Summer is coming and it is impossible not to think about what we will do, where we will go, if we want mountains, sea or city as a vacation destination. Spain is very close to Portugal, so Portuguese beaches are always a great temptation.
Portugal has many beautiful beaches and some are really popular, but they are not the only ones. If you want to escape the people, the expensive prices and the crowds and are simply looking for a place by the sea to relax your body and soul, here is some of the calmest and most beautiful beaches in Portugal. Go and discover them this summer 2016.
It is true that one of the most beautiful coastal destinations in Portugal is Algarve. It concentrates the largest number of popular beaches but there is always space for Coastal towns not very visited, more remote, with more common prices for our pockets of eternal economic crisis. And the best thing is that they don't have so many people hanging around, making noise, disturbing your well-deserved summer tranquility.
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This destination is north of another beach that we are going to recommend, Sagres. It rests on the west coast of the Algarve. ANDIt's a beach on the Atlantic which belongs to the small town of Carrapateira, on the side of a hill, just a kilometer from the coast
Although it is small, it receives visitors and offers small guesthouses and private rooms that their owners put up for rent. The town actually has two beaches, both with beautiful and fine sands and with good conditions for surfing. In fact in one of them a little surf school works so many come especially to train or learn. And if you like history, you can always go on an excursion to the old fort built to protect yourself from pirates in the XNUMXth century.
Sagres
This is one of the best known destinations among these quiet destinations that we are reviewing today. It is a municipality of Vila do Bispo whose name derives from Sagrado It seems that before Christianity different civilizations worshiped their gods from here. Already in the closest history Sagres is closely related to the sea voyages of Portugal and was even raided by the infamous Englishman Francis Drake.
But today we have to talk not about its history but about its beaches. You can discover its history if you decide to visit the coastal town. It has four beaches great that more than make up for how unprepossessing the town can be at first glance. It's a great destination for families who want to vacation with little money, surfers or backpackers. The beaches are Praia de Belixe, at the foot of the cliffs and with great views, Praia do Martinhal, which is ten points for windsurfing, and Praia do Tonel aims for surfing. and finally Praia de Mareta is the best if you don't want to be a very active tourist and your thing is to simply lie in the sun and enjoy taking a bath from time to time.
Vila Nova de Milfontes
It is a town founded at the end of the XNUMXth century and its first inhabitants were convicts who had to experience several pirate attacks until the construction of a fortress put a bit of a check on criminal raids. Rest on the Atlantic coast, on the west coast of Alentejo, halfway between Lisbon and Algarve, and he owns a beautiful and wide estuary that belongs to the Mira River.
Around it there are many beaches and some, the closest ones, are good tourist alternatives. They are not sooo popular with foreign tourists so there are more locals. Furnas, Aivados, Ribeira da Azanha, Praia da Franquia and Malhao are the best. The beaches near the estuary They are from calmer and warmer waters and that is why they are more familiar destinations. The coast is beautiful as it belongs to the Costa Vincentina de Aletejano National Park, so there can never be large resorts. That is good!
Alentejo is a quiet city, very Portuguese in summer, with few foreign tourists, and Vila Nova de Milfontes is designed for them so nobody kills you with prices. Its tourist season is divided into two partsThere are the Portuguese summer holidays (from the end of July to the end of August), short but intense holidays where there are many people everywhere, and the low season where the Protugueses are working.
Outside the holidays in Portugal Vila Nova de Milfontes is a relaxed destination, calm. Keep in mind the first thing to make reservations in advance, yes. The best weather begins in mid-May and lasts until the end of September. Spring is cool and autumn is cool too, but if you don't want to stay on the beach and explore the region, these are good times to do so: bike rides, hikes, cliff walks. The sea is always cold, yes, after all it is the Atlantic.
What do we recommend you see in Vila Nova de Milfontes? The Fort Sao Clemente which guards the entrance to the Mira de piratas estuary, now converted into a hotel, the lighthouse on the cliff, at the mouth of the same estuary, you can join it with the port in a pleasant coastal walk, the Church of Our Lady of Grace, XNUMXth century although restored in 1959 and of course all the beaches. And don't forget to try the local gastronomy!
Tavira
Although it is not a coastal town on the sea but on the coast of a river, the Gilao River, it is a special place because you take a ferry of just 10 minutes and you are in the beautiful Ilha de Tavira, a destination with 14 kilometers of beaches.
Tavira has an ancient history, dating back to the Bronze Age and Phoenicians, Romans and Moors have passed. It is a very attractive city, with hotels, bars, restaurants and cafes, a very popular arch bridge and several historical buildings. What it is just 20 kilometers from the border with Spain it is advantageous. For the beaches, you have to cross to the island but ferries are very frequent.
You already know it then, if you are thinking of Portugal this summer vacation you can opt for less known, less popular, less expensive destinations.