boat separately and review the marina’s requirements.
- List boards, foils and cameras and confirm cover in the car and abroad.
- Review the building sum insured against today’s rebuild cost.
A home in Lagos? Talk to us.
Send us the details and we will come back with a written assessment — the house, letting, the boat and the kit.
Talk to us
Adler & Rochefort is an ASF-registered insurance intermediary with its head office in Lisbon, advising private clients across Portugal and Spain. For a home in Lagos we look at the house, the letting, the boat and the family together, and give you our view in writing — one adviser from the first conversation to any claim. The wider picture is in our guide to surfing Portugal and the second homes it attracts.
More from the surf coast: The whole coast · Ericeira · Nazaré · Sagres · Aljezur
Adler & Rochefort is a commercial brand of Ownizo, Unipessoal Lda., registered with the ASF under no. 425591790/3. General information from an insurance intermediary, not personalised advice; what a policy covers depends on its wording.