Towfoiling Portugal’s Atlantic swell with Towtrips

Towtrips will tow you into Atlantic swell on Portugal’s Alentejo coast – jet ski, driver, board and foil, two hours at a time. Their 2026/27 swell season opens this month…

Words: Foiling Magazine. Photos: Towtrips

Clear blue water, uncrowded waves and a stunning backdrop. You get towed in, ride it out, and the ski has you straight back round for the next one. The season runs from October through to May, and the spot is Vila Nova de Milfontes, a white-and-blue village where the Mira river meets the Atlantic, with a protected natural park either side of it and swell that has crossed the whole ocean to get there.

Lars van der Veen started the operation in the Netherlands as Time 2 Wing in 2021, moved it to Milfontes in 2022 and has been running commercial tow sessions since 2023. He hosts and drives, alongside head driver Tomaz, both of them Nazaré-trained, and Vitinho, a Milfontes local who does sea rescue for Portugal’s ISN. Two jet skis at the moment, with a third planned.

Here’s a flavour of what to expect:

Sessions run two or three hours, daily at 10:00 and 15:00, solo or with a second foiler riding in turns. Ski and driver, board, foil, impact vest and helmet are all included, and it’s Armstrong kit throughout – Lars is a dealer – so you can try the gear you’ve been thinking about while you’re there. All you need to bring is a 4/3 or 5/3 wetsuit. You’ll want to be a competent foiler, though beginners start behind the boat on flat water first.

Sessions on their own start at €375. There are also fixed-date trips – three nights, six sessions, from €2,495 per person, with accommodation, breakfast, lunches, airport transfer and a daily spa session included – running from late November through to March, four foilers per trip and two per ski. If the ocean doesn’t cooperate, sessions move to another day.

Once a year they also teach a small group to drive rather than ride: six places, two per ski, covering rope work, positioning, reading the water and rescue, taught by the same Nazaré-trained drivers. That one runs on a waitlist.

Sessions, trips and the driver course are all at towtrips.com, or message them on WhatsApp on +31 6 39572412.