Coimbra weather in January

Forum posters name December through February as the core window for Nazare's famous giant waves, driven by an offshore underwater canyon that amplifies swell during winter storms - but posters are consistent this is genuinely a lottery rather than a sure thing, with wave size entirely dependent on that week's specific weather and wind pattern. One January visitor found the Sitio viewpoint crowded with surfers and spectators watching genuinely massive waves; others report visiting in the same general window and seeing nothing more than ordinary surf, with no guarantee of a show. Posters recommend checking specialized surf-swell forecasts (rather than general weather apps) close to a planned visit, since the big-wave days are announced with only a few days' notice once a strong swell is confirmed incoming.

Forum posters describe November in Coimbra as genuinely variable - one visitor's four-day stay brought rain almost every day, while posters more broadly describe a typical visit needing only a shower or two in the morning, with some years bringing lots of warm weather punctuated by the odd rainy day and chilly evenings. Posters consistently recommend packing a raincoat and umbrella, and good walking shoes given how slippery Coimbra's cobbled streets get when wet. Posters are direct that November counts among Portugal's more difficult, rain-prone months overall, but also one of the least touristic alongside January, meaning shorter lines and quieter sightseeing at Coimbra's university and historic sites. Posters generally rate November as genuinely rain-prone but rewarding for a Coimbra visit, with low crowds a real upside of the wetter shoulder season.

Forum posters describe May in central Portugal as edging toward summer, with typical daytime temperatures in the 20-23C range cooling to around 13C overnight. Opinions on packing split a little: some posters say shorts and sandals are enough given how close the weather is to summer, while others recommend bringing a light jacket since rain remains a real possibility this early in the season. For Coimbra specifically - a university town known for its historic architecture along the Mondego river - posters describe it as a pleasant, walkable size for a day or two, with a genuinely hot day always possible even in May, per one visitor who ducked into a shopping mall's food court specifically to escape unexpected heat.