The Algarve gets the headlines. The rest of the Portuguese coast is full of fishing towns, surf villages and Atlantic harbours that the cruise circuit never reaches.
Portugal has 1,793 km of coastline. The travel press talks about roughly 60 of them, almost all in the Algarve. Move north, or move away from the autoroute, and the country opens up.
South of Lisbon, west of the Algarve
Comporta
An hour south of Lisbon across the Tejo. Long wild beach, rice paddies behind the dunes, and a slow drift of fashionable Portuguese summering in thatched houses. Still mostly low-rise by law.
Vila Nova de Milfontes
On the Costa Vicentina, where the Mira river meets the Atlantic. Surfing, river beaches, and a small old town that hasn't changed shape in 200 years.
Zambujeira do Mar
Further south, still Alentejo. The cliff path here is part of the Rota Vicentina, one of the great walking trails in southern Europe.
North of Lisbon
Ericeira
The first World Surfing Reserve in Europe. The fish lunches at Tik-Tak or Mar das Latas are reason enough on their own.
Sao Martinho do Porto
A near-perfect circular bay with a small gap to the open Atlantic. Safe to swim, gentle for kids, and quiet outside July and August.
Nazaré
Famous in winter for the giant waves at Praia do Norte. In summer it goes back to being a small fishing town with widows in seven-skirt traditional dress drying sardines on racks above the beach.
The far north
Viana do Castelo
Where the Lima river meets the sea. The town has the loveliest railway station in Portugal and the basilica of Santa Luzia on the hill above offers a view that genuinely earns the cliché.
Caminha
Right on the Spanish border. A small ferry crosses to A Guarda in Galicia, and the medieval town inside is barely visited.
Atlantic islands of the mainland
Berlengas
A 40-minute boat from Peniche. The granite archipelago is a biosphere reserve with one fortress hotel, very strict daily visitor caps and water clear enough to spook you.
If you have a week, the smartest Portuguese coast trip is the Lisbon to Comporta to Milfontes to Zambujeira line, ending at Cape St. Vincent. The N120 takes its time and that is rather the point.
