The top 5 beach holidays in Portugal for 2017
For more general advice on booking a holiday in Portugal, see our Portugal summer holiday guide. Our guide features expert recommendations for beach, villa, culture, food and drink and activity holidays.
Porto de Mós, Western Algarve
The sweeping sands of Porto de Mos are overlooked by dramatic multicoloured cliffs, which, further along the coast, harbour hidden caverns and pretty archways. This is why the Algave is such a coveted holiday destination. Ochre-coloured Vivenda Miranda, once a private home, is perched atop the cliffs and is a spectacular spot to while away lazy days. Its 26 rooms offer wonderful sea views, while its verdant garden, studded as it is with palm trees, juts out to cliff edge and overlooks the golden sands below. It's all about pandering to pleasure here; Neal’s Yard has just opened its first overseas spa at the hotel, while the kitchen serves delicious dishes that make good use of local produce. The path down to the beach, which wends past the swimming pool, is the gateway to some great walks.
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Praia Verde, Eastern Algarve
Away from the hurly-burly of water parks and golf courses, Praia Verde (Green Beach), close to the Spanish border, offers an authentic Algarve forgotten by many. It adjoins hundreds of hectares of salt pans bordering the River Guadiana, which draw a rich variety of birds from avocets to terns, sandpipers to curlews. Dense pine forest at the sand’s edge provides cool in the heat of summer, and gives the beach its name. Cut through the trees to find Praia Verde Boutique Hotel, a design hotel which offers just 40 suites, each with garden or sea view and a kitchenette and good dining space. The hotel is nestled between expansive pine forest and the beach, and its restaurant offers simple and delicious seasonal dishes.
• The best hotels in the Algarve
• The best luxury holidays in the Algarve
Praia da Falesia, Central Algarve
Praia da Falesia is easily one of the best beaches in the Algarve. Overlooked by dramatic sandstone cliffs, the beach resort is perfect if you're travelling with the family, promising as it does fun in the sun for all ages. Pine Cliffs Resort is particularly accommodating if you have small ones in tow; the seaside property offers watersports, golf and tennis, with lessons available for all ages. There are six pools, a spa and seven restaurants on site, serving regional and international cuisine; if you like fish head to O Pescador which specialises in fresh seafood.
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Alporchinhos, Central Algarve
Tiny bays and coves, some just big enough for a handful of people, typify this stretch of the Algarve. Often hidden from view inland and accessible only from the water, these are perfect for visiting by boat – just one of the things that Vila Vita Parc can organise for you. A family resort of note, with a two Michelin-starred restaurant providing a culinary experience to remember, Vila Vita has a tremendous range of facilities, including an excellent children’s playground, a nine-hole pitch and putt practice course, cardio tennis and one of the best spas on the Algarve, with Hypoxi studio and Margaret Dabbs pedicures. Recently refurbished rooms and airy villas are bright and white with a beachy feel. The beach itself lies curled beneath the hotel, an enticing sliver of sand for those moments when nothing except the feel of fine grains between your toes will do.
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Guincho, Lisbon
A fine alternative to the Algarve, Guincho is a place where impressive Atlantic breakers roar over golden sands – and it's just 30 minutes from Lisbon, which means you can tie in a beach holiday with a city break. Perched on the rocks just above the ocean, within earshot of the pounding waves, is the little 17th-century Fortaleza do Guincho, now a gem of a hotel with 27 rooms and a destination restaurant. Executive chef, Miguel Vieira, a judge on Masterchef Portugal, has worked at top restaurants in England, Spain and France, and, though born in Portugal, he was trained in classic French cuisine. As well as bringing Franco flair to local ingredients, the restaurant offers stunning views of Cabo da Roca, which marks mainland Europe’s most westerly point – once thought of as the end of the world.
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