Well I´ve traveld and surfed quite some time throughout Portugal. Peniche has some great waves and is open to swells from a variety of swell angles. On the other hand Peniche tends to be really crowded especially during the ASP contest in early october or during the public holidays from July to the end of august.
Ericeira would be my pick. A short drive to the south of Peniche lies this beautiful fishing village. From north to south there are waves to be had for every level of ability. Beach breaks, gnarly reef breaks and semi points are on offer. As most of the surfers are beginners or intermediates the better spots tend to have less crowd pressure.
Restaurants and shopping are great and the pastry + a galao for breakfast is second to none. On the Algarve ( Southwest Coast) the weather seems to be a lot warmer and the swells travel further and are cleaner and have a longer period. Almost all of the breaks are beach breaks and can be somewhere between world class to under average depending on the sandbanks. When a big swell hits the coast the south coast will get good. The south coast offers great setups and the dominant NW winds will be offshore.

Summers tend to be small and onshore, while fall is the prime season, winter is often to big and rough although this can be the prime season for the south coast.