Explore Alentejo
The long Alentejo coast stretches for over 150km, from Setúbal bay to the western Algarve. For the most part it’s undeveloped, whipped by the Atlantic winds, and its beaches can seem pretty wild. The lagoon beach of Lagoa de Santo André, northwest of Santiago do Cacém, is the best target in the north of the region. South of here, the industrial town of Sines dominates the coast for some distance, its oil refinery adding more than an unattractive smell to the air – the sea in the vicinity is polluted as well. There’s no reason to visit Sines unless you are on the trail of Vasco da Gama, who was born here.
Buses run directly from Lisbon and Santiago do Cacém to titchy Porto Côvo, the first place on the coast you could call a resort, with lovely cliff-backed beaches. Further south lies Vila Nova de Milfontes, the main – and by far the nicest – Alentejan resort. Almograve and Zambujeira do Mar, further south, are both much less developed seaside villages with stupendous beaches, while Zambujeira is the southernmost Alentejo beach, a short drive from the northern Algarve.
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Porto Côvo
Porto Côvo
The coast south of Sines is undeniably pretty, with a minor road hugging the coves and high dunes to PORTO CÔVO, a former fishing village now surrounded by modern holiday villas. The small centre – just a few cobbled, whitewashed streets around the central square, Largo Marquês de Pombal – is highly attractive. It’s very crowded in August – when it turns into a sort of Lisbon-on-Sea – but for most of the year the predominant sound is the whistle of the Atlantic breeze.
Head down the main pedestrianized Rua da Vasco da Gama to reach the coast. Bear left and steps lead down to a small fishing harbour where you can catch boat trips to the nearby Ilha do Pessegueiro. Bear right for the nearest cove beach, a lovely sandy wedge below cliffs, generally sheltered even when the sea is rough elsewhere. Continue north along the coast and it is a ten-minute walk to Praia Grande, the appropriately named “Big Beach”, especially so when the tide is low; with its own café-bar, you could easily spend a day here. Clifftop paths run north and south of town providing access to other coves and beaches. Praia do Somouqueira just to the north is named after the extraordinary rock formations and is popular at low tide when temporary beaches are created.
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Vila Nova de Milfontes
Vila Nova de Milfontes
VILA NOVA DE MILFONTES – 20km south of Porto Côvo – lies on the estuary of the Rio Mira, whose wide sandy banks gradually merge into the coastline. It is an advantageous spot for sailors (the port is reputed to have harboured Hannibal and his Carthaginians during a storm) and, while the resort is not exactly undiscovered, its centre is very attractive. Popular with Portuguese families, it has a homely atmosphere quite distinct from that of the cosmopolitan Algarve. The few whitewashed streets of the old town huddle around a striking, ivy-wreathed sixteenth-century castle, with the long river beach just a few minutes’ walk to the west. Swimmers in the river need to be aware of the strong currents – the town beach has roped-off swimming areas that you should heed. Even though the beach is spacious, it gets busy in high season, when you might want to take the ferry from the jetty at the foot of the castle across the estuary to Furnas, a long sandy beach also accessible off the main coast road.
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Zambujeira do Mar
Zambujeira do Mar
The southernmost Alentejan resort is the small village of ZAMBUJEIRA DO MAR, 29km south of Vila Nova de Milfontes. The main street stops at the top of the cliff, which provides a dramatic backdrop to the handsome beach below, whose rocky outcrops give some shade during the day. If you find the main beach too crowded – and it gets smaller as the tide rises – there are good alternatives less than three kilometres’ walk north or south, reached by clifftop paths. Zambujeira is small and laid-back, attracting both locals and a backpacker crowd – it is particularly lively for the Festival Sudoeste (wsudoeste2013.com), Portugal’s best summer music festival, which rocks the joint for four days early every August.
