TravelDay buddy

Teo Almeida

@saltandreef · he/him · Lisbon, Portugal

Check the swell, then decide where breakfast is.

  • Surf
  • Reefs
  • Coast roads
  • Medium pace
  • Budget

Teo Almeida is a drawn, fictional companion written by TravelDay. The places below are real entries in our catalogue, and each one names the guide it came from.

How Teo Almeida travels

I plan around water. Tide first, wind second, everything else after that.

Mornings are for the surf and afternoons are for the reef, because the light is better under the surface when the sun is high. If the ocean is flat I go inland and come back. I have never regretted a flat day spent somewhere new.

I dive within my limits and I dive with people who know the site. I do not touch anything, I do not chase anything, and I leave the wreck the way I found it. That is not a rule I got from a course, it is just the deal.

  • Surf
  • Diving
  • Islands
  • Nature
  • Budget

Cities Teo Almeida keeps going back to

  • Lisbon

    Portugal

    Home. Ericeira is forty minutes north and Peniche an hour past that.

  • Bali

    Indonesia

    Reef breaks in the south, a wreck you can swim to in the east, and cheap months between.

  • Honolulu

    United States

    Where I learned that a protected bay teaches you more than an empty one.

  • Sydney

    Australia

    A city that swims before work. I go for the winter swell and the ocean pools.

What Teo Almeida recommends

Bali

  • USAT Liberty Wreck · Sight

    Shore dive at Tulamben, and shallow enough that snorkellers get a real look. Go at first light before the boats and the crowds, and mind the rounded stones on the entry.

    • Seen in Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet calls the wreck of the US cargo ship Liberty among the best and most popular dive sites in Bali

  • Uluwatu Temple · Sight

    The cliff temple above one of the best reef breaks on the island. Sarong required, monkeys will take sunglasses, and the wall walk is where you read the sets.

    • Seen in Lonely Planet. Featured as Pura Luhur Ulu Watu on Lonely Planet's Bali attractions list

  • Melting Wok Warung · Restaurant

    Ubud, when the swell dies and you drive inland. Small, cheap, and you will be the only one in boardshorts.

    • Seen in Lonely Planet. Listed as Melting Wok among Lonely Planet's must-see restaurants in Ubud

  • Puri Saren Agung Ubud Palace · Sight

    The Ubud palace. Five minutes, but it is the marker I use to find everything else inland.

    • Seen in Lonely Planet. Featured as Ubud Palace on Lonely Planet's list of Ubud attractions

Honolulu

  • Hanauma Bay Nature Park · Nature

    Reserve online well ahead, watch the orientation film, and stay off the coral. It is managed hard because it had to be, and it is better for it.

    • Seen in Hanauma Bay State Park. Declared a protected marine life conservation park in 1967, with a mandatory nine minute orientation video for all visitors

Lisbon

  • Time Out Market Lisboa · Market

    Eat here at three in the afternoon, not at eight. Salt in your hair, a plate from one counter, a beer from another, no table drama.

    • Seen in Time Out. Time Out's own food hall in Mercado da Ribeira, opened in 2014 with 26 restaurants and 8 bars

Plans you can copy

Seven nights on Bali, water first

7 nights · May to September · Medium pace · Budget

South for the reef breaks, east for the wreck, and two inland days when the wind turns onshore.

  1. Day 1

    Land in the south

    • Nusa Dua Beach · Afternoon · Nature

      Flat, safe and shallow. A good place to swim off a flight before you go anywhere near a reef.

    • Uluwatu Temple · Evening · Sight

      Sarong at the gate, sunglasses in your bag. Watch the sets from the wall and plan tomorrow.

      • Seen in Lonely Planet. Featured as Pura Luhur Ulu Watu on Lonely Planet's Bali attractions list

  2. Day 2

    Out to the channel

    • Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area · Morning · Nature

      The Nusa Penida marine protected area. Currents here are serious and the cold upwelling is real, so go with an operator who calls the site on the day and not the week before.

    • Sanur fast boat pier · Evening · Getting there

      Last crossings back are mid afternoon in poor weather. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

  3. Day 3

    Inland while the wind is wrong

    • Saraswati Temple · Afternoon · Sight

      Lotus pond in the middle of Ubud. Shoulders and knees covered, and stay out of the inner courtyard.

    • Melting Wok Warung · Evening · Meal

      Book if you can. It is tiny and it fills.

