Beaches
The beaches near Aljezur, and which one to pick.
Six beaches are worth the drive from Aljezur, and five of them are inside fifteen minutes: Amoreira with its river, Monte Clérigo under the houses on the cliff, Arrifana in its sheltered bay, Carriagem and Homens down their tracks, and Odeceixe twenty minutes north where the river meets the sea. All are inside the nature park, all are free, and none of them has a hotel on it. Which one to choose depends almost entirely on the wind.
Drive times below are from our front door in the old town, at a normal pace, not at three in the morning.
Praia da Amoreira
- 8 min drive
- Big car park
- Café on the sand
- River pools
The river on one side, the ocean on the other, and a wide flat expanse of sand between them at low tide. The calm pools by the river are where we take the girls, and they are the reason this is the best beach here for small children.
Look south along the beach at the rock formation on the headland. People here call it the lying Indian: the brow, the nose and the chin of a face turned up to the sky. Once you have seen it you cannot unsee it.
Beginners can surf the inside on a small day. When the swell is up, the shore break is heavier than it looks from the car park.
Go at low tide. At high tide half the beach disappears and the river pools go with it.
Praia do Monte Clérigo
- 11 min drive
- Park at the top
- Two restaurants
- Best sunset
Our evening beach. A cluster of white houses on the cliff, a road down, and two places where you can eat with sand on your feet. Park at the top and walk down; the lower car park fills by eleven in August.
The best sunset within ten minutes of the house, and close enough that you can decide at seven and still make it.
Praia da Arrifana
- 15 min drive
- Sheltered bay
- Surf school
- Parking fills at 10
A bay between high cliffs with a small fishing harbour, sheltered from the north wind that blows almost every afternoon in summer. This is where you go when the forecast looks alarming and everything else is closing out.
Also the busiest of the five, and the one with surf schools, board hire and somewhere to eat above the bay.
Drive up to the viewpoint on the cliff first. It is the picture everyone comes back with.
beach-arrifana.jpg — the bay from the clifftop viewpoint
Praia da Carriagem
- 12 min drive
- Schist ledges
- Steps down
- No facilities
North of Aljezur past Rogil, down a dirt track and a flight of steps. Dark schist ledges run into the sand and hold pools at low water, and there is nothing there at all: no café, no lifeguard, no shade. On a weekday in October you will have it to yourselves.
Go at low tide, and take water. The walk back up the steps is the part people forget about.
Praia dos Homens
- 15 min drive
- Stony shore
- Low tide only
- Quiet
Vale dos Homens, below Rogil. A stony shore, low tide ledges, and cliffs behind it that keep the afternoon wind off. Sand appears as the tide drops and disappears again, so this one is worth checking the tide for rather than turning up on spec.
The last stretch of track is rough but drivable. Check that the way back up is walkable before you settle in.
Praia de Odeceixe
- 20 min drive
- River and sea
- Village above
- Alentejo border
The river Seixe runs into the sea here and marks the border with the Alentejo. Swim in the river when the ocean is too rough, cross to the sea side when it is not, and eat in the village on the hill afterwards. Canoes for hire in season, and a car park at the top with a path down.
The furthest of the six and the one to keep for a whole day rather than an afternoon.
Reading the day
Which beach in which wind.
- North wind, the summer default: Arrifana, which the cliff shelters
- Small swell and small children: the river pools at Amoreira
- Big swell: Arrifana, or the river at Odeceixe
- Fog on the coast, which happens in June: drive inland to Monchique
- August, after ten in the morning: park at the top at Monte Clérigo
- Late afternoon, any month: Monte Clérigo for the sunset
The line on our home page shows how long each of these takes from the front door. Ask us the night before and we will tell you which one is worth the drive.
Staying here
Eight minutes from the first of them.
Our five homes are in the old town, with a full kitchen, a line outside to hang a wetsuit and a bucket to rinse it.