Portugal Travel Forum

Hi there,

I am hoping to go back to Portugal in July for 10 days. First part of the holiday will be in Lisbon checking out Optimus Live for a couple of days and then a couple of days spent in the city.

I had a great holiday last year in Portugal going from Lisbon to Lagos and then Alvor over a couple of weeks. Loved it and was blown away at how beautiful Portugal is.

As my return flight is from Lisbon, would anybody have recommendations of where to spend a few days not too far from Lisbon (2hrs max). Is there anywhere similar to Lagos, great beaches, relaxed vibe and no major tackiness!

Thanks alot

Check out the fun and delightful seaside town of Ericeira in the Estremadura region of Portugal. The location is fantastic with long stretches of beaches and enough night life to occupy oneself and plentiful of great restaurants. If you're looking for a more sedate and likewise typically Portuguese setting, not far, actually closer than Ericeira is to Lisbon, is the fishing village of Sesimbra in the gorgeous natural preserve of the Arrabida Peninsula where you'd find some of Portugal's truly outstanding and relatively remote beaches. Good luck and happy trails.

Nazare is a beautiful seaside town about 140kms north of Lisbon. Whilst it will be pretty busy in July, especially at weekends, it is a working fishing village with lots of charm. There is a lengthy beachfront promenade with lots of restaurants (seafood of course) ideal for evening strolls.

If you dont mind staying away from the waterfront I can recommend Quinta Das Rosas a gorgeous B&B with sweeping views of the coastline. If you stay there try to reserve the colonial room which has its own private terrace.

If swimming is your objective, then you may be warned that our western coast has temperatures about 4-5º Celsius below Algarve. If swimming is not so important, then you have tons of good solutions:

Ericeira as stated is beautiful, very close to Lisbon, and one of the best places in the world to eat seafood. Mafra and Cabo da Roça are interesting places only minutes away.

Nazaré, also recommended is "MY" beach. Fabulous site, with a unique people, different from all the other Portuguese, great for fish and only minutes away from 3 of the Portuguese 7 wonders: Obidos, Alcobaça and Batalha. July and August are overcrowded months, and everything gets more expensive and confuse in the beaches. But that is true in Nazaré and in all the other beaches, even in Algarve. If you want a more tranquil place, S. Martinho do Porto, 10 km south of Nazaré or S. Pedro de Muel, 15 km north are good alternatives. I live in the area, and my pages about the best places in Leiria district may be very useful to you (they are all top 5, I think, most of them top 1).

If you prefer to go south, then Sesimbra should be recommended. Very beautiful, good restaurants also, and Arrábida, Cabo Espichel and Troia very near.

No matter what will be your choice, and since you loved Portugal, do have in mind that the best things of our country are concentrated in the littoral, centre and north. In the south, that you visited, there are a few beautiful places, but several kilometers distant from each other; in the northern part things are more concentrated, and visits are easier, so, don't stay for long in the beach, and do like I use to do: Leave the beach at the dangerous hours (from 11 to 5PM) and use those hours to go see some interesting things. And the bath before the sunset is, by far, the more delicious - crowds are leaving, the water is warmer than in the morning, and lazing in the water memorizing the beauties seen minutes or hours before is an excellent appetizer for the grilled fish for dinner.

Sintra should be like 20 minutes driving to the northwest of lisbon.
One of the most beautiful places you'd ever see.