      • Seen in Lonely Planet. Listed as Melting Wok among Lonely Planet's must-see restaurants in Ubud

  4. Day 4

    A dry day on purpose

    • Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary · Morning · Nature

      Monkey forest at opening. Nothing loose on you, nothing shiny in hand.

      • Seen in Lonely Planet. Featured as Ubud Monkey Forest on Lonely Planet's list of Ubud attractions

    • Museum Puri Lukisan · Afternoon · Museum

      An hour of shade and paint. Twenty four hours out of the water before a flight is the real reason this day exists.

      • Seen in Lonely Planet. Featured on Lonely Planet's list of Ubud attractions

  5. Day 5

    East to the wreck

    • Tulamben · Morning · Getting there

      Two and a half hours from Ubud on the coast road. Stay in the village so you can be in the water at six. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

    • USAT Liberty Wreck · Afternoon · Sight

      First look in the afternoon to get the layout. Watch your feet on the stones going in.

      • Seen in Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet calls the wreck of the US cargo ship Liberty among the best and most popular dive sites in Bali

  6. Day 6

    Wreck at first light

    • USAT Liberty Wreck · Morning · Sight

      Six in the morning, before the vans arrive from the south. The bumphead parrotfish come through early and then the hull is yours.

      • Seen in Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet calls the wreck of the US cargo ship Liberty among the best and most popular dive sites in Bali

    • Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang · Afternoon · Sight

      An active temple on the shoulder of the mountain. Queues form for one photograph at the gate; the upper temples are the reason to climb.

  7. Day 7

    Up to the crater, then out

    • Danau Batur · Morning · Nature

      Cold air and no salt. A good last morning if you are flying tomorrow.

    • Puri Saren Agung Ubud Palace · Afternoon · Sight

      Back through Ubud for the last hour before the airport run.

      • Seen in Lonely Planet. Featured as Ubud Palace on Lonely Planet's list of Ubud attractions
  • Seen in Lonely Planet. Lonely Planet describes Tulamben as a village built around diving the Liberty wreck, reachable from shore

Five nights in Lisbon with the swell

5 nights · September to November · Medium pace · Budget

Sleep in the city, surf up the coast, and let the tide pick the order of the days.

  1. Day 1

    Arrive, eat late, look at the water

    • Time Out Market Lisboa · Afternoon · Meal

      Three in the afternoon, one counter, one beer. Seating is communal and first come, so send someone ahead for a table.

      • Seen in Time Out. Time Out's own food hall in Mercado da Ribeira, opened in 2014 with 26 restaurants and 8 bars

    • São Jorge Castle · Evening · Sight

      Go up for the river, not the castle. You can see tomorrow's wind on the water from the walls.

  2. Day 2

    North to Ericeira

    • Ericeira · Morning · Nature

      Forty minutes by car, longer by bus from Campo Grande. A World Surfing Reserve, which in practice means a lot of reef and not much sand. Ribeira d'Ilhas is the forgiving one. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

    • National Ceramic Tile Museum · Evening · Museum

      Back in town with salt still on you. Tiles from five centuries in an old convent, and it stays open later than you think.

  3. Day 3

    Hills instead of waves

    • Cultural Landscape of Sintra · Morning · Sight

      Train from Rossio, then walk rather than queue for the shuttle bus. It rains here when the coast is dry.

    • Monument to the Discoveries · Afternoon · Sight

      On the way back in. Stand at the bottom and read the monument for what it is, then walk the river path.

  4. Day 4

    Peniche if it is on

    • Peniche · Morning · Nature

      Ninety minutes north. The peninsula always has one side out of the wind, which is why the tour stops here. Supertubos is not a beginner wave. Not yet in the TravelDay catalogue.

    • MAAT - Tejo Power Station · Evening · Museum

      Walk the curved roof at sunset even if you skip the galleries.

  5. Day 5

    Last paddle, last plate

    • Ajuda Botanical Garden · Morning · Nature

      The oldest botanical garden in the country and almost empty on a weekday. A quiet hour before travel.

    • Time Out Market Lisboa · Afternoon · Meal

      Second visit, different counter. Go before the evening crush if you have a flight.

      • Seen in Time Out. Time Out's own food hall in Mercado da Ribeira, opened in 2014 with 26 restaurants and 8 bars
  • Seen in Time Out. The market sits beside Cais do Sodre station, the transport hub for the coast trains

Teo Almeida is a TravelDay buddy: drawn, fictional, and not an account in the network. Research edition 2026-09-17